Farmstead record DNN 064 - Farmstead: Trust Farm

Trust Farm is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed OS map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular L-plan with the farmhouse set away from the yard. The farmstead sits alongside a public road in an isolated location. This farmstead survives intact.

Jun 2007: Historic building record.The farmhouse dates in part from the late 16th century, but present farm buildings are dated circa 1880. The farm buildings are of red brick and form a unified complex in the manner of a 'model' farm, although their proportions are relatively modest. The north-western range, which included a barn and possibly a stable or granary, has already been converted for domestic use and partly rebuilt, and is currently in separate ownership. The single-storied northeastern and south-eastern ranges which form the subject of this survey contain no fewer than nine separate compartments, of which several retain original fittings such as timber mangers, bins and stalls, and are of considerable historic interest as they illustrate the sophisticated nature of late-19th century animal husbandry in the county (S1).

August 2007: Trust Farm is a Grade II listed timber-framed and rendered farmhouse. The left-hand half of the building dates from the late-16th century, and probably represents the central all of a substantial 'Yeoman' farmhouse. The right-hand half and the chimney were rebuilt in the mid-18th century when the property was divided into a pair of coattges. The Elizabethan structure preserves an original mullioned window on its upper storey and a distinctive East Anglian 'queen-post' roof, while the 18th century framing incorporates many medieval timbers that may have been salavged from the older house on site. The right-hand gable chimney and bread oven is a slightly later addition that bears the sate 1787 and the initials, 'SC', which probably relate to a forebear of one Thomas Capon junior, who occupied the 70 acre farm in 1840 (at which time it was owned by the eponymous trustees of Boyton Hospital near woodbridge). The fine adjacent range of brick farm buildings, which inlcudes a stable with it's original fittings, was added around 1880 (S2).

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.