Farmstead record SPT 037 - Farmstead: River's Farm

River's Farm Barn adjoins the western side of Sproughton High Street at the southern entrance to the village, and lies on the eastern edge of a picturesque valley of wet pasture. The present building does not appear on the Sproughton tithe map of 1838 when an earlier structure on the same site belonged to Red House Farm. The barn is a red brick field barn with an adjoining cattle yard and shelter shed built as a single complex in circa 1880. An inscribed date of 1882 on the high-quality brickwork may well commemorate its construction. It consists of a U-shaped range of single-storied sheds surrounding a central cattle yard. The roofs were initially of slate with symmetrical hipped gables but this has been partly replaced with pantiles. The western range forms a barn with double doors in its gable that was designed as a granary where cattle feed was milled and stored rather than as a traditional threshing barn. The yard is framed on the north and east by an open-sided shelter shed with bolted knee-braces to its arcade posts and the complex includes a small calf shed and root house. The sheds have been stripped of fittings but the structure otherwise survives in largely original condition and represents both an attractive piece of architecture and a highly compact and efficient example of High Victorian agricultural design. It is accordingly of considerable historic interest, particularly given its conspicuous location. In addition a pair of apotropaic symbols on the yard wall to protect the cattle and grain from evil spirits are also of interest (S1).

River's Farm, Sproughton. 19th century farmstead and farmhouse. Regular courtyard U-shaped plan formed by working agricultural buildings. The farmhouse is set away from the yard. The farmstead is extant. Located within a hamlet (S2-7).

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.