Farmstead record BRK 128 - Farmstead: Mullets Farm

Mullets Farm lies in open countryside on the eastern side of the Willisham Road approximately 400 m south of Barking Tye. The farmhouse to the north of the site is a grade II-listed timber-framed hall house of the late-15th century and the three-bay threshing barn, which lies 50 m to the south of its service gable, is a broadly contemporary structure of the early to mid-16th century. At the time of the Barking tithe survey in 1842 the farm was a modest tenanted holding of 46.5 acres owned by John Harper and occupied by the eponymous Samuel Mullett.

The oak frame of the barn was originally infilled with wattle-and-daub and rendered externally, but the building was extensively renovated in recent years and is now clad in stained modern weatherboarding with a corrugated iron roof. Both gables were rebuilt in the 19th century, and the shallow-pitched roof structure is a 20th century replacement, but the rest of the framing is relatively intact, retaining all four arch-braces flanking the central entrance bay and two internal wall braces with unusual ogee curves. The building was entered by double doors from the south (facing away from the house) and preserves evidence of a small original door to the rear that was sufficient to create a through-draught for threshing and winnowing but not to admit vehicles. A number of gault bricks salvaged from a 19th century threshing floor have been set into the modern concrete floor. The heavy scantlings of the individual studs suggests a date in the first half of the 16th century, as do the long edge-halved and bridled scarf joints in the roof-plates, and the barn is of considerable historic interest given its relationship to a farmhouse of similar period. Due to the loss of its original roof, however, it does not meet the strict English Heritage criteria for listing in its own right. A number of mid-19th century sheds attached to the barn consisted in part of shuttered clay (as opposed to clay-lump) but were substantially rebuilt in the mid-20th century and have been largely demolished (S1) (S2).

Mullets Farm, Barking. 16th century farmstead and 15th century farmhouse. Regular courtyard full plan formed by working agricultural buildings. The farmhouse is set away fom the yard. Partial loss (less than 50%) of the traditional farm buildings. Located within an isolated position (S3-7).

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.