Farmstead record RGH 061 - Farmstead: Lake Farm

Lake Farm is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed Os map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular courtyard L-plan with the farmhouse detached and set away from the yard. The farmstead sits alongside a public road in a loose farmstead cluster. This farmstead survives intact with additional modern sheds on site. (S2-5)

A historic asset assessment was carried out for a barn at Lake Farm, prior to its conversion. Lake Farm lies 0.5 km west of Rougham Green. The farmhouse is timber-framed and thatched and is reported to date from the mid-17th century. The property was shown on the 1813 enclosure map with a barn on the same site as the present timber-framed and weatherboarded structure of five bays, but its outline differs significantly and the surviving fabric probably represents a rebuilding of circa 1820. Much of the framing, which incorporates arch-braced tie-beams flanking the central threshing bay in the medieval tradition, may have been re-used from its predecessor, including dressed stone of probable medieval origin. The barn sits on a brick plinth, constructed from bricks that appear to have been salvaged from monastic buildings in the area. The barn retains its original southern door jambs together with a rear lean-to designed to extend the length of the threshing floor, and is typical of the many built in Suffolk during/immediately after the Napoleonic wars. However, key elements of the structure have been lost and it no longer meets the criteria for listing: the original roof was replaced in the mid-20th century and much of the eastern gable was removed. A 20th C vehicle entrance also caused significant damage to the framing. The external cladding and entrance doors also date from 20th century refurbishment, although some good 19th century boarding survives within the rear lean-to and two of the four arch-braces remain intact. A building adjoining the barn's western gable may have been a contemporary stable and granary but was entirely rebuilt in recent years, while the former shelter-shed attached to its southern elevation is a mid-19th century addition which has been converted into loose boxes and also re-roofed (S1).

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.