Church End - Conservation Area - Area 8

Detailed Character Assessment

Church End Conservation Area

1. Location

Church End constitutes one of Ashdon’s “Ends”, located to the Southwest of Ashdon village centre and en route to Saffron Walden. The area comprises the older part of Church End, to the Southeast of Church Hill, sloping down towards the river.

Please note, this area is congruent with the Conservation Area called “Church End” in the Ashdon Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Proposals, approved January 2013 (see figure 4, page 38). From here on in, this document will be referred to as the “Conservation Area Appraisal”.

Exceptions where this area and Conservation Area “Church End” do not overlap: 1.Exclusions: The former school building, which now houses Lucy King Curtains, is part of area “Fallowden Lane and adjoining section of Church End - Area 10”. 2.Inclusions: To the South, this area includes “The Barn”, “Meadowside” and a triangular area of trees and shrubs where the bus stop is located.

Area covered by this document

1 2. VIEWS, TOWNSCAPE AND LANDSCAPE

Approaching the village from Saffron Walden, there are various residential buildings to the west of Church Hill/Ashdon Road – both before and after the official village boundaries. However, to the east of Church Hill/Ashdon Road, there is only agricultural land until this area comes into view. Despite this, all the residential buildings within this area are hardly visible from the road due to extensive vegetation including mature trees and shrubs.

Approaching Ashdon from Saffron Walden (area covered straight ahead)

Once entering the village proper, the road leads past a wooden bus shelter and the church yard which is enclosed by a stone wall, accessible to pedestrians via a wrought iron gate. This gate is regularly used by hikers and dog walkers accessing the plentitude of footpaths beyond the church. The view from the gate towards the church has been noted in the Conservation Area Appraisal (figure 4, page 38).

Gate to churchyard with plaque for Commonwealth War Graves

2 Along the road, the brick wall turns into a hedge providing the border for the new part of the cemetery and the arboretum.

View of the church and the old part of the graveyard from the gate

Following the road towards the right, Church Hill narrows to a tight corner before opening up, where in summer the mature trees create a “green tunnel” leading down the hill towards the village centre.

View of Ashdon Road down into the village with the boundary to Ashdon Hall on the right

To the right, opposite the old school/Lucy King Curtains, a long drive leads towards the church, the church hall and a back route into Ashdon Hall. This drive affords a further view of the church as noted in the Conservation Area Appraisal (figure 4, page 38). The drive also gives the visitor a brief glimpse of Ashdon Hall which is otherwise hidden from view. See Conservation Area Appraisal (picture 1.14, page 22).

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Ashdon Hall - entrance from the drive to the Church

In addition, the drive serves as a car park for visitors to the church, users of the church hall, hikers, as well as parents/carers using the Forest School situated on the forested stretch of the river Bourne. Parents and their children follow the footpath from the church, running between the fence of Ashdon Hall gardens and the Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) towards the river.

Back in the churchyard, towards the South of the church itself, visitors can see two listed buildings – the Guildhall and The Old Vicarage (also a noted view in figure 4 of the Conservation Area Appraisal). See picture 1.25 of the Conservation Area Appraisal.

Despite being situated on top of a hill, this area has very few viewpoints over open countryside. The main exception is the Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) – see once again figure 4, page 38. Picture 1.9 of the Conservation Area Appraisal shows the view in summer with the field curving down towards the river Bourne which follows a depression and is lined with trees and shrubs. In the distance, on the far shore of the river, further trees and agricultural land can be seen.

From various points on the footpaths crossing the SAM, the windmill can be seen in the distance.

4 View of the windmill from the SAM

3. Landmarks

The area is dominated by three major landmarks – All Saints Church, Ashdon Hall and the Guildhall. All three have been described in detail in in the Conservation Area Appraisal. See below for relevant chapters and pictures. 1. All Saints Church with churchyard – chapter 1.78, picture 1.12, picture 1.22 2. Ashdon Hall, large historic estate – chapter 1.80 3. Guildhall – chapter 1.79, picture 1.13

4. TOPOGRAPHY

The area is situated on top of a hill with the church at its highest point. The landscape slopes down towards the river Bourne in the East and following the road (Church Hill) in the North towards the village centre.

5 5. BUILDINGS

This area is dominated by 3 main buildings: The church, Ashdon Hall and the Guildhall. All three are listed above in the chapter 3 (Landmarks) and thoroughly described in the Conservation Area Appraisal. In addition to these 3 buildings, there are 2 clusters of residential buildings plus the Church Rooms, which reside in a corner of the arboretum, adjoining the churchyards.

The Church Rooms is a small, one-storey modern building, clad in dark brown wood. It is commonly used by the church congregation for coffee mornings, etc. as well as clubs such as the Forest School and the Ashdon Quilters.

Church Rooms

Cluster 1 This is situated in the north west corner of the area, flanked by Church Hill in the North and the arboretum in the South. The cluster contains 2 residential buildings with assorted garages and other outbuildings.

Church Farm

6 Church Barns

Cluster 2 South of the church is a cluster of 6 residential buildings some of which with medieval roots: The Guildhall, the Old Vicarage, Southfields, Pightle Cottage, the Barn and Meadowside.

The Guildhall, the Old Vicarage and Southfields border the churchyard and can be seen from the church. The Guildhall, Pightle Cottage, the Barn and Southfields are further congregated around a shared drive. Off to one side of the drive are the remains of the old village well. The most southerly building in this cluster is Meadowside which is a single-storey, late 20th century red brick building.

View from church: Southfields on left, Southfields viewed from shared drive. Guildhall on right.

7 View from the church: The Old Vicarage

Meadowside Pightle Cottage

6. FACILITIES The only facilities in this area are All Saints Church and it’s Church Rooms – See sections 3 and 5

7. EMPLOYMENT

None

8 8. GARDENS

All properties are detached and have large gardens attached to them. Ashdon Hall stands out with gardens better described as a park as well as an arboretum. Most properties are enclosed by hedges and/or wooden fences.

Ashdon Hall and its arboretum

Cluster 1 – Church Farm and Church Barns

Blue: Church Farm; Orange: Church Barns

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Yellow: Old Vicarage; Red: Pightle Cottage; Dark Blue: Meadowside; Pale Blue: Southfields; Pale Green: The Guildhall; Dark Green: The Barn

Note: All boundaries are approximate and based on observation rather than any legal boundaries

9. GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPEN SPACES

At the entrance to the village, at the most southerly point of the area is a group of fir trees on a triangular patch of land, opposite Guildhall Way. This space stands out for several reasons, including the size of the trees, the shrubby undergrowth (including wild apple trees) and the location of the bus stop/bus shelter (see point 13 below) as well as a bench about 5m south of the bus stop.

Red: Ashdon Hall and its Arboretum; Yellow: SAM; Blue: Triangle with bus stop; Dark Green: Old Churchyard; Pale Green: Modern Cemetery

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Triangle of Pine trees with bus shelter and Meadowside in the background

Another important green space is the churchyard which has been mentioned repeatedly throughout. The churchyard is visually split into two: a) The area immediately surrounding the church is the old churchyard with gravestones dating back many centuries. This area is mainly used by hikers, etc. b) To the north of the church, visually divided by a hedge, but south of the church hall is the modern cemetery which is in use and most of the graves are lovingly maintained.

Another large green space is the Arboretum between the cemetery and Church Barns in the North. However, this is private property and belongs to Ashdon Hall – not accessible to the public.

Lastly, this area covers the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The SAM is fenced off but is surrounded by footpaths. See Conservation Area Appraisal for details concerning the original medieval village footprint.

10. ROADS AND LANES

Ashdon Road is the only through road in this area and is one of the area’s boundaries at the same time. Leading off the main road are the church drive and the road servicing cluster 2 (Meadowside, Pightle Cottage, The Barn, The Guildhall and Southfields).

11 11. PAVEMENTS, PATHS AND CONNECTIVITY

The historic route of the Harcamlow Way traverses the area, coming from Saffron Walden, down Fallowden Lane, through the churchyard and the medieval settlement Scheduled Ancient Monument, down to the centre of Ashdon village and on out to Steventon End, where it continues northwards, connecting with the Icknield Way further out to the north west.

Source: Harcamlow Way Ordnance Survey Map (www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/ RoutesLinksWalks/harcamlow-way-walking-route#)

In addition to the Harcamlow Way, which crosses Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, the area is crossed by many footpaths. These are heavily used by dog walkers and hikers. The churchyard is the most commonly used “entry point” to the footpaths beyond – used by residents of Church End or for hikers from further afield, who use the parking facilities provided by the church.

In terms of connection to the rest of Ashdon, the footpath running from the church, past the fence of Ashdon Hall and across the field towards the museum bridge is the shortest route into the village. However, this and all other footpaths are unpaved so school children attending Ashdon Primary School would be using the paved footpath running alongside Church Hill (outside this area, on the north side of the road).

Map of official footpaths (as per Essex Highways) 12 Source: www.essexhighways.org/getting-around/public-rights-of-way/prow-interactive- map.aspx

Additional footpaths in and around this area

Source: www.essexhighways.org/getting-around/public-rights-of-way/prow-interactive- map.aspx Note: Orange paths added by author and not necessarily public rights of way.

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View from church across SAM along the View from church across the SAM fence to Ashdon Hall on the left

12. STREET FURNITURE

Ashdon Road has various road signs such as 30mph speed limits, as well as a small number of street lights. There is a bin next to the bus stop.

13. BUS STOP

Bus Stop outside Meadowside

14 In this area’s most Southern point (opposite Guildhall Way), a triangular area is situated with tall Pine trees. This houses a bus stop for the local bus route (59) which runs from Clavering to Haverhill via Newport, Saffron Walden and Ashdon. There is a wooden bus shelter with a bench and a bin and an additional bench about 5m south of the bus shelter.

School buses for Saffron Walden County High and Linton College also stop here and use Guildhall Way as a turning point.

14. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS

The area surveyed is built around the old medieval village of Ashdon and contains some of its oldest buildings. The number of domestic dwellings and inhabitants is small and feels remote from the village centre.

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