Farmstead record BUX 032 - Farmstead: Cottage Farm

16th C timber-framed farmhouse with a mullioned window, which uses base crucks within its construction. The house would originally have had a three cell plan, but was extended and altered during the late 16th C (S1).

Cottage Farm, Buxhall. 19th century farmstead and 16th century farmhouse with converted buildings. Dispersed cluster 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.

There are three former farm buildings (A, B & C) within the ownership of Cottage Farmhouse. There situated to the NW and SW of the farmhouse and stand within its curtilage. Building A is three bays and of timber framed construction with daub infill, resting on a brick plinth. The roof is pitched, with clay pantiles. It is shown on the 1763 Copinger Estate plan (ref. Cottage Farmhouse site history) and is contemporaneous with the farmhouse, dating from the mid 16th century. The building was used as a corn room and store and not to house livestock. Against the SE corner of Building A is a small timber framed building of later date (probably late 17th century, but much altered with a brick S wall) latterly used as a coal store. This small building is shown on the drawings as a component of Building B since its W wall and lower roof form the E wall of the main section of Building B which was added in the later 20th century as an open-fronted cattle shed, facing into the yard to the S.

The small former coal store (attached to the S elevation of Building A and the E elevation of the 20th century open fronted cattle shed) is of brick and timber frame construction and is contemporaneous with Building A. It is of irregular shape with an angled SE corner and the S wall has been re-built in brick whereas the other 3 walls are timber framed. The corner of the building was probably removed when the farmhouse was extended to the W & N, enabling the two buildings to be separate with a narrow passage between. The 1839 Tithe map (ref. Site History) shows the footprint of Building A and the timber framed part of Building B (former coal store) before the lean to rear (N) extension was added to the farmhouse. The outbuildings were linked to the farmhouse by a wall. The former coal store is aligned on a N/S axis and has a clay plain tile roof with a lower ridge than Building A and the open fronted shed. The E and S walls are rendered and there is a plank and battened 19th century door.

The open-fronted livestock shed was constructed in the latter half of the 20th century and is of fletton brick with a clay pantiled roof and an earth/chalk floor (S8).