Saffron Walden Community Hospital

Saffron Walden Community Hospital, originally a union workhouse, was built in 1837 based on a model plan by Sampson Kempthorne, with design by James Clephan. There are minor additions from the late 19th century to the north and northwest. The building is constructed of yellow stock brick, with main roofs covered in 20th-century asbestos sheets and lower roofs in slate. Some chimney stacks have been rebuilt in red brick. The hospital has a cruciform layout, with the north and south wings being longer. It is three storeys high, featuring single-storey ranges that create courtyards at the corners. The central block is octagonal, with square pavilions at the ends of each wing and chimney stacks at the apex of the roofs, although the western stack is missing. There is a two-course raised string band at the level of the window arches on each storey. The windows are round-arched and grouped in threes, with some additional single windows that have small-paned metal glazing and radial hopper-heads; there have been some 20th-century replacements and alterations, particularly to the south entrance elevation.

Inside, the building retains a cantilevered stone staircase with iron balustrades. There is a slightly later detached casualty ward to the southwest, which is now used as a workshop and storage area. This ward is single-storey, built of yellow brick with a slate roof and has a stack at the northeast corner. It features high-level round timber pivoting windows on the sides, with some alterations to the west. The interior includes a central axial corridor with sliding doors leading to former cells, each equipped with an iron ventilation grille above. Two cells remain intact. A late 20th-century linked extension has been added to the east. The hospital was originally built to accommodate 311 inmates at a cost of approximately £7,500.