The Swan Inn

The Swan Inn is a notable building located on Hoddesdon High Street, primarily dating from the 16th century. It features a timber-framed structure with five to six bays. The ground floor is plastered, while the upper floor showcases exposed half-timbering and plaster. The roof is made of Welsh and Westmoreland slate at the front, with mostly old tiles at the rear. The building has an L-shaped plan, with a two-block rear wing on the south side, which dates from the 16th or 17th century on the east and is a single-storey, weatherboarded addition from the 19th century on the west.

The front elevation has six windows and includes a central canted window bay supported by two wooden Tuscan columns, featuring six four-light casements and a long sign beam. The upper floor is closely studded, with some diagonal braces; the south side jetties out on a moulded bressumer, while the north side is supported by bull-nosed joists. The first floor has sash windows, and there is a late 19th-century multi-pane shop front on the north side. Inside, the building mostly retains chamfered and stopped floor beams and joists, with the second bay from the south having v-profile moulded beams. The Swan Inn is considered the most visually striking timber-framed inn in the district.