Farmstead record KTD 034 - Farmstead: Moorland Stud (Cock & Bull Farm)

Cock & Bull Farm is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed Os map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular U-plan with addition ranges attached to the main yard. The farmhouse is attached to the agricultural range. The farmstead sits alongside a public road in an isolated location. There has been a partial loss of working buildings with modern sheds on site. (S1-4)

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.

The group of buildings at Moorland Stud were part of a larger farmstead at Cock and Bull Farm, its 19th and early 20th century name. The buildings are typical of this rural area which is strongly characterised by the horse racing industry in and around Newmarket. 19th century five bay timber framed threshing barn on brick and flint plinth with 20th century corrugated iron roof, timber cladding to exterior. Two large central threshing floor openings, one now infilled and with small timber door. Southernmost tie beam is missing. Roof has a shallow pitch and has been rebuilt in the 20th century (some reused historic timbers). It is what is known as a "double roof", purlins are supported by principal rafters and support common rafters. Modern concrete floor over lime ash floor. Some modern internal timber cladding to lower wall areas. Concrete render to masonry plinth internally. The timber frame is a simple box frame with some diagonal braces. The frame also has two braces on the east side from the tiebeams to the wall posts each side of the threshing opening. The many seemingly random notches and mortises in the timbers of the frame indicate that they might have been reused from earlier buildings. Also, the wall plate is built from many joint pieces which is unusual and undermines the structural integrity. Some of the timbers do also appear to be of an earlier date due to their different tooling marks (S5).