Farmstead record TNG 030 - Farmstead: Church Farm
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Summary
Location
Grid reference | Centred TM 4226 7435 (46m by 41m) |
---|---|
Map sheet | TM47SW |
Civil Parish | THORINGTON, SUFFOLK COASTAL, SUFFOLK |
Map
Type and Period (7)
- BAKEHOUSE (17th century - 1600 AD to 1699 AD)
- BARN (17th century to Unknown - 1600 AD)
- STABLE (17th century - 1600 AD to 1699 AD)
- COW HOUSE (18th century - 1700 AD to 1799 AD)
- FARMSTEAD (17th century - 1600 AD to 1699 AD)
- FARMHOUSE (17th century - 1600 AD to 1699 AD)
- REGULAR COURTYARD U PLAN (19th century - 1800 AD to 1899 AD)
Full Description
Church farm is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed Os map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular U-plan with additional detached lemeents. The farmhouse is detached and set away from the yard. The farmstead sits alongside a private track in an isolated location. This farmstead has been completely lost with a modern dwelling on the site.
Church Farm occupies an unusual and picturesque site at the foot of a steep slope which descends from the arable field opposite St Peter's church to the meadow and marsh land in the valley bottom. It formed a modest tenanted holding of 54 acres in 1840. The three historic buildings form an unusually complete farmyard which has altered little since the early-19th century, but the adjacent farmhouse was demolished in circa 1960 and replaced by a bungalow at the top of the slope. A three-bay timber-framed barn of circa 1600 is adjoined by a rare and important early-17th century stable and hay loft which may represent the smallest example of its period in the county. A detached timber-framed neathouse (cow shed) to the south of the site dates from the 18th century and is unusual in that it too possesses a hay loft. The most impressive of the three buildings is a mid-17th century bakehouse which retains a complete 18th and early-19th century interior with no fewer than three coppers, an oven, boarded pump and stone sink. The structure was originally timber-framed with a fine brick gable and integral chimney which still survives, but its external walls were later rebuilt in brick. Bakehouses of this kind were once common in East Anglia but are now rare in anything approaching original condition, and this is the best example known to the author. Both the barn and bakehouse merit listing at grade II.
Recorded as part of the Farmsteads in the Suffolk Countryside Project. This is a purely desk-based study and no site visits were undertaken. These records are not intended to be a definitive assessment of these buildings. Dating reflects their presence at a point in time on historic maps and there is potential for earlier origins to buildings and farmsteads. This project highlights a potential need for a more in depth field study of farmstead to gather more specific age data.
Sources/Archives (5)
- --- SSF59079 Unpublished document: Campbell, G., and McSorley, G. 2019. SCCAS: Farmsteads in the Suffolk Countryside Project.
- --- SSZ54999 Vertical Aerial Photograph: various. Google Earth / Bing Maps.
- --- SXS50088 Map: Ordnance Survey. 1880s. Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile map, 1st edition.
- --- SXS50094 Map: Ordnance Survey. c 1904. Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile map, 2nd edition. 25".
- <1> SSF50636 Unpublished document: Alston, L.. 2008. Archaeological Record: Church Farm, Thorington, Suffolk.
Finds (0)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
Record last edited
Nov 14 2019 1:11PM