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.