Building record WMM 013 - Wenham Place, Wenham Lane

Wenham Place lies in open countryside on the western side of Wenham Lane, approximately 750 m south of St John’s church. The house is of considerable historic importance, having once formed one of the finest Elizabeth brick mansions in the region, and is listed at grade II*. The walled garden to the north of the house is also listed, and probably originated as a ‘base court’ with a gatehouse through which the property was approached from the direction of the church. The original builder of the house is uncertain, but the parish is known to have accommodated two individuals in the 17th century with greater wealth than the lord of the manor, Sir Phillip Parker. By 1839 it had been reduced in size and operated as a normal farmhouse with a large maltings on the site of the existing lawn to the south. The building is of unusually complex evolution, with evidence of numerous phases of construction and remodelling. It contains a late-14th century timber-framed cross-wing with a north-facing jetty that belonged to a medieval open hall on the site of the present 16th century hall with a ceiling of roll-moulded joists to the west. A timber-framed jettied range was added to the east in the mid-16th century, probably as a new parlour and kitchen, and a few decades later a pair of projecting brick wings were added at both ends of the house to create a highly impressive northern facade of at least 105 feet in length. The older, timber-framed parts of the house were probably disguised in brick at the same time. The western wing was subsequently demolished but the north-eastern gable is exceptionally well preserved, with finely moulded brick window mullions and three finials which were rebuilt in the 18th or 19th century when the originals had presumably weathered beyond repair. A wide fireplace in the eastern range is an addition of the 17th century which has been extensively altered but preserves evidence of a bread oven and copper on each side of a rebuilt 19th century chimney. The latter is probably contemporary with a major refurbishment which saw the addition of a ‘Mock Tudor’ brick facade to the original rear, southern elevation.