19th century workhouse, Saffron Walden Union Workhouse (later Community Hospital), Saffron Walden (EHER 15384)

Mid 19th century union workhouse, by James Clephan based on model plan of Sampson Kempthorne.

Subsequently part of Saffron Walden Hospital, The Union Workhouse with central octagonal tower and four storey wings probably based on designs advocated by the Royal Commission between 1834 and 1837, The structure would have been fully enclosed by walls. Currently Vacant. In need of sympathetic scheme of Re-Use. Features of interest include spatial plan - should be recorded in advance of any proposed conversion works. <1> Two-acre site on the eastern outskirts of the town, enclosed within its own grounds by original cast iron railings. Erected in 1837 following plans by James Clephan, after the cruciform model design adopted by Sampson Kempthorne. The workhouse, which faces south, was approached along a tree-lined driveway, off Radwinter Road. It is of yellow brick with slate roofs and has a continuous string course at the base of the window heads. It comprises three-storeyed ranges forming a cruciform plan, linked by single-storey wings and walls, enclosing courtyards between. Each end of the cruciform three-storey range terminates in a square block with pyramidal roof and central stack. That to the south was the entrance block (1), which has a clock on the facade. It is flanked by single-storey ranges which project to the south at either end; that to the west may have been truncated and appears to have originally joined the single-storey casual ward (7). The apertures at ground-floor level in the entrance block and the single-storey ranges to either side have been altered from their original round-arched form. The larger three-storey ranges are lit by three closely set round-arched windows with a continuous sill band. There are two closely set round-arched entrances in the east and west end of the cross-ranges, probably for men and women respectively. The central octagonal hub (2), lit by a large round-arched window on each face, on each floor, provides evidence for the strict supervision of the paupers in the yards (Plate 3). Original fire-exits survive to the rear of the cross ranges. To the north of the site is a single-storeyed block, lit by double casements, with a stack at its north end; this may have been a mortuary (6). The casual ward block (7) to the south-west of the workhouse, is one-storey high with a slate roof, gabled to the north and south. A central corridor, entered through a round-headed entrance at either end, opened onto a row of single cells to either side. The cells are lit by small, high, round, centrally-pivoted windows set into recessed round-headed arches. There is a doorway, with stack above, on the east side at the north end which may have been the entrance to a waiting room for tramps on arrival at the site. Some of the single-storey ranges (3) enclosing the yards and several outbuildings (4) have been demolished; these being replaced by modern additions (5). ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL: High; the site is remarkably complete with few later additions or external modifications. An internal inspection is needed to assess what survives of the original spatial layout and fixtures/fittings. SITE SIGNIFICANCE: Saffron Walden is an exceptional example of a surviving cruciform-plan workhouse. It is the best example in Essex and is of potential national importance. CURRENT STATUS: Listed Grade II RECOMMENDED ACTION: Pending the outcome of an internal assessment the building may merit Grade II* listing. MANAGEMENT: Currently unoccupied and in need of a sympathetic scheme of re-use; all the nineteenth-century buildings and open spaces must be retained. Detailed recording should form an integral element of any proposed conversion thereby enabling the identification and in-situ preservation of important features. <2> 1998. Field survey. Survey report in advance of redevelopment. <3> Union Workhouse, Radwinter Rd. A classic early 19th century workhouse with central octagonal tower and four three storey wings. Probably based on designs advocated by the Royal Commission between 1834 and 1837, the structure would have been fully enclosed by walls. Subsequently used as a hospital, the building is currently vacant. <4> Saffron Walden gaol is within the walls of the workhouse (using the Casual Ward, building 7 in Garrat, T 1998). The Male Criminals are confined in four Cells: two of which are together, having a Yard. The Cells are 8 feet long, 6 feet 6 inches wide, and 9 feet high. There is in each a barrack bestead, 7 feet by 3 feet. Two of the Cells open into a Yard, 16 feet by 15 feet, and the others into a Yard, 16 feet long by 12 feet 10 inches wide. Above the Men's Cells is an Apartment for female Prisoners, the windows of which look into the Yards below, to which the men have at all times access. The Borough contracts with the County for sending a part of the prisoners to Chelmsford, a distance of 28 miles. The cost of conveying a prisoner is £1-16s-6d. The total number of Prisoners confined in the Borough Gaol in 1835 was 15. In the first six months of 1836 there were 17. The greatest number in custody at one time, in 1836, has been seven. During that year there were 15 prisoners at Chelmsford at the expense of the Borough. At the period of our visit, seven prisoners were in custody. This prison is in a very dirty state, and the prisoners appeared to us to be neglected. There is not sufficient room for two persons in the men's barrack bedstead. No vigilance is exercised in excluding improper books. We found in the Cells a novel, intituled, "The Old English Baron" - "Paul and Virginia" - and "Almoran and Hamet" At the period of our inspection there were three women in one apartment. Two were hardened "Tramps" who had been convicted of Forging Passes, and sentenced to Transportation. They were evidently experienced offenders. The third was a decent servant girl, aged 16, belonging to a neighbouring village, who had been sentenced to a month's imprisonment. She had been well brought-up, and her connexions were respectable. She had been, however, for some weeks in close contact with these women, during which she had not had a separate bedstead. This was the more inexcusable as there were several bedsteads in an adjoining room, in which the girl might have been confined apart. <5> See also: <6> NRHE data transfer: Saffron Walden Union Workhouse was built between 1835 and 1836 and could accommodate 340 inmates. The architect was James Clephan who also designed workhouses in Ampthill (Bedfordshire) and Wellingborough (Northamptonshire). The building was mostly three storeys and based on a cruciform plan (after Sampson Kempthorne's model plan of 1835) with round-headed, small-paned, cast-iron windows. It was built of yellow stock brick with a corrugated asbestos roof, replacing slate, and decorative brick courses. It had a large entrance block with a clock between two windows at the top. To the rear, accommodation wings radiated from an octagonal supervisory hub with men accommodated in the west wing, women in the east, boys in the north, and girls in the south. In 1846 an infirmary, washhouse and laundry were added in the north-east yard. Four fever wards were also added in October 1848, which allowed the workhouse to accommodate 400 people. There was a separate casual ward to the south-west with a row of cells along each side, lit by small round windows. The workhouse later became St James' Hospital under the National Health Service and then Saffron Walden Community Hospital. The workhouse has now been converted to residential accommodation with a hospital built adjacent to the site. Grade II listed. <7> - <10> See also: <11> - <13>