Description

1231/0/10003
12-FEB-09

HINDERCLAY
FEN ROAD
Bridge Farm

II

A farmhouse of the C17, remodelled, altered and extended in the C18, C19 and C20.

MATERIALS
The building has a C20 cement render and is part timber-framed on a brick plinth with masonry walls to the north elevation and a brick west gable end. The gable roofs have a pantile covering and rebuilt end stacks.

PLAN
Rectangular. The C17 building may have originally been an end-lobby entrance house, with two inside rooms, the main entrance located to the front of the stack with winding stairs to the rear.

EXTERIOR
The building has two ranges, the principal range to the west being of two storeys, five bays with a steeply pitched roof. It is adjoined at the east by a lower, single storey with attic range which has been partly rebuilt in the C20 and has a modern roof structure. Both ranges have C20 uPVC windows in altered openings. The façade faces south and has a near centre door to the west and a small porch projecting from the lower range. A breeze-block single storey shed is attached at the east. The north elevation has C20 uPVC windows and the west gable end of brick has two iron ties forming the initials 'T' and 'F'.

INTERIOR
The principal range has rooms to the left and right of a straight run staircase with C18 elliptical arches at the top and bottom and late C19 or early C20 banisters. On the ground floor, the left hand room has encased, apparently slender, axial bridging beams and a C20 fireplace flanked by alcoves with apparently C18 joinery, the construction of the walls is unknown. The right hand room has transverse chamfered and stopped bridging beams. Interior plasterwork obscures details of surviving timber framing, but some wall posts remain and where the plaster has crumbled on the south wall, timber studs in a state of deterioration are revealed. This room has a C20 fireplace flanked by C18 cupboards, one of which has a two panelled door with HL hinge. A door to the left of the fireplace leads into the former kitchen in the lower range. A stopped and chamfered transverse bridging beam and wall posts are apparent. The rooms further to the east have C20 fixtures and fittings and where the interior plaster has slipped, modern timber studs are revealed.

On the first floor in the principal range, the western most room has encased, apparently slender, axial bridging beams and wall plate to the south and north wall. To the east of the stairs, a corridor has been inserted, leading to another room and a winding stair leading to the attic. The second room has a transverse chamfered bridging beam and a smaller door to the right of an ample stack which leads to the attic room in the lower range. The winding stair to the attic may be contemporary and has a carved newel post in the attic space. The roof structure is substantially intact and comprises a pegged, coupled common rafter roof with two sets of purlins, collars and arched windbraces. The chimney stack has handmade bricks probably of C17 or early C18 date.

HISTORY
Farming on the Suffolk claylands tends to have been historically dairying and livestock rather than arable resulting in dispersed farmsteads and hamlets centred around greens with a small number of nucleated villages. The area was generally not enclosed until the mid C18, when the scientific techniques developed during the agricultural revolution resulted in increased crop production and greater income. This may in part explain the refurbishment, almost gentrification, of earlier steadings in the area, evidenced at Bridge Farmhouse by the reworking of the two bays to the west during the C18 and insertion of a straight run staircase. The west gable end and part of the north wall have been rebuilt in brick probably in the mid C19 and both stacks have been rebuilt in C20 and UPVC fenestration inserted into altered openings. The lower range to the east (right) appears to have been partly rebuilt in the C20 and has a re-felted and battened roof. Historic Ordnance Survey maps from 1886 onwards show a small yard to the east of the farmhouse, with three associated buildings, which no longer remains.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION
Bridge Farm is designated for the following principal reasons.
* Although there has been some loss to the historic fabric, a significant proportion of the original C17 timber-framed building remains.
* The roof, in particular, is largely complete, retaining original joinery and is of good craftsmanship.
* There are some C18 fixtures of note including built-in cupboards and a two-panel door which add interest to the building.

Listing NGR TM0320878440

Reasons for Listing

The farmhouse at Bridge Farm is designated for listing for the following principal reasons.
* Although there has been some loss to the historic fabric, a significant proportion of the C17 timber-framed building remains.
* The roof, in particular, is largely complete, retaining original joinery and is of good craftmanship.
* There are some C18 fixtures of note including built in cupboards and a two-panel door which add interest to the building.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672310

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair