Farmstead record WHP 042 - Farmstead: Haygreen Farm

Haygreen Farm is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed Os map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular full plan with the farmhouse detached and set away from the yard. The farmstead sits alongside a private track in an isolated location. Only the farmhouse remains. (S2-5)

Haygreen Farm lies in open countryside at the western edge of Whepstead. The landscape context of the site is of considerable historic interest as the track crosses Hay Green: a well-preserved ancient common shown on Hodskinson's map of 1783 and from which the property takes its name. Its original southern boundary is defined by an impressive row of oak pollards. The grade II-listed farmhouse is a timber-framed and thatched building of the 16th and 17th centuries which may have built in the middle of a larger medieval green when it was reduced in size. At the time of the tithe survey in 1845 it was a tenanted arable holding of 104.5 acres on the large estate of neighbouring Plumpton Hall.

The barn is a broadly contemporary structure which originally faced the house, forming the southern side of a courtyard through which the latter was approached and illustrating the typical layout of Tudor farmsteads in the region. It consists of two substantial oak frames incorporating mid-rails but of slightly different dates, with a symmetrical three-bay barn to the west and a single-bay stable to the east. The stable contains closely-spaced studs of heavy section in the manner of the 16th century while those of the bam are smaller and more widely spaced in the early-17th century style. This suggests that the barn replaced an earlier structure, contemporary to the stable, which was originally on this site. The two roof-plates are united by a crude scarf joint and the stable was probably built against an earlier bam on the same site. The dividing partition and the stable's loft have been removed, and the interior is now a single open space, but evidence of the original layout can still be found. A good 19th century threshing floor of gault brick projects onto the site of an early-19th- century rear porch but this has collapsed in recent years. Given its early origin and association with a listed farmhouse of similar period the barn is undoubtedly of historic significance. But has been too heavily altered to meet the strict English Heritage criteria for listing in its own right: its front (northern) wall was entirely rebuilt in the 20th century, and much of its lower tier of studs was replaced in the 19th century. The present roof is a semi-cylindrical corrugated iron structure of a type often found on open­ sided bay houses and cattle yards of the 1920s and 1930s but rarely seen on historic barns of this kind (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.