Sawston Village History Society

Old Sun Inn, Saffron Walden, by Douglas Kent

The March speaker was Douglas Kent, the owner of the Sun Inn in Saffron Walden.

He explained that the building was made up of two medieval hall houses with jettied cross wings, which were later combined into a single house and extended in the Victorian period. The building is largely oak framed with wattle and daub, thus using local materials. It is also notable for the pargeting, dating from the seventeenth century and some of the best in the country, which is typical of this area of Essex.

Douglas went on to outline the challenges in caring for such an old building, including damp, damage from passing traffic such as heavy lorries, pigeon damage and issues with the various bodies interested in historic buildings. His work on the building has been based on the principle of repair rather than restoration, using the available historical evidence and a laser survey along with drone footage to ascertain the state of the building.

The house dates from about the 1380s making it the oldest surviving house in Saffron Walden. It became an inn in the early eighteenth century at the time of the development of stagecoach travel, which closed in 1870 when coaches had been superseded by the railway. As an antique shop in the 1960s it was well-known to many who shopped in the town and it also featured in episodes of Lovejoy. Conservation work is ongoing and continuous.

Mary Dicken