Farmstead record OKY 044 - Farmstead: Poplar Farm

With its well preserved Wealden facade adjoining a main road Poplar Farmhouse is a major architectural landmark in Suffolk. Listed at grade II* it is one of approximately 40 Wealden Houses in the county and is of special historic importance due to its combination of this form with an abnormal internal layout and a number of distinctive local carpentry features such as ‘butt assembly’ and a two-tier roof (mistakenly identified as a raised aisle in the listing description). The large scale and highly ostentatious decoration of the mid-15th century timber frame is inconsistent with its status as a modest tenanted farm of just 48 acres in 1839, and there is a strong possibility it was built as a roadside inn. The windows of the central open hall contained moulded mullions and both the jetty plate and low-end mid-rail are crenellated, along with a rare cornice beneath the overhanging eaves. Both Wealden facades and reversed layouts are characteristic of inns elsewhere in the region (where parlours are sub-divided instead of service bays and the low ends of halls are more highly decorated than their high ends). The service bay appears to retain an original ceiling but is not jettied, suggesting the house always abutted a projecting service cross-wing wing to the north. The present wing was almost completely rebuilt as part of a major refurbishment in the mid-19th century, and was shown with different proportions on the 1839 tithe map. The hall retains a good late-16th century inserted elm ceiling and a fireplace with original red ochre pigment, together with a unique screen incorporating poplar boards that framed a new staircase in the cross-passage. The fire destroyed almost all the common rafters, but most were 19th century replacements and with the exception of the king post at the apex of the roof (of which photographs survive) no key elements of the medieval frame were lost. After sympathetic repair the building is still likely to retain considerably more of its historic fabric than most houses of the period. The re-used and less substantial timbers of the cross-wing were more severely damaged, but this part of the house would not have warranted listing in isolation and its chief significance derives from its external relationship to the Wealden façade (S1).

Poplar Farm, Oakley. 19th century farmstead and 15th century farmhouse. Regular courtyard T-shaped plan with additional detached buildings 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 a village (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.