Abbey House

Abbey House is a building with possible early 17th-century origins, significantly altered and enlarged in the 19th century and again between 1969 and 1970. It stands on Audley End Road, Saffron Walden. The house now has an irregular L-shaped plan and incorporates a timber-framed core, evident in its construction, though it is primarily red brick with a clay tiled roof.

The north-facing front elevation is symmetrical, featuring a seven-window range and a parapet with a modillioned cornice. Bays three and five are distinguished by projecting three-cant bay windows extending through both floors, each with sash windows featuring a 3x4 pane arrangement. The central bay originally contained a doorway, now bricked up, with its outline still visible. Dormer windows are located behind the parapet over each projecting bay. Two stacks are present: one with paired octagonal shafts between the final two east bays and another on the east end wall. A decorative triple-moulded "Tudor" style arrangement of conjoined shafts rises behind the roof apex. At the east end is a 20th-century carriageway with a 4-centred arch, flanked by a boarded double-leaf door and a "Jacobean" style pierced parapet.

The south-facing rear elevation reveals distinct construction units, including a central double-gabled 19th-century wing, with earlier twin gables located behind. This section is built of dark red brick and features decorative shaped bargeboards and finials. Each gable end has a ground-floor triple window with sashes (1x4, 3x4, 1x4 panes), and a first-floor sash window with 3x4 panes. A large stack is positioned behind, with lower 17th-century brickwork and an upper 19th-century section with moulded octagonal shafts. To the east, a large French window and two sash windows are present on the ground floor, and two further sash windows with wider frames are on the first floor, all with 3x4 panes. A diagonal, shafted stack rises between pairs of windows, marking the eastern end of the pre-1969 house. To the west of the 19th century wing, a doorway and a sash window above mark the western limit of the original house. A 20th-century three-bay brick wing extends westward, topped with a parapet featuring a modillioned pediment and cornice. A sash window on the ground floor (3x5 panes) and first floor (3x4 panes) is present, with the ground-floor window extended to create a French window.

The west end, predominantly brick and stepped forwards towards the south, is entirely 20th-century. It has a parapet with modillioned cornices, and recessed panels on the north two units. Each unit presents a two-window range with segment-headed windows, mainly sashes (3x4 panes). A central block features a Tuscan doorway with half-round pilasters, a triglyph frieze, a flat hood, and a reset panelled door. A full-width conservatory occupies the ground floor of the north block.

The interior is predominantly in a classical style and dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. Though possessing a possible 17th-century origin, the house has been extensively altered and enlarged, bearing similarities to the adjacent Home Farm.