Farmstead record DNN 076 - Farmstead: Grange Farm (Red House)

Red House is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed OS map. The farmstead is laid out in a full regular courtyard with the farmhouse detached and set away from the yard. There is an additional L-plan elements attached to the full courtyard. The farmstead sits alongside a public road in an isolated location. The working buildings have been replaced with modern working sheds.

The building dates from at least the 1550s and may have replaced or incorporated an earlier structure. Its form at that time was probably L-shaped with a crosswing at the service (north-east) end. It was substantially altered and extended to the west around 1760 and given a fashionable red brick appearance. A rear brick and pantile extension was added in the early or mid-nineteenth century and dormer windows inserted on the south side, possibly at the time it was converted to two dwellings. These dormers were removed in the twentieth century, when the building was further extended on the east end. It stands on an unusual double moated site which suggests it is not the first building to have been built here. Given its position on a scheduled ancient monument and its early origin, it is surprising that it has not been listed. It retains interesting features, not all recoded here, such as apotropaic (witch) marks on the bressumer over the kitchen fireplace, shutter grooves and diamond mullioned windows (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.