Farmstead record WTM 093 - Farmstead: Dashes Farm

Dashes Farm, Wortham. 19th century farmstead and 16th century farmhouse. Dispersed mukti-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 an isolated position (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.

The site of Dashes Farm dates back to at least the 15th century. The farmhouse is Listed Grade II as a late 16th century farmhouse which was extended during the 17th and 18th centuries and altered between the 19th and 20th centuries. The barn appears to have been constructed between 1767 and 1787. The rest of the farm buildings are early 19th century or later. the timber framed barn consists of five bays. Bay three which is located at the centre of the barn is smaller than the other four equally spaced bays and forms the central threshing bay. As shown on the Tithe Map of 1838 there was a central porch attached to the west side of the barn. The porch was an extension to the central threshing floor and was probably contemporary with the barn. The porch was demolished after 1905. The barn is constructed out of a number of reused timbers. The barn was constructed with a two-tiered butt purlin roof structure. Each pair of principal rafters are coupled by a straight collar located between the upper and lower purlins. A smaller collar clasps the upper purlins between each following pair of principal rafters. The principal rafter pairs are located over the centre of each bay rather than over the truss open trusses. There is a high number of reused intermediate rafters which clearly came from an earlier barn. There are black ‘rope burns’ visible on the rafters which suggest that the barn was thatched at some stage. The original flooring of the barn is uncertain as a concrete floor was inserted during the 20th century. The double barn doors on the east side of the barn (Figure 15) were re-hung during the 19th century.
The stable at the north end of the barn (Figure 16) which can be seen on the 1838 Map was probably constructed during the early 19th century. The building was originally constructed with a timber frame, however, during the 20th century the lower half of the building was underbuilt in blockwork and rendered in cement. The roof was constructed with a clasped side purlin structure. It has a single collar which couples a pair of principal rafters. The rest
of the intermediate rafters are of smaller proportions. The roof of the stable was also covered with asbestos sheeting during the 20th century phase when the asbestos roof was installed over the entire range. The building did have an original loft floor or hayloft but it is obscured from
below by modern fabric and was not save to access from above (S7).