Farmstead record HUD 032 - Farmstead: Hundon Hall

Hundon Hall is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed Os map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular U-plan with additional L-plan and linear elements. The farmhouse is detached and set away from the yard. The farmstead sits alongside a private track in an isolated location. There has been a significant loss of working buildings with the remaining in residential use. (S1-4)

Hundon Hall lies on the site once occupied by the largest manor recorded in England in the Domesday book, and as such is of significant historic importance. The present hall however only dates to the 16th/17th C and is not listed.

The barn is located immediately west of the hall and was built in c. 1900, replacing an earlier structure. It is of unusual size and quality, extending 32m in length by 8.2m in width. It is timber-framed and contains 5 bays with an open barn to the west and a granary of the same proportions to the east. Although made up of different materials, the two form a single structure under the same roof structure of manufactured king-post trusses and share the same brick plinth. The structure also possesses door jambs In the Edwardian fashion, also found in a contemporary small stable on site.
The large scale of the granary suggests it former use as a commercial grain store and mill. It is divided into two unequal compartments on each storey and contains a heavy braced ceiling. However, no relevant equipment survives. Its purpose has been confirmed in contemporary trade directories. Separate road access to the barn shown on the 1902 OS map also confirms the commercial nature of the building.

The chief historic interest of this building lies in the extent to which it illustrates the increasing industrialisation of local agriculture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (S5).

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.