Farmstead record BSE 495 - Farmstead: Almoner's Barns

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Summary

Almoner's Barn is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed Os map. The farmstead is laid out in a dispersed plan with the farmhouse set away from the working buildings. The farmstead sits alongside a private track in an isolated location. This farmstead has been completely lost.

Location

Grid reference Centred TL 8582 6320 (90m by 71m)
Map sheet TL86SE
Civil Parish BURY ST EDMUNDS, ST EDMUNDSBURY, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (4)

Full Description

Almoner's Barn is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed Os map. The farmstead is laid out in a dispersed plan with the farmhouse set away from the working buildings. The farmstead sits alongside a private track in an isolated location. This farmstead has been completely lost. (S1-4)

2016: A historic building record was carried out on Almoner’s Barns prior to their demolition. Documentary research has identified Almoner’s Barns as the site of a medieval farmstead belonging to the Almoner of Bury Abbey. A survey of 1831 refers to a farmhouse thatched with sedge, a south barn, an east barn and a small lodge in the stock yard. This description corresponds to the site’s depiction on several 18th century maps, which show three principal structures in a roughly square enclosure of which the smallest, in the north-eastern corner, was probably the farmhouse. None of these buildings survive today, although a low brick plinth near the eastern entrance may have belonged to the east barn which later maps suggest was demolished as recently as the mid-20th century. This wall incorporates re-used medieval dressed stone and may repay archaeological investigation.

The 18th century layout remained unchanged until the tithe survey of 1845, but the site had been transformed by the time of the 25 inch Ordnance Survey in 1883: the square enclosure had been substantially enlarged to the south and east, with the thatched farmhouse replaced by a new slate-roofed house further to the east (now Almoners Cottage on the opposite side of Cullum Road). The south barn had also been demolished, and the tall, flint-rubble northern wall of the remaining Victorian open-sided animal sheds had replaced its southern wall. The site became builder’s yard before 1964, and was bisected by Cullum Road in the 1970s. The existing buildings consist of a linear range of open-sided sheds, incorporating two flint-rubble animal sheds of the mid-19th century but much altered and extended in the 20th century, and a pantiled shed with three adjoining three pig sties built in circa 1900. The sties were also altered in the 20th century, but the shed is largely intact and preserves a northern gable of Fletton brick that formerly adjoined corner-to-corner with the demolished east barn and respects the irregular angle of the medieval farmstead’s southern boundary. (S5)

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.

Sources/Archives (5)

  • <S1> Unpublished document: Campbell, G., and McSorley, G. 2019. SCCAS: Farmsteads in the Suffolk Countryside Project.
  • <S2> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1880s. Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile map, 1st edition.
  • <S3> Map: Ordnance Survey. c 1904. Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile map, 2nd edition. 25".
  • <S4> Vertical Aerial Photograph: various. Google Earth / Bing Maps.
  • <S5> Unpublished document: Alston, L.. 2016. Historic Building Record: Almoner's Barn, Cullum Road, Bury St Edmunds.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (2)

Record last edited

Feb 18 2020 3:07PM

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