Farmstead record TDE 028 - Farmstead: Marsh Farm

The timber-framed and rendered farmhouse is listed at Grade II and dated without internal inspection to the '17th century or possibly earlier'. The farm buildings adjoin the house to the south-west and from a substantial and sophisticated complex which illustrates the changing nature of local agriculture over five centuries. A large timber-framed barn of seven bays was built in two phases during the 16th century. Its original four-bay structure contained a separate stable to the north with a three-bay threshing barn to the south and preserves a rare East Anglian queen-post roof. A late-16th century extension of three bays to the south retains a complete clasped-purlin roof and all four arch-braces to its tie-beams. The former that’s has been replaced by corrugated iron but the barn's heavily tarred 'two-tier' cladding of external lime plaster above weatherboarding dates from the 18th or early 19th century. The herringbone brick threshing floor is a particularly fine example of the same period. A red-brick and pantiled stable range with an integral single-storied shed was added to the barn's northern gable in the late-Georgian or early-Victorian period. A major phase of refurbishment soon after 1845saw the arrival of a second threshing barn, probably replacing another depicted on the tithe map, along with a series of cattle sheds and yards - all built in clay-lump. The site was again transformed in appearance during the mid-20th century when its various yards were provided with roofs of corrugated iron, and once more in the late-20th century when the clay-lump sheds were much altered to create a large number of loose boxes for a livery and stud business (S1).

Marsh Farm, Thrandeston. 16th century farmstead and 17th century farmhouse. Regular courtyard multi-yard plan formed by working agricultural building. The farmhouse is attached to the agricultural range. Partial loss (less than 50%) of the traditional farm buildings. Located within a hamlet (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.