Listed Building: TOP FARMHOUSE (282167)

METTINGHAM BECCLES ROAD TM 38 NE 4/16 Top Farmhouse GV II Farmhouse. C17 with C19 additions at both ends. Red brick, with cement render to the rear (north). Along the main front is a first floor corbelled string course, raised segmentally over the ground floor openings, similar to the one on the adjacent Mettingham Hall. Pantiled roof with glazed black tiles to the front. 2 storeys and attics. 3 windows, C18 mullion and transom casements. Central doorway with re-used panelled oak door. 3 mid C20 gabled dormers. Gable stacks. The left gable end has been largely rebuilt but there are 2 original first floor window openings (blocked) with drip-moulds to the same design as the string course. The right gable is C18. There is a first floor stuccoed 4-centre arched fireplace with quoined surround and the remains of lozenge panels each side of the arch (cf.a fireplace in Mettingham Hall); a similar fireplace below has lost its stucco render. The roof has 2 rows of butt purlins and low collars with solid bracing to the principal rafters, an unusual variant. The house is said to have stood within the same moated enclosure as Mettingham Hall. Listing NGR: TM3674389844