The Laurels is a Grade II listed building in the East Hertfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 31 May 1984. House.

The Laurels

WRENN ID
winter-crypt-lichen
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
East Hertfordshire
Constituency
North East Hertfordshire MP: Chris Hinchliff (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
31 May 1984
Type
House
Address
The Laurels, 80, High Street, Walkern
OS grid reference
TL 288 262
Coordinates
51.92024, -0.12721
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Laurels is a house dating from around 1700, with a 19th-century lean-to extension at the southwest. It is constructed of red brick featuring vitrified headers arranged in a chequer pattern on the front and a chevron pattern on the gables. The building has steeply pitched old red tile roofs, including a rear catslide, gable parapets, and a moulded wood cornice along the front eaves.

This two-storey house with attics has an L-shaped layout facing east. It has a central entrance and a two-cell plan with end chimneys. There is a larger external gable chimney on the north side with tumbled brick offsets, and internal gable chimneys on the south and west gables of the rear wing. The otherwise symmetrical east front has openings offset to the north to accommodate the internal chimney on the south.

The roof features two flat-topped dormers. There is a platband and a projecting plinth, with segmental gauged arches above the lower windows. Each floor has two flush-box sash windows with small panes and margin lights. The entrance door, which is half-glazed and set in a moulded frame, is accessed by four steps. Moulded brackets support an entablature and a swan neck pediment. The building also has painted quoins around the openings and angles. Inside, there are two-panel doors with H hinges.

Local climate

The Laurels sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 86% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 78% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% 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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