President's Lodge riverside rangePresident's Lodge riverside range
This is all that remains of a building erected in the 1460s alongside the river: the southern part of it was demolished in 1756 in order to erect the Essex Building (seen on the extreme right). Had the scheme for Essex Building been completed, none of this building would have survived. Originally this stood isolated, but it became connected to the earlier buildings in Old Court when the Long Gallery was built.
This building is the oldest on the River Cam. It is of similar external appearance to the earlier 1448-49 buildings in Old Court, with the addition of a stone string. On the other side, the ground floor is cloistered, and this led to the later development of Cloister Court.
Internally, these is evidence that the first floor rooms were originally open to the pitched roof, and the attic rooms were a later insertion.
The bay window with sashes seen beyond the bridge is that of the Audit Dining Room.
Beyond that, the part that juts out into the river was a garderobe, ideally positioned over the river for the quick disposal of effluent. Here at water level there are many blocked arches advertising its former usage. We have no information on the reason for the very large blocked arch seen on the mid-right.