Farmstead record LXD 061 - Farmstead: St. Jacob's Hall (Jacob's Farm)

St Jacob's Hall lies in open countryside approximately 1.5 km south-east of Laxfield village. The former farmhouse is a grade II-listed timber-framed building which dates chiefly from the mid- and late-16th century and is situated within a moat. The large roadside barn flanking the yard in front of the house is a timber-framed and weatherboarded structure which also dates from the late-16th century. It contains six bays with part of a truncated seventh bay to the north, and originally possessed a stable and hay loft of two bays to the south. The loft was lit by three windows containing 'diamond' mullions, for which empty mortises survive in the roof-plates. The threshing barn is likely to have contained a total of five bays with a central entrance adjoining the road to the east. The building remains a good example of a typical East Anglian Tudor barn with an integral stable, and is accordingly of considerable historic interest, but has been extensively mutilated as part of a commercial conversion during the late-20th century when a new ceiling was inserted throughout the length of the barn and its external cladding renewed. The barn was depicted with a roadside porch on the Laxfield tithe map of 1840 when it was the only agricultural building on the farm, but numerous additional structures were added during a major redevelopment of the mid-19th century. These 19th century buildings have been much altered and are no longer of particular historic interest in themselves (S1).

For deatails of moat see LXD 057.

Jacob's Hall Barn, Laxfield. Partially extant 16th century farmstead with 16th century listed farmhouse. Regular courtyard plan with multi-yards formed by working agricultural buildings. The farmhouse is detached, gable onto the yard. Significant loss of over 50% of traditional farm buildings. Located within an isolated position (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.