Building record ORF 202 - Malletts Cottage, Orford

The picturesque thatched Grade-II listed building retains two front doors after its conversion in the mid 20th century from two cottages into a single dwelling, in the early 19th century it formed part of a workhouse owned by neighbouring Sudborne Parish. Two additional cottages belong to the workhouse adjoined the present western gable. The house is an unusually complex palimpsest, having been altered, adapted and extended at several different periods. The larger of the two former cottages on the right appears to have originated in the late-16th or early-17th century as a narrow two-bay floored hall of just 4m internal width, with a central arch-braced open truss. The present chimney which retains an impressive fireplace with evidence of bread ovens, was inserted into the right-hand bay of this hall at a relatively early date, possibly when the building was converted into a workhouse. At the same time, or possibly later in the 17th century, the front wall was rebuilt in brick incorporating only the principal post of the original open truss, and the back wall and roof structure were rebuilt in the late-18th century - probably when the smaller cottage was added. The right-hand gable was subsequently rebuilt when the two additional cottages appear to have possessed service rooms to the rear but these were replaced when the two additional cottages were demolished, leaving very little original fabric intact (S1).