General Post Office

The General Post Office in Saffron Walden is a former house that has been converted into a post office, dating from the late 18th century or early 19th century. It is constructed of cream gault bricks with red dressings and red rubbed quions. The hipped roof is made of slate and features a central well. The building has two storeys, with 20th-century extensions at the rear.

The front facade facing High Street has a projecting centre topped with a pediment gable and a moulded painted timber dentilled cornice. On the first floor, the recessed flanks each contain two 12-paned double-hung sash windows. In the projecting centre, there are two similar windows along with a margin-glazed French window that opens onto a projecting canopy or balcony. A moulded brick storey band separates the floors. The balcony has a panelled soffit and is supported by two enriched console brackets.

The ground floor features a similar window arrangement, with a central door flanked by fluted pilasters and topped with a radial pattern fanlight. The rendered plinth includes four blind arches that indicate the location of a former cellar. The exposed northern flank of the building is constructed of red Flemish bond brickwork with grey headers and has a different build from the front. It has one 12-paned sash window on the first floor and two 8-paned sash windows on the ground floor, one of which is fitted with security bars. The interior has been altered.