Building record FSF 068 - Barn at Willow House

A historic asset assessment was carried out for a barn in the curtilage of Willow house, prior to its conversion. Willow House lies on the north-eastern edge of Fressingfield village. The house is a grade II-listed mid-17th century structure of the quality normally expected in a 'Yeoman' farmhouse with a large acreage, yet at the time of the 1838 tithe survey it was a tenanted smallholding. The barn is a substantial timber-framed and weatherboarded example of five bays with an additional bay projecting at right-angles. It appears on the tithe map and dates from the late-18th/early-19th century with a frame of some quality, including neatly jowled storey posts and primary braces that are fully tenoned and pegged at both ends. The two bays to the west of the central entrance were divided from the rest and provided with a loft, as was the additional southern bay. The remaining three open bays lacked arch-braces and knee-braces to their tie-beams in a highly unusual manner. This absence of bracing, coupled with the large scale of the lofted areas, probably reflects the building's use as a hay barn with an integral stable and cow-house rather a threshing barn. As such, it is an unusual survival of some historic interest, but unfortunately has been much altered and partly rebuilt. The roof was originally thatched, but the rafters were entirely replaced in softwood during the 20th century and the eastern section of the building was re-roofed as a lean-to. Large sections of the external walls have also been replaced recently, ensuring the building no longer meets the strict criteria for listing in its own right. Nonetheless the barn does have a quality timber frame despite it being largely constructed from re-used materials, indicated through evidence for mullioned windows and soot traces on beams suggesting that they are originally from an open hall (S1).