44 And 46, High Street

This is a two-storey building on High Street in Saffron Walden, dating to the early to mid 16th century with 19th-century additions. It currently functions as shops, offices, and a flat. The building has a ‘T’ shape, with a cross-wing to the south. The north block is timber-framed and plastered, with a jettied front featuring an embattled bressumer. This section has two 6-pane double-hung sash windows on the first floor, a 20th-century shopfront and inset entrance door on the ground floor, and a 3-light casement window on the north-facing flank. The south block is likely a 19th-century rebuild, incorporating imitation exposed jetty and 20-pane double-hung sash windows on both floors. The south flank displays a large red brick stack and 20th-century pargetting. The north flank shows painted brick on the ground floor and pargetting above. Behind the building, facing George Street, is a red brick wall enclosing a yard. The rear of the main range features a slated lean-to on the ground floor and two 16-pane double-hung sash windows on the first floor. All exterior walls are finished with 20th-century pargetted plaster. A red brick stack rises through the roof in the rear of the main range. The north block comprises two bays of high-quality framing, seemingly open-framed at each truss, a feature whose appearance at the George Street corner is unexplained.