Building record FML 093 - White Horse Inn

2016: The White Horse is believed to have operated as an inn at least since the mid-18th century, but it contains no structural features such as galleries to indicate it was designed for the purpose – although this cannot be ruled out. It is recorded in Pigot’s Suffolk Directory for 1823, and for much of the 19th century belonged to a John Brunning whose address was given as Wellclose Lane in White’s Directory of 1844. The property is listed at grade II, and dated by English Heritage to the 17th century, but the only reference in the listing description is the single sentence: ‘plain timbering exposed inside’. The original timber-framed and rendered building in fact dates from the late-16th or early-17th century, and reflects the standard domestic layout of this period with a central hall flanked by a chimney and parlour to the left (east) and a service bay on the right. The lobby entrance is original. The first floor chamber over the hall preserves a fine and rare 17th century plaster ceiling in four panels with foliate borders and motifs including fleur-de-lis and Tudor roses. Early-20th century photographs show the building’s facade much as it remains today, although the porch is a more recent addition, but its interior has since been much altered, particularly on the ground floor. The original timbers of the back wall have been removed to enlarge the bar area, and the lower walls of a mid-17th century wing behind the service bay were lost entirely when a lean-to extension was added in the 1980s or 90s. The upper storey is well preserved in comparison, despite the insertion of modern partitions, and contains evidence of original oriel windows and large gabled dormers in the intact roof structure of wind-braced clasped-purlins. The chimney contains several blocked fireplaces that may survive from the 17th century and preserve early decoration such as reddled brickwork. A lean-to extension behind the parlour has protected a rare section of possibly original external pargeting with an overall textured pattern typical of the 17th century, and fragments of early grey pigment are visible on the studs and plaster of the service bay. A good early-19th century stable of rendered brick that was initially detached from the inn lies to the rear of this lean-to, and contains an unrestored hay loft with partitions of wattle and-daub, although its ground floor has been altered almost beyond recognition (S1).