Former workhouse complex is a Grade II listed building in the East Hertfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 11 July 1983. Former workhouse complex. 6 related planning applications.
Former workhouse complex
- WRENN ID
- dark-pewter-heron
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- East Hertfordshire
- Constituency
- Hertford and Stortford MP: Josh Dean (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 11 July 1983
- Type
- Former workhouse complex
- Address
- Former workhouse complex, Nightingales, Bishops Stortford, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5JQ
- OS grid reference
- TL 499 210
- Coordinates
- 51.86744, 0.17718
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
This is a former workhouse complex dating from 1856, constructed of red brick with slate and modern concrete tile roofs. It is laid out in a Y-shaped plan, with projecting blocks at each end. The entrance block, located at the base of the Y, is set back within a courtyard and flanked by single-story lodges with hipped roofs, each featuring three semi-circular headed sash windows.
The three-story entrance block has five arch-headed windows, incorporating both vertical sash windows and bottom-hung ventilators. A central doorway is topped with a cornice supported by consoles. The low-hipped roof has exposed rafters projecting from the eaves, and a dentil cornice. A central louvre is surmounted by an iron weathervane decorated with a fox motif. The "legs" of the Y are also three stories tall, sharing similar window and eaves details. The terminating blocks at the ends of the Y are similar in appearance but have four windows each.
An original single-story casualty cell block adjoins the south terminal block on its eastern side. This block has eight windows, retaining its original iron opening gear on the south side.
Local climate
Former workhouse complex sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 91% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 86% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 55% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 4 transactions since 2005
- Related listed building consents — 6 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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