Farmstead record MCK 020 - Farmstead: Greenwood Farm

17th C farm buildings including a timber-framed and weatherboarded stable, with a clasped-purlin roof covered in thatch. The stable had 5 bays and a hayloft above and was also used to house cows. The building was lost in the hurricane of 1987. Still standing is a timber-framed and weatherboarded barn, also with a clasped-purlin roof covered in thatch. This barn originally had 5 bays, although 2 extra bays were added in an extension c.1800 (S1).

The site consists of a grade-II listed timber-framed farmhouse with two timber-framed outbuildings, and a variety of steel-framed Dutch barns, grains and tractor sheds, silos, railway good sheds and WWII Nissen huts. The listed farm building is a substantial six-bay threshing barn of the same period as the farmhouse (c.1600), retaining an identical roof, which was originally entered from a 'base court' in front of the house. A contemporary grade-II listed 'stable and bullock shed' lay to the south of this yard, completing a rare group of three early 17th-century structures as shown on the 18th century OS map, but this has been demolished. The remaining building on the west is an early-19th century pantiled cow shed which includes a small stable with a hay loft and granary above. This consists largely of re0used 16th or early-17th century timber and is of considerable historic interest as an early lean-to extension has preserevd original pargeting, which illustrates the sophistucated appearance of local farm buildings before tarred weatherboarding became ubiquitous in the mid-19th century. It also contains a good series of apotropaic circles cut into the plaster at the top of its internal stair. The threshing barn retains a good 18th century threshing floor of gault brick and was extended by one bay to the north when its eastern porch was added at the beginning of the 19th century (S2).

Greenwood Farm, Mickfield. 17th century farmstead and farmhouse. Regular courtyard F-shaped plan formed by working agricultural buildings with additional detached elements. The farmhouse is set away from the yard. Significant loss (over 50%) of the traditional farm buildings. Located within an isolated position (S3-8).

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.