Farmstead record THE 043 - Farmstead: Lodge Farm

Lodge Farm is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed Os map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular multi yard with U-plan and linear elements. The farmhouse is detached and set away from the yard. The farmstead sits alongside a public road in an isolated location. There has been a partial loss of working buildings with the remainifn converted for residential use. (S1-4)

19th century milking parlour constructed between 1847 and 1886. Located in what was originally one of two separate farmyards , many of the farm buildings have now been converted into residential dwelllings and the farmyards are in different ownership. The milking parlour was constructed with flint rubble and brick corner quoins on the SW and NE elevations. The SE elevation was constructed in two parts with the lower half in flint rubble and upper half in brick. The NW end of the SW elevation was rebuilt during the 20th cnetury. The NW elevation was also rebuilt later in brick with flint panels. The work appears to have coincided with the rebuilsing of the SE yard wall associated with the milking parlour. The NW yard wall appears to date to the early part of the 9th century and predates the milking parlour. The roof structure over the milking parlour is hipped at both ends and covered with glazed red and black pantiles. Internally it was constructed with a clasped side purlin roof with a ridge piece.The collars were nailed into the side of the rafter pairs. One of the two louvered vents on the ridge is still in-situ. The milking parlour was originally devided into two central bays with two half bays at each end of the building. None of the earlier stall and milking paraphernalia are still evident. The existing floor was formed with concrete and splays upwards along the SW wall of the building (S1).

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.