Site Event/Activity record ESF21005 - Barn at Mollett's Farm, Farnham

Mollett's Farm is not listed but preserves an early-17th century timber-framed parlour bay with chamfered ceiling joists and a clasped-purlin roof structure and contemporary axial chimney. The rest of the original house is reputed to have been destroyed by fire in the 1800s. At the time of the tithe survey in 1841 the farm was a modest tenanted holding of approximately 20 acres. The barn to the west of the farmhouse is shown on the tithe map and retains at least one bay of early-17th century timber-framing to the north, but has otherwise been extensively rebuilt and largely converted for semi-domestic purposes in recent years. Its thatched roof structure has been entirely replaced with softwood and corrugated sheeting. Much of the building's historic character has accordingly been lost, and analysis of its fabric and development is hampered by this. The single-storied shed adjoining its southern gable is a relatively late addition c.1879 and had also been largely dismantled by the time of inspection. The chief interest of the site lies in the relationship of the early-17th century barn to the surviving parlour bay of the contemporary farmhouse, which indicates the latter faced a southern courtyard flanked by the barn on the west in the typical manner of the period. The barn is also of interest as its northern gable adjoins the Benhall parish boundary and may preserve archaeological evidence of the banks and ditches often associated with features that in many instances can be shown to pre-date the Norman conquest. Project status: Complete Yes, Validated Yes Previous/Future Work: Previous No, Future Not known Associated Identifiers: HER event no. FNM 019 Sitecode FNM 019 Planning Application No. C/10/3276 NMR No. 1541372 Project Type: Building Recording Methods and Techniques: Measured Survey, Photographic Survey, Survey/Recording Of Fabric/Structure Reason for Investigation: Direction from Local Planning Authority - PPS Site status: None Current Land use: Other 2 - In use as a building Monument Type(s)/Period(s): BARN Post Medieval Artefact Type(s)/Period(s): NONE None PROJECT LOCATION Area 720.00 Square metres Grid Reference: TM366602 Point PROJECT CREATOR(S) Brief originator: Local Authority Archaeologist and/or Planning Authority/advisory body Design originator: Edward Martin Director/Manager: David Gill Supervisor: Leigh Alston DIGITAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: other Media: Images raster / digital photography, Survey, Text PAPER ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: other Media: Miscellaneous Material, Report BIBLIOGRAPHY Publication Type: Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Title: Barn at Mollett's Farm, Farnham, Suffolk FNM 019 Heritage Asset Assessment Author(s)/Editor(s): Alston, L. Other Bibliographic Details: SCCAS Report Date: 2011 Issuer/Publisher: SCCAS Place of Issue or Publication: Bury St Edmunds Description: A4, comb bound, white cover with colour photograph (also available as PDF)