4, Gold Street

No. 4 Gold Street is a building in Saffron Walden that dates back to around 1600, with later alterations made around 1800 and in the 20th century. Originally two houses, it has now been combined into one and is currently used as offices. The structure is timber-framed and plastered, with brick elements and clay tiled roofs, featuring an L-shaped plan and two storeys.

The front elevation faces east and has a long range of four windows. There are traces of ashlar lining, and a cove with lower bead moulding under the eaves. The building has chimney stacks from around 1800 at both the northern and southern ends. Most of the windows are sashes with moulded architraves and glazing bars, arranged in a 3x4 pane configuration. One window on the ground floor at the northern end is a 19th-century triple sash with a combination of 1x4, 3x4, and 1x4 panes. There are two doorways with cornice hoods and moulded architraves; the larger central doorway features six recessed moulded panels, while the adjacent one, next to the triple window, has five panes.

The rear elevation, facing west, includes two conjoined gabled wings, with some remaining ashlar lining and fan-combed panel pargetting on the northern side of the central wing. The ridge piece and side purlins are exposed in each gable. The street range has been restored at the northern end with rendered brickwork and a simple doorway. The ground floor of the wings features a 20th-century double casement window with glazing bars (4x3 panes) and three small single-light casements, along with a boarded door on the northern elevation. On the first floor, there are two restored 19th-century sash windows with glazing bars arranged in 3x4 panes.

Inside, the building has been largely refurbished for office use, but some original features remain, including jowled posts and wall plates that are exposed to the full height of the house on the first floor. The interior consists of three principal bays, with an additional short central bay where the main front door was originally located, and a further short stack bay at the southern end, indicating that the original form of the building was similar to what is seen today.