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Barn and Outbuildings at Dairy Farm Barn

Great Green Thrandeston Suffolk Historical Building Survey

Planning Application No: 2398/09

Grid Reference TM 123 775

H E R No: TDE 021 Oasis No. 76116 (1)

Dennis Payne (Dennis Payne Archaeological Services)

April 2010

Dennis Payne Archaeological services Commissioned by Simon Burgess (Simon Burgess Homes Ltd)

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Cover picture: Dairy Farm Barn from the south

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Contents

Introduction......................................................................................5 Site Location....................................................................................5 Geology and Topography................................................................6 Archaeological and Historical Background.....................................7 Cartographic Evidence.....................................................................8 Methodology...................................................................................15 Buildings Analysis..........................................................................15 Acknowledgements.........................................................................18 Bibliography....................................................................................18 Further Reading...............................................................................19 Sources............................................................................................19 Figures: Figure 1............................................................................................6 Figure 2............................................................................................8 Figure 3............................................................................................8 Figure 4............................................................................................9 Figure 5............................................................................................10 Figure 6............................................................................................11 Figure 7............................................................................................12 Figure 8............................................................................................13 Figure 9............................................................................................14 Appendices: Appendix I Black and White Photographs......................................20 Appendix II Colour Slides...............................................................21 Appendix III Digital Images............................................................22 Appendix IV Selected Photographs.................................................24

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Dennis Payne BA (Hons) Archaeological Services Tel. (01449) 780194 Email: denachaeus@aol.com

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Dairy Farm Barn Great Green Thrandeston, Suffolk (TM 123 775)

Archaeological record   Summary This report provides a written and photographic record at of a redundant farm building and associated buildings at Dairy Farm, Great Green, Thrandeston, prior to conversion for domestic use. Introduction This report provides a written and photographic record at English Heritage (2006) level 2 of a redundant barn at Dairy Farm, Great Green, Thrandeston. It has been prepared to a brief designed by the Archaeological service of Suffolk County Council (Edward Martin, ref: Dairy Farm Great Green Thrandeston, Suffolk, 2008, dated 20th June 2008) and is intended to fulfil a condition of planning permission for domestic conversion (Mid Suffolk Council application ref: 2398/09). This report is accompanied by a CD containing a full photographic record in the form of 6 megapixel digital images (Appendix 1) and includes printed photographs of key features of the building and its environs (Appendix 2). Each digital and printed photograph is described in the appendices. The CD also contains this report in MS Word format. The building was inspected on the 1st of March 2010, when the accompanying photographs were taken – a scale has been used where possible, being a three metre scale staff. Site Location

In 1844 Thrandeston was described as a parish in the hundred of Hartismere, in Suffolk, 3 miles north-west of Eye, and 2 miles south. of Diss. The village is within the parliamentary borough of Eye. A small portion of the land is in common. (W., White 1844)

Today, much of the common has disappeared with the majority of what was previously common land is now under arable farming. A road runs in a south westerly direction along what was previously a field boundary of the common known as Great Green and terminates in a T-junction immediately opposite Dairy Farm.

The village is split into two areas, Thrandeston Little Green and Thrandeston Great Green. Most of the housing, the church and rectory are situated in the former and grouped around the triangular green or the three roads leading off it. These head to Eye, Mellis and Palgrave. Thrandeston sits on slightly higher ground away from the southern point of the river Waveney that forms the county boundary. The village is situated on the 'High Suffolk' claylands, making it suitable for arable farming, though formerly mainly a dairying region

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(hence the farm name). The village is about a mile away from both the A143 road from Bury St Edmunds to Great Yarmouth and the A140 from Norwich to Ipswich. These were formally Turnpike trusts of 1762 and 1711, respectively. (internet site: Wikipedia). Dairy Farm lay on the eastern edge of Great Green; the straight field boundaries on the map below indicate the former green area.

TM 123 775

Figure 1: Site location taken from the 1880’s Ordnance Survey (scale of 1 inch to one mile - site located in red rectangle)  Geology and Topography: The British Geological Survey maps the area as lying on chalky, pebbly, sandy clay over a formation of fine-to coarse grained sands and silts (BGS: Eye, sheet 190).

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 Archaeological and Historical Background Archaeological Background There are no recorded archaeological interventions within the application area, however, there are a number of archaeological sites in the vicinity that are recorded in the Suffolk Historic Environment Record, a summary of these is listed below. Site name Type date PAL 008 Smock type windmill

(demolished 1937) Post medieval

SUS 026 Late Roman coin hoard Fourth century A D SUS 030 Finds scatter - pottery Roman SUS 030 Finds scatter; pottery and

metalwork Medieval

TDE 006 Fragment of bronze crossbow brooch

Roman

TDE 006 Metalwork scatter including coins and finger ring

Late Saxon – Medieval?

TDE 012 Site of green, mapped by Hodskinson 1783

Medieval?

Historical Background Thrandeston had at least 6 holdings listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, the main manor was held by Anselm from the Abbot of St Edmunds and included a church with 8 acres (32,000 m2) of land and woodland for four pigs. (The Domesday Book, 1086) There are three moated sites at Malting Farm, Church Farm and Goswold Hall. Goswold Hall has links with Grey family, the most famous member (tenuous) of which was Lady Jane Grey. Thrandeston probably has its origins in the arable community from as early as the Neolithic period, but for the last millennium was probably taken over to dairying with some arable, mainly in the growing of hemp, as the nearby town of Diss had a large linen market. Three linen weavers, a tailor and a collar maker were all listed in the village in the late 17th century. A cattle fair was held annually on the 31st July and in 1848 there were 347 inhabitants. (Wickipedia) Dairy Farm Barn was part of Dairy Farm; of which dates to 1867 (pers- comm. J Mortlake: current owner of Dairy Farm). The tithe map shows Dairy Farm (piece No. 359; owner: Henry Rix; occupier: Laurence Blanchflower, and is listed as `premises` containing `6 Acres, 2 Rods and 4Poles`). St Margaret’s church, Thrandeston contains the armorial bearings of the Rix and Blakeby families. The 15th century tower has a dedicatory inscription. It remembers that the Sulyards and the Cornwallises had it built. Inside are medieval carvings and wooden figures and animals, thought to be witches. (Pevsner, N., 1974)

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Cartographic Evidence

Figure 2: Excerpt from J. Hodskinson’s map, Suffolk, 1783 showing the Thrandeston area (scale: one inch to the mile)

Figure 3: The Tithe map of 1845(Ipswich SOR accession no. P461/258) (scale uncertain)

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Figure 4: Dairy Farm, highlighted in orange rectangle from the 1886 edition O S map; scale 6 inch to the mile.

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Figure 5: Dairy Farm, highlighted within orange rectangle from the 1904-5 OS map (note the map dissects Dairy Farm in-two, showing the farm buildings.

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 Figure 6: The 1953 Ordnance Survey, scale 1:25000 ( Dairy Farm is situated on the line of the map change and is highlighted in the yellow rectangle – the farm buildings are in the north sector).

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78

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2

6

4

3

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Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey, licence No.007426

Figure 7: Block plan of site with numbered key at 1:50

Key to Block plan 1. Stable block with later extensions 2. Clay lump built storage building or cart shed 3. Early brick built slaughter or wash house 4. Dairy Farm house 5. Modern hay barn 6. Modern hay barn 7-9. Modern storage building

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Figure 8: plan of phases Key: Phase 1 (outlined in blue) 1. Stable with entrance onto courtyard area 2. Storage room or feed preparation area 3. Tack room 4. Open cart storage bay (prior to it being a cattle yard area) Phase 2 Building (6), dated 1913, altered to milking parlour c. 1970 (outlined in orange) Phase 3. Lean-to storage room (5) (outlined in green)

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Figure 9: The modern ordnance survey (showing Dairy Farm and the present outbuildings with Dairy Farm House, the barn is shown highlighted red.) Discussion of map evidence The earliest map available showing Dairy Farm at Thrandeston is Hodskinson’s (see Fig. 3) who mapped the green known as Great Green. On this map Dairy Farm is shown as three buildings on the north-east corner of the green (Great Green). On the Tithe map (1845, see Fig. 2), what is of particular note is the plot for Dairy Farm, which reflects a similar arrangement to that shown on Hodskinson’s map (numbered as piece 359 – owner: Henry Rix; occupier: Laurence Blanchflower; SRO ref: P461/258), however, neither maps show the present structures of Dairy Farm barn or the house in their present form. Two theories for this are presented. Firstly, the present house and farm building are later structures, the former having been completely demolished or both buildings were altered considerably, as the two principal buildings occupy the present site for Dairy Farm Barn and Dairy Farm House. One must be cautious with any interpretation of the buildings shown as these maps were not always wholly accurate, especially with the tithe maps which were primarily intended to show tithe apportionment. The 1880’s Ordnance Survey was the first to show accurately – even to a modern standard - topographical details, etc, hitherto not shown before in detail

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 Methodology A level 2 (English Heritage 2006) photographic record was undertaken to a brief designed by the Archaeological Service of Suffolk County Council (Mr. Edward Martin, ref: Dairy Farm Barn and outbuildings, Thrandeston Suffolk, 2008, dated 15th December 2009). A visual inspection was carried out and notes were taken on the features, construction and dimensions of the barn and its associated out-buildings. A series of photographs were taken externally and internally of the barn with external photographs only of the associated out-buildings. The photographic record comprised of digital, black and white print and colour transparencies. Within the report, all image references refer to the digital images as listed in appendix II Building analysis Proportions and construction Dairy Farm Stable Dairy Farm Stable is aligned on an approximately (in its present plan) north-west –south-east axis, originally on an L-shaped plan (see fig.6), The original (phase1) brick-built construction of the building extends to 12.3 m in length by 12.1 m in width. The elevation to the eves is 2.76 m throughout. It has been extended by what is now a cow marshalling area (more normally referred to as a cattle yard), which has been, more recently, covered with corrugated sheeting, measuring 7.5 m by 7.2 m. A workshop or storage room (5) was added to the south-east corner of the building, which extends by 9.1 m in length by 4.5 m in width. A milking parlour (6) was added in around 1970 (pers-comm. J. Mortlake), and extends by 12.1 m in length by 5.5 m in width. The 1886 OS map suggests that this was a planned cattle yard/stable complex – stable on the north side, open-sided cattle shelter (or loose boxes if sub-divided) on the east side, with a large building more or less equating to 5 and 6 on the south side. A short wall completed the enclosing of the cattle yard by linking the corner of the southern building with the roadside wall. The shallow pitched pantiled roof appears to be original and covers the whole of the original (phase 1) building. An original window (image 17, appendix III) is present with its original shuttered openings with original iron fittings. Three windows exist two the interior of phase 1 (the original stable building to the north of the complex): two facing, either side of the main doorway, facing south-east of bay (1) and the third facing south-west from the tack room (3). The main stabling area would be accessed by the main door in bay (1) from the courtyard. The internal tack room (3) measuring 2.85 m by 1.45 is accessed via a doorway in bay 2. Bay 2 has a curious tie beam in its roof construction, being diagonally placed to take the support of the right-angled hip of the roof construction – the opposing end gable wall of bay 1 is also hipped (see image 5, appendix I)

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The roof construction, otherwise, is standard throughout with the truss being made up with a tie beam with diagonally attached opposing braces which have all been sawn and are attached to the single purlins. The brickwork of the barn/stable is in red brick, laid as Flemish bond, (using headers and stretchers alternately in the same course), and is used throughout the construction of the barn. Dairy Farm house is an early-mid Victorian house, dating to 1867 according to J.Mortlake, the current owner of Dairy Farm. The bricks used in the construction of the house are identical to those used (and the Flemish bond used) in the construction of the barn/stable (image10, appendix III). The brickwork is not rendered at any place and is exposed throughout the building. There are voids in the brickwork evenly spaced by the size of one brick header; the reason for this would normally be ventilation but in the case of the main back wall of the open cart bay, this would not be necessary and are possibly for passing drive belts through to threshing machines (the farm may have been partly arable at one time) from steam engines? However, the lack of wear marks around these voids might suggest a different reason for their existence, perhaps for timbers to erect hay racks or mangers/feeding troughs, or even stall divisions/ There is an integral connecting wall which runs along the roadside and was built with the stable block (appendix IV, plate 5). The wall continues to the extent of the original building, mirroring its length and neatly creating a courtyard. The wall has been extended to the present gateway to dairy farm. The internal tack room is apparent for its use with the original wooden peg bracket, still in situ, to take horse harness’ or stock yokes and harnesses (see images 9, appendix III). The three interior window apertures in bay 1 and the tack room (3) are all a standard size at 0.8m high by 0.75 m wide. The exterior window on the corner of the north facing elevation is 1.25m high by 0.92 m wide and retains an arched, brick, upper casement. Two doorways lead on to the inner farmyard, facing east. One of which has been blocked up, measures 1.30 m wide by 2.75 m high, while the other is 1.15 m wide by 2.75 m high. Connecting Buildings The most southerly extension (6) was converted into a milking parlour in around 1970 (pers.comm. J. Mortlake) and was originally built in 1913 as the wall plaque attests with the initials G. M. on the end gable wall facing south-west (see image 6 appendix II). A similar building is shown on the 1886 and 1904-5 maps; this may originally have been a barn? This bay extends by 18.20 m in length by 5.55 m in width with the entrance opening onto the inner farmyard. The extension (5) was added on in the 1950’s as a workshop. Its construction is now of modern bricks; the roof construction of a basic truss consisting of an A-frame with opposing angled braces connecting the principal rafters to the tie-beams; roofed in pantiles. This extension was added on utilising a small section of the original phase 1 barn/stable wall by 2.45 m (see fig. 6). On close inspection of this detail, it appears that a wall to the most southerly part of phase 1 was possibly removed (see fig.6). The wall thought to have been removed is a guess, as it would make sense for there to have been one to facilitate a returning right-angle wall to the open bay or cart storage area (4).

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Other outbuildings Adjacent to the stable complex is a clay lump constructed building (building 2 on the block plan, fig.5). This building is shown on the 1886 OS map with extensions to the south now replaced by the modern hay barn (building 6 on the block plan). The main part of this building was possibly for carts; additions to the south could have been for pigs as an attached small yard is indicated on the 1886 map. The construction is of clay lump (now part brick); roofed with a simple A-frame truss with crude un-hewn tie-beams, covered by pantiles. It is in a derelict state, having been partly reinforced with bricks. The four bays could have been used to store farm machinery, carts or used as stock pens, and measures 5 m in width by 16 m long (image 19-20, appendix II). Building 3 on the block plan (image 13-16, appendix III) is an interesting small structure, which was unfortunately outside of the boundary of the survey and development area, belonging to the neighboring property of Dairy Farm house (4). It is a curious little building that appears to pre-date all the other buildings on the farm (possibly 18th century). According to the current vendors it was used as a slaughter house, but seems rather small for that purpose, however there is no reason to doubt that it was used for this purpose in later years. It contains an old copper for washing/boiling that seems to be contemporary with the building as the copper sits on bricks of the same type as the main walls – the chimney extends through the roof from above the copper. The bricks used in its all-brick construction are earlier than those used elsewhere on the site, including Dairy Farm barn, they are not mass-produced and contain inclusions in their fabric, all laid in Flemish bond except for a filled in aperture which is bricked up in a rather hap-hazard fashion. The north-east corner of the building is chamfered (allowing traffic to turn more easily), there is an iron wall brace and a hayloft door (leading to a possible granary) in the upper south-facing gable end wall, and window to the opposite end gable wall. Its function is uncertain but it was certainly used for some industrial or craft purpose, probably a boiler house or boiling house, possibly for the preparation of animal feed. Although rather small for the purpose, it is possible that the building served as a tannery or a beer house – there are two beer houses listed in Thrandeston, one owned by a Mr George and Thomas Nunn and another by a Jemima Wright (White’s Gazetteer of Suffolk, 1845). Buildings 5-9 on the block plan are modern (within the last fifty years) timber framed, corrugated iron-covered storage buildings. Building (4) is the Farmhouse dating to 1867. Interpretation of the stable complex and other outbuildings Hodskinson’s map of 1783 shows three buildings at Dairy Farm, but are too small and indiscernible for a full interpretation, but they do confirm the existence of the farm at that time. The Tithe map (1845) also shows three buildings on the same plot (piece no. 359 – SRO ref: P461/258) and are likely to be the same buildings, although these appear to be different to those shown on the earlier map, also a larger outbuilding is shown in grey to the north of the house (shown in pink) to those seen on Hodskinson’s and the building on the road opposite a field boundary (now a road) appears much smaller by comparison. The house appears as a different plan to the existing house and was probably demolished or altered

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significantly, to produce the house that exists today. The first edition Ordnance Survey shows the arrangement of the house and barn as it is today, although it is not very clear on this map. From the map evidence, it appears Dairy Farm underwent a complete refurbishment after the date of the tithe map of 1845, and if the date of the house (1867) is correct then this would fit the map evidence. The construction of the house and its brick-built stable in the mid-later 19th century seems to be a reasonable date for its origin. Dairy Farm barn appears to be a purpose built stable for the new house. The brick construction is the same as the house and compliments it. The plan – inverted L-shaped appears to be mid-late 19th century, comprising a stable with three bays, an internal tack room, and an open cart shed shown as (4) on the plan with an open courtyard facing the road. This building had been adapted to dairy use, possibly some time in the early – mid twentieth century with a cow marshalling area added to the void within the L-shaped plan of the building. Evidence for Dairy farm having been totally refurbished in or around the mid-late nineteenth century is first attested by the existence of one earlier structure (17th-18th century), which was possibly a wash house or beerhouse, belonging to an earlier house. The map evidence is strong also. The prosperity brought about by the Corn Law in the early – mid nineteenth century which allowed a fixed price and guaranteed income for home grown wheat, opposing cheaper foreign imports may have had a bearing on the refurbishment. The National Archive (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) was unable to provide any further historical, pictorial or written evidence for Dairy Farm. Acknowledgements Thanks are due to Mr Simon Burgess of Simon Burgess Homes for allowing access to the property and funding this report. The site work and report were completed by Dennis Payne. Bibliography Alcock, N.W; Barley, M.W. Dixon.; P, W.; Meeson, R. A; 1996; Recording Timber-Framed Buildings: An Illustrated Glossary; Practical Handbook in Archaeology, No. 5. (CBA) B G S, sheet 190, Eye, 1995 Ekwall, E. 1960 Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, fourth edition (Oxford, 1960) Pevsner, N & Radcliffe, E., 1974 Suffolk, Buildings of England. (2nd edn)., Penguin, London Rumble, A. R. (ed.), 1986. Domesday Book, vol. 34: Suffolk, (2 vols. Phillimore) White, W. 1844, History Gazetteer and Directory of Suffolk (1970 ed.), David and Charles (Publishers) Limited South Devon House Railway Station Newton Abbot Devon

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Further Reading

Office for National Statistics & Suffolk County Council, 2005. Estimates of total

population of areas in Suffolk.

Thrandeston conservation area appraisal, 2006. Appraisal for Thrandeston as a

conservation area by local authority.

Grey of Northumberland. Family tree of the Grey Family.

Topographical Dictionary of England, 1848. A small description from 1848

National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland, 1868.

St Margaret’s Thrandeston, a journey through the churches of Suffolk. St Margaret’s

Thrandeston.

Sources: The Suffolk County Council Historic Environment Record, Shire Hall, Bury St Edmunds Suffolk The Suffolk Record Office, Ipswich

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Appendix I: Black and white photographic archive (Full photographic archive on accompanying CD) Table 1: Black and White Photographic archive Frame No. Description Photographer Date 1 View inside cow marshalling area

from the south D.Payne (1-15)

01/03/10 (1-15)

2 View to cow marshalling area from the south

3 Roof truss detail over cart shed bay (4)

4 Roof detail over cart shed bay (4) 5 Roof detail at cross-point of the

two hipped roofs, bay (2)

6 Interior view of bay (2) from the south-east

7 Interior view of bay (1) from the east

8 Interior view of bay (1) showing doorway and windows to courtyard

9 Roof detail of bay (1)

10 The tack room (showing doorway to) in bay (1)

11 Date plaque on Milking parlour end gable wall, facing west

12 Dairy Farm from the road looking east

13 The stable block showing two doorways ( one blocked) from the east

14 The workshop from the north-east 15

Milking parlour from the south-east

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Dairy farm from the south-west

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Appendix II Index to colour slide photographic archive (Full Photographic archive on accompanying CD) Slide No.

Description Photographer D. Payne

Date

1 View of stable and workshop from north-east

01/03/10

2 Stable block from the east

(all)

3 Milking parlour from the south-east

4 Dairy Farm- general view – from the south-west

5 Dairy Farm – general view from the road

6 Date plaque on milking parlour west-facing gable end wall

7 Cow marshalling yard from the south

8 Stable block through the marshalling area, from the south

9 Roof detail of the stable block from the north-west

10 Roof detail of the stable block from the south

11 Roof structure in bay (2) at cross-point of the two hipped roofs of stable block

12 Interior view of bay (2) of stable block from the south-east

13 Interior view of bay (1) of stable block from the east

14 Doorway and windows looking out onto courtyard from inside bay (1)

15 Roof detail in bay(1) from the east

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16 Outside the tack room in bay(2) from east

17 Interior detail of tack room

18 Sample of brickwork in old stable block

19 Clay lump storage buildings adjacent to the stable block

20 Clay lump storage buildings adjacent to the stable block

21 Small early industrial building – possible for feed preparation

22 Small early industrial building – possible for feed preparation

Appendix III: Index to digital images (Full photographic record on accompanying CD) Image Ref. No.

Description Photographer D.Payne

Date 06/03/10

1 Roof truss detail in bay (4) from the north-west All- All- 2 Roof truss detail in bay (4) from the south

3 Roof truss detail in bay (2) from the south-east 4 Interior of bay (2) from the south-east 5 Interior of bay (1) from the east 6 Doorway and windows looking onto courtyard 7 Roof truss detail in bay (1) from the east 8 Exterior of tack room in bay (2) 9 Interior detail of tack room 10 Sample detail of brickwork in stable block 11 Clay lump constructed storage sheds or stock pens

from the north-west

12 Clay lump constructed storage sheds or stock pens from the north-west

13 Small earlier building, possibly for feed preparation 14 Small earlier building, possibly for feed preparation 15 Small earlier building, possibly for feed preparation 16 Small earlier building, possibly for feed preparation 17 Window detail in bay (2) of stable block from the

north

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18 Cow marshalling area from the south 19 Cow marshalling area and bay (1) of stable block from

the south

20 Bay (1) with integral, enclosing wall to courtyard from the west

21 Stable courtyard enclosing wall from the south-east 22 Date and initials stone plaque on west-facing milking

parlour gable end wall

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Appendix IV Selected photographs

Plate 1. The stable block from the east

Plate 2. The stable block showing the workshop and milking parlour extensions taken from the north-east

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Plate 3. The milking parlour and workshop extensions from the east

Plate 4. Dairy Farm Stable/Barn from the south-west

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Digital images:

Plate 5. Interior showing tack room

Plate 6. The small early building – Possibly for feed preparation

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Plate 7. Gable end wall of stable block As seen from the road

Plate 8. Building (2) on the block plan: a clay lump storage shed or stock pens

Plate 9. The cow marshalling area