Farmstead record IKN 111 - Farmstead: Wood Farm

Wood Farm is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed OS map. The farmstead is laid out in a linear plan and sits alongside a public road in an isolated location. There has been total change of the farmstead.

A level 2 written and photographic analysis and record of a complete farm complex at wood Farm to fulfil a condition of planning consent for demolition. The 1840 tithe map shows a T-shaped farmhouse on the site of the present house, which appeared in its present form on the Ordnance Survey of 1927 and was probably rebuilt in circa 1910 by Kenneth McKenzie Clark who owned the estate between 1904 and 1918 (father of the art historian of the same name and grandfather of politician Alan Clark). A large barn stood on the modern lawn immediately west of the house but was demolished in the latter part of the 20th century.
The remaining brick and pantiled farm buildings date from the mid and late-19th century and are very typical of the Suffolk Sandlings, illustrating the nature of estate agriculture in the area. They accordingly retain considerable historic interest despite the loss of the barn, and consist of a mid-19th century stable and adjoining cart lodge, a pair of late-19th century animal shelter-sheds (one for horses and one for cattle – the latter recently converted into a stable), and a detached late-19th century vehicle shed. A large Nissen hut or Romney shed of corrugated steel was erected to the north of the complex probably in the 1960s. The 19th century stable retains an exceptionally well preserved and picturesque northern facade despite the replacement of its roof in 1923, as dated by an inscription on a roof collar. Its original layout was unusual, with a tack room and feed store housed in a low rear lean-to that may have reflected the profile of the adjoining threshing barn (S1).

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.