Farmstead record WYV 011 - Farmstead: Lodge Farm

The farmhouse is a mid 16th C structure of Yeoman status. The southern half of the farmyard contains a contemporary barn (much altered and so not suitable for listing) with evidence of an original floored stable. The eastern range of the farmyard is formed by an exceptionally rare timber-framed structure dating to the late 15th or early 16th C, which may have been moved from behind the farmhouse to form a cow shed in the 19th C. This building is listed grade II as a former stable, but at 27 ft by 13 ft, it probably represents the smallest known Tudor public building in the country. In all but scale it closely resembles other buildings in the region known to have been designed as manorial or market court halls and guildhalls. It has lost its queen-post roof and original ceiling, but retains 7 'diamond' mullion windows, 2 external arched doors opening into 2 ground floor rooms, and a 3rd external door which led into an upper undivided storey, spanned by two decorative open trusses.

The northern half of the farm complex is a mid 19th C model development of white brick, which includes a good and largely unaltered single-storied stable range. This range preserves a boarded manger and hay rack together with a tack room, loose box and an unusual, completely enclosed chaff box. Two shelter sheds, one of which retains its manger, also survive, together with a contemporary walled yard which is now covered by a 20th century roof. A 19th C vehicle shed and stable incorporates a 16th C timber-framed wall, following the same alignment as the farmhouse, and probably indicates the boundary of the medieval green.

Lodge Farm, Wyverstone. 16th century farmstead and farmhouse with converted buildings. Regular courtyard multi-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 a village (S2-7).

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.

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2007 (S8).