Farmstead record HGH 087 - Farmstead: Walnut Tree Manor (Walnut Tree Farm)

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Summary

Walnut Tree Manor (Walnut Tree Farm), Haughley. 19th century farmstead and 17th farmhouse. Regular courtyard multi-yard plan formed by working agricultural buildings. The farmhouse is attached to the agriculural range. Significant loss (over 50%) of the traditional farm buildings. Located within a hamlet.

Location

Grid reference Centred TM 0302 6398 (116m by 104m)
Map sheet TM06SW
Civil Parish HAUGHLEY, MID SUFFOLK, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (4)

Full Description

Walnut Tree Manor (Walnut Tree Farm), Haughley. 19th century farmstead and 17th farmhouse. Regular courtyard multi-yard plan formed by working agricultural buildings. The farmhouse is set away from the yard. Significant loss (over 50%) of the traditional farm buildings. Located within a hamlet (S1-6).

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.

Walnut Tree Manor, Haughley Green, Stowmarket is a grade II listed building in Mid Suffolk District. It has it origins as a late 16th or early 17th century 2- or 3-cell lobby-entry farmhouse, subsequently added to and heavily altered. The existing chimney-stack dates from this time, although the chimney above roof level is later. An enigmatic wall-painting above the hearth on the first floor may also be contemporary, but its actual date is uncertain. Timber framing for this early house is visible in several places, and this provides evidence that its eaves line was several feet below the level of the present eaves. The roof was heightened and rebuilt in the late 17th century and a new second floor added as part of an extensive remodelling; the elm rafters of the earliest house may have been re-used in the new roof. The late 17th century remodelling included re-fronting the building in brick and extending it to the north and possibly also to the south. The new front included high-quality brickwork with burnt headers in chequer bond at the south end. In the first half of the 19th century, a new two-storey porch was added to the front and a new scheme of fenestration was created. The 17th century windows and doors were blocked but their outlines can still be seen in the existing brickwork. An existing rear wing at the north end of the front range is of mid-20th century origin. One or more earlier rear wings may have stood in approximately the same position, but nothing now remains of them above ground. Further very extensive remodelling in the mid 20th century saw a lean-to extension added along the back of the front range and another single-storey extension built between this and the north rear wing. There were internal changes, but the four-room plan of the front range from the late 17th to 19th centuries still remains evident. At the same time, the roof was rebuilt and re-tiled and, probably, the dormers at front and rear were added. New Crittall windows were added to the front and the house took on the appearance that it has today (S7).

Sources/Archives (6)

  • <S1> Unpublished document: Campbell, G., and McSorley, G. 2019. SCCAS: Farmsteads in the Suffolk Countryside Project.
  • <S2> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1880s. Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile map, 1st edition.
  • <S3> Map: Ordnance Survey. c 1904. Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile map, 2nd edition. 25".
  • <S4> Vertical Aerial Photograph: various. Google Earth / Bing Maps.
  • <S5> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1949. Ordnance Survey 6 inch to 1, mile, 3rd edition. 1:10,560.
  • <S6> Map: 1844. Haughley Tithe Map.

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Related Events/Activities (2)

Record last edited

Mar 8 2023 4:09PM

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