Mid 19th century public house, The Beehive, Great Baddow (EHER 80825)

A mid 19th century public house of traditional brick construction and slate tiled roof. Externally the building retains some interesting features, such as the curved walls at the Northern and Eastern corners, and a series of outbuildings and extensions were constructed during the late 19th and 20th century. The building was considered for Listing by Historic England who concluded that it is 'typical for its period… with none of the distinctive architectural detailing that distinguishes the most notable examples of public house architecture'.

August 2022. Heritage assessment. The main building on site is the original part of the Beehive Public House. It comprises a two-storey building of traditional brick construction with curved walls on the Eastern and Northern corners. This is first shown on the OS map of 1874. The construction date of the original building is between 1838, when no buildings are shown within the site on the Tithe map, and 1851, when the Bee Hive Public House is recorded in the census. The building has a valley roof (or M-roof) with slate tiles. It is currently painted yellow with dark green painted plinth and window ledges, with the exception of the NW elevation which is bare brick. Additional outbuildings were constructed between 1874 and 1919 but none of these remain extant. The Bee Hive was extended to the rear (SW) on the NW side of the building, between 1919 and 1939-40, as shown on the Ordnance Survey map. The garage block to the South of the main building was constructed during this period and is first depicted on the OS map of 1939-40. During this (and / or the following) phase/s, the first floor was reconfigured with the insertion of stud walls to create the bathroom and WC and other internal divisions. The Bee Hive public house was extended to the rear again between 1939/40 to 1948/50. This addition comprised a single storey extension that spanned the width of the building and wrapped around the previous extension. This extension was constructed from red brick with a cement mortar. A red brick/ breeze block structure was added to the NW elevation of the garage block in the second half of the 20th century. This was most recently used as a store room. Historic England has previously assessed the building for Listing and concluded that 'the building is of modest architectural quality and appears typical for its period and type, with none of the distinctive architectural detailing that distinguishes the most notable examples of public house architecture'. Externally the building retains some interesting features, such as the curved walls at the Northern and Eastern corners, and the later phases of extension are clearly defined. The interior of the building generally reflects 20th century remodelling with only one original fireplace surviving. The cellar retains some features relating to the use of the building as a public house. <1>