Farmstead record WLN 106 - Farmstead: King's Farm

King's Farm is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed Os map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular L-plan with additional detached elements. The farmhouse is detached and set away from the yard. The farmstead sits alongside a public road in an isolated location. This farmstead survives intact with conversion for residential use.

The barn is an early-19th century brick structure of considerable quality which in 1840 formed one of several isolated barns on the large Westleton estate of Lord Huntingfield of Heveningham Hall. The adjacent house, which appears to have been rebuilt in the 20th century, was divided into a pair of labourers’ cottages and the estate, which contained almost 2,000 acres in Westleton parish alone, was operated from Scott’s Hall Farm some 2 km to the south-east.

The barn was probably erected as part of the process of heathland enclosure in response to the high grain prices of the Napoleonic wars, and is of considerable significance for the agricultural history of the region. The building contained a stable at its eastern end which was enlarged as the size of working horses increased during the 19th century; the present hay rack and manger date from a refurbishment during the third quarter of the century and are good examples of their type. The roof structure of staggered butt-purlins is largely original. A pair of open-sided shelter sheds with carved arcade-post terminals was added to the barn’s southern gable in two stages, and the westernmost example enlarged early in the 20th century to form a covered cattle yard. The resulting complex is highly characteristic of the historic Sandlings landscape, although its distinctive red pantiles had been temporarily removed at the time of inspection (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.