Farmstead record WLW 106 - Farmstead: Sunnyside

2014: 16th century timber-framed and rendered farmhouse, which has been extensively extended and altered during the following centuries. In the 17th century, a large parlour extension was built, reflecting the growing status and aspirations of the owner. Further internal alterationsand repairs were carried out during the 18th century and in the early 19th century, a kitchen range was built, before a further wing was constructed during the late 19th century (S1).

2015: Archaeological monitoring revealed a handle of a jug dated to the 13th to 15th centuries. Floor tiles from the 18th century also provided a date for the kitchen surface (S2).

2024: Sunnyside House is a grade II-listed 16th century farmhouse in the hamlet of Cranmer Green approximately 1.5 km east of Walsham le Willows. Its historic farm buildings form a Ushaped complex consisting of a clay-lump threshing barn on an east-west axis with a cattle yard to the south enclosed by single-storied sheds of clay-lump and flint-rubble. The barn was probably built in or about 1845 to replace a predecessor on a north-south axis shown on the 1842 tithe map that was deliberately destroyed in an act of agricultural incendiarism. At his trial, the culprit complained that the farm’s owner, ‘Old Gapp’, employed fewer men than he should, but was nonetheless transported for life to Australia. 74-year-old Richard Gapp owned and occupied the large holding of 189 acres recorded by the tithe survey and probably used the relatively inexpensive vernacular clay-lump to replace the barn as quickly and cheaply as possible. A number of historically interesting 19th century incised circular symbols known as hexafoils survive on the internal clay walls to protect the contents from evil spirits. The complex appears to have undergone a major refurbishment at the end of the 19th century when its various roof structures were replaced with prefabricated king-post trusses that are unlikely to pre-date the 1880s. A milling floor was probably inserted into the barn at the same time as it retains an iron drive shaft and several pulley wheels. Further alteration occurred in the 20th century when the sheds were stripped of their internal partitions and a sheet-metal grain silo built against the barn’s eastern gable. A turret for a water tank was also added to its roof. The significance of the remaining fabric derives chiefly from the extensive survival of fragile clay-lump along with the presence of apotropaic symbols and the buildings’ connection with the local outbreak of agricultural incendiarism in the 1840s (S9).

Sunnyside, Walsham-le-Willows. 19th century farmstead and 16th century farmhouse. Regular courtyard full 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 a loose farmstead cluster (S3-S8).

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.