Monument record IPS 388 - Isaac Lord Complex, 80 & 80A Fore Street, Ipswich.

This complex of buildings includes a merchant's house on the road frontage with several phases of warehousing behind, running down to the River Orwell.
1998: Tree-ring samples taken from 4 ranges of The Isaac Lord Complex. December 1998: Tree-ring samples taken from four ranges of the Isaac Lord complex timber framed buildings gave felling dates of AD 1418-1449 for a single timber from Range 1 (80 Fore Street); of AD 1636 for Range 2 (80A Fore Street), which truncates Range 3 (to the rear) which could not be dated dendrochronologically but predates Range 2 but probably post dates Range 4. Range 4, a 'crossway' warehouse supplied timber with felling dates in AD 1587m (S1)
2001: Several ranges at this site were the subject of a previous dendrochronological study. The dating of two of the ranges at the site remained unclear at the end of that study. Recent renovation and repair work allowed access to the wallplates of Range 3 (Sale Room) and further sampling was undertaken in Range 4 (Crossway). The dendrochronological evidence now indicates a felling date range of AD 1531-49 for various elements from Range 4. The only dated structural timbers from Range 3 are wallplates which were probably felled in AD 1540 or shortly afterwards. A detailed examination of the structural evidence strongly supports the hypothesis that the crown-post roof of the Sale Room is older than the Crossway structure. This implies that the Crossway was probably built from timber felled after AD 1531 and before about AD 1540, and that the crown post roof of the Sale Room was probably reassembled around AD 1540 using new wallplates (S2).

Timber-framed building survey of Ipswich (S3)