Farmstead record FSF 093 - Farmstead: Pear Tree House

Pear tree Farm consists of a grade II-listed house of late 16th century and early 17th centuries built on the edge of a medieval moat and a large complex of chiefly mid-19th century pantiled farm buildings. The latter has unusually altered little since depicted on the Ordnance Survey of 1884. Despite minor alterations the red brick coash house is a particularly good example of its kind, with arched doors, decorative cast iron ventilation grills and a well preserved chaff box with two hatches. It appears to adjoin a missing arm of the moat as shown in 1838. The chief significance of the site is the laregly intact timber-framed four bay threshing barn of circa 1600, which originally possessed a stable and hay loft at one end. Of special importance is the contemporary or near contemporary gabled porch which projects from the back wall immediately opposite the original entrance. This structure is open-framed against the barn and initially opposite the original entrance. This structure is open-framed against the barn and initially contained a loft with pegged window mullions lighting both the upper and lower storeys. The high quality framing is entirely coherent and does not consist od reused timber as previously suggested, nor is it likely to have beeen imported as it fits the narrow entrance bay perfectly. The building was almost certainly designed as a granary immediately behind the threshing floor, and its location is consistent with the grain stores often found alongside rear proches in the 18th cne 19th centuies. As such it represents a unique late-16th or early 17th century survival with no known direct parallel (S1).

Pear Tree House, Fressingfield. 17th century farmstead and farmhouse. Regular courtyard multi-yard plan formed by working agricultural buildings. The farmhouse is set away from the yard. Partial loss (less than 50%) of the traditional farm buildings. Located within an isolated position (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.