Bartlow End

5. BARTLOW END. (C.a.)

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)iii. N.E. ^(b)iii. S.E.)

Bartlow End is a small civil parish about 4½ m. N.E. of Saffron Walden, and includes part of the village of Ashdon. (Bartlow Hills, see Ashdon.)

Secular

^b (1). Ashdon Place, at Stevington End, 1¼ m. N.E. of Ashdon Church. The house is of two storeys, timber-framed, and covered with plaster; the roofs are tiled. It was built in the 16th century, on a plan of half-H-shape, with the wings projecting towards the E.; in the 17th century a narrow corridor was added between the wings, and in the 19th century additions were made E. of the corridor, and at the E. end of the S. wing.

Elevations—On the W. front (see Plate, p. xxv.) the close-set vertical timber-framing is exposed and the plaster filling is ornamented with flowers, concentric circles, etc.; the upper storey projects, and has a gable at each end; one casement window is old. The original central chimney-stack of the S. wing is of cross-shaped plan with five detached diagonal shafts.

Interior—On the ground floor, the middle room has original moulded ceiling-beams with leaf-stops and a shaped wall-post; a cupboard has a 17th-century, panelled door. The N. room is lined with 17th-century deal panelling.

Condition—Good.

^b (2). Waltons, house and stables, about 1 m. N.E. of Ashdon Church. The House is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of brick, and the roofs are tiled. It was built probably in the first half of the 16th century, on an Hshaped plan with the cross-wings at the N. and S. ends; the central block was rebuilt or altered probably in the 17th century, and in the 18th century a block was added on the W. side, and the W. wall of the S. wing was re-faced with brick. At some period the ceiling of the ground storey of the central block has been lowered. Foundations are said to exist in the garden W. of the house.

On the E. Elevation the wing at each end has two gables. In the S. wing, on the ground floor, are three original windows of stone with moulded mullions and jambs, semi-circular headed lights and sunk spandrels; two of the windows are of three lights, the other is of two lights. In the upper storey of the N. wing are traces of another original window, now blocked; built into the porch are two stones from the jambs of a 15th-century window.

Interior—In the central block, on the ground floor, one room contains some 17th-century panelling and a fireplace of c. 1700; in the E. wall of the present hall is a corbel which appears to have supported a chimney-stack; the wall was therefore probably the original E. wall of the Great Hall. Between the present ceiling of the ground storey and the floor above it is a gap of several feet, in which can be seen blocks of worked stone re-used in the outer wall. On the first floor are three old doors with moulded battens.

The Stables, S. of the house, consist of two rectangular blocks, each of two storeys; the walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. Both blocks were built early in the 17th century. The N. block has, on the S. front, an original window of three lights with mullions and square head covered with plaster, and a doorway with 17th-century moulded jambs of brick. At one end of the block is an original window of three lights with stone mullions, and at the back is an original window, now blocked. The central chimney-stack is of the 17th century, and has two diagonal shafts and two shafts of star-shaped plan. The S. block has, on the N. front, an original window of three lights with a square label, and an original doorway with a four-centred head and a square label. The gable at the W. end has moulded brick kneelers. Inside the N. block, on the ground floor, the W. room has chamfered ceiling-beams, and at the head of the staircase are a few shaped balusters of the 17th century.

Condition—of house, good, much altered; of stables, fairly good.

Monuments (3–6).

The following monuments, unless otherwise described, are of the 17th century, and of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered; the roofs are tiled. Some of the buildings have exposed ceiling-beams, wide fireplaces, and original chimney-stacks.

Condition—Good, or fairly good, unless noted.

^a (3). Cottage, in a detached part of the parish, 2¼ m. N. of Ashdon Church, is of T-shaped plan with the cross-wing at the E. end. At the N. end of the cross-wing the upper storey projects.

^b (4). Overhall Farm, house, about 1½ m. E.N.E. of Ashdon Church, is of rectangular plan, with a small staircase-wing at the back. The original central chimney-stack has two shafts, set diagonally.

^b (5). The Fox Inn, ½ m. N.E. of Ashdon Church.

^b (6). Chapel Farm, (see Plate, p. xxvii.), house, 100 yards S. of (5), is of T-shaped plan with the cross-wing at the W. end. At the E. end of the main block the upper storey formerly projected. The original central chimney-stack has four octagonal shafts on a square base.

Condition—Poor.