Monument record BFD 029 - Bredfield House Garden

Remains of C18 garden at Bredfield House. Canal at TM 2665 5126, approximately 80m long and 10m wide, straight sided and clay lined, now (1992) only partly water-filled and overgrown with reeds. Aligned on the parish boundary. Walkway on the S side bounded by a tree and bush covered bank on its S side. Bank rises in height towards the middle, where there is a bow-shaped projection to the S. A building is shown on top of this bow on an 1834 map, which also names the field to the S as `summerhouse pasture' (S1). No remains of the summerhouse are now visible. The line of the canal is continued by a short avenue of trees on the E side, as far as the road. The E side of the garden is bounded by a brick-lined ha-ha. Summerhouse at TM 2659 5136. Early C18 summerhouse with a principal ground floor room, panelled, with large windows and a central door (now blocked) on the S side. Upper floor lit by dormer windows. Hipped roof. Brick with a simple geometric diaper pattern on the front, joined on the E side to a contemporary garden wall with the same pattern. Building extended in C20 to make the present Bredfield House. Summerhouse has view S through an orchard to the W end of the canal. A `banquetting house & Ortyard' are mentioned in the estate inventory of Robert Marryott 1675 (S2) the present building is later than this but may be on its site. Present structure may be the work of Arthur Jenney (d. 1729) or his son Edmund (d. 1745).
See details in Lost Country Houses of Suffolk by WM Roberts.