Farmstead record SFT 037 - Farmstead: Street Farm

Street Farm adjoins the southern side of Stowlantoft Street at the eastern end of the village approximately 500m from St George’s church. The farmhouse is a timber-framed and rendered structure of the early 19th century which has been much altered and is not listed. At the time of the tithe map in 1848 the property was a tenanted holding of 277 acres on the substantial estate of Stowlangtoft Hall, which lay 250 meters to the north.

The extensive complex of farm buildings to the rear (south) of the house includes two good “Napoleonic” timber-framed barns of the early-19th century, a brick stable range of circa 1830, a mid-19th century brick cart lodge and several late-19th century cattle shelters. The individual buildings have been altered and rebuilt to varying degrees, and the early barns and stables have lost their original roofs, but the overall layout of the site has remained unusually intact since 1848 and is accordingly of considerable historic interest. The stable was converted into farm offices during the 20th century but its hay loft and central chaff box have been preserved. Conversely, the cart lodge was converted into stabling at much the same time. The barns form an unusual pair of identical size and appearance but with slightly different framing; one was provided with arch-braced tie-beams throughout while the other lacked braces of any kind to its central threshing floor. Both structures were originally rendered externally above a lower tier of weatherboarding, and one contains an impressive sequence of carved initials dated between 1811 and 1835. The barns and farmhouse were probably built by Joseph Wilson, a wealthy London silk merchant, soon after his purchase of the estate in circa 1810 and reflect the agricultural wealth of Suffolk during the Napoleonic wars (S1).

Street Farm, Stowlangtoft. 19th century farmstead and farmhouse with converted buildings. Loose courtyard four-sided plan formed by working agricultural buildings. The farmhouse is detached facing side on to the yard. The farmstead is extant. 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.