Farmstead record BRK 143 - Farmstead: Ashburnham Farm (Church Farm)

2017 Heritage Asset Assessment: The farm buildings at Ashburnham Farm are grouped around a roughly square horse yard adjoining the road to the south-west of the grade II listed farmhouse. The yard is defined on the south-west by a large 17th century timber-framed and weatherboarded aisled threshing barn. Many of the substantial oak wall studs have been reused from an older structure. The present weatherboarding was renewed in the 19th century and repaired in the 20th century. The building is a typical six-bay aisled threshing barn that retains a good gault-brick threshing floor in the third bay from the north-west.
A 19th century red-brick Flemish Bond stable and granary are to the north-west of the barn. The upper storey of the stable was designed as a granary with integral grain bins set into the bay divisions on both sides of a central corridor.
Adjoining the north-eastern gable of the stable is a pantiled and weatherboared vehicle shed, depicted on 1892 OS map but has been completely rebuilt on a new brick plinth in recent years.
A wall of flint and brick rubble on the south-east (part of a demolished range of possible pig sties shown on historic maps) and on the north-east by a shelter-shed and the gateway by which the yard is entered from the house and road.
A series of small cattle yards formerly adjoined the south-western side of the barn where a second shelter-shed projects at right-angles. The pantiled shed was built between 1842 and 1882 as an open-sided cattle shelter-shed (S1).

Ashburnham Farm (Church Farm), Barking. 19th century farmstead and and 16th century farmhouse. Regular courtyard full plan formed by working agricultural buildings. The farmhouse is set away from the yard. The farm buildings are extant. Located within a church and manor farm group (S2-6).

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.