Farmstead record HCH 054 - Farmstead: The Rookery

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Summary

The Rookery is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed OS map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular U-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 and the addition of modern sheds on site.

Location

Grid reference Centred TM 3100 5804 (134m by 75m)
Map sheet TM35NW
Civil Parish HACHESTON, SUFFOLK COASTAL, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (4)

Full Description

The Rookery is a farmstead visible on the 1st Ed OS map. The farmstead is laid out in a regular U-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 and the addition of modern sheds on site.

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.


The farm known as The Rookery lies approximately 100 metres west of the main B1116 road between Wickham Market to the south and Hacheston village to the north, and is a conspicuous feature in the local landscape. At 34 metres in length by 6.7 metres in overall width (112 feet by 22) the 11-bay timber-framed barn at the entrance to the site is one of the largest and most impressive in the region. Its wall fabric and intact roof structure of staggered butt-purlins are typical of the late-18th century, and it represents a fine example of a ‘Napoleonic barn’, reflecting the East Anglian cereal boom of that period. It belonged to a large farm of 270 acres on the estate of Glevering Hall, which lies just 1 km to the west, and may well be contemporary with the mansion of 1792-4. The nearby 16th century farmhouse is listed at grade II but is now in separate ownership. Despite the replacement of its arch-braces with knee-braces and the loss of its original twin porches in the 19th century the barn still has exceptional scale and historic interest.
The barn is shown as a free-standing structure on the parish tithe map of 1839, but the usual animal yards were subsequently added to its western elevation in the mid-19th century. The southern end of the barn was initially converted into a stable and hay loft, but this arrangement was replaced by a separate brick stable in circa 1900. This stable is an exceptionally well-preserved example of its kind, with an original brick floor, boarded manger, tack room and red-painted door and windows. A brick cow shed forms the western range of the 19th century yard complex, which survives largely intact, but the building is
separately owned with the farmhouse and was not inspected for the purpose of this report.

Sources/Archives (4)

  • --- Unpublished document: Campbell, G., and McSorley, G. 2019. SCCAS: Farmsteads in the Suffolk Countryside Project.
  • --- Unpublished document: Alston, L.. 2009. Historical Assessment: Barn at The Rookery, Hacheston.
  • --- Vertical Aerial Photograph: various. Google Earth / Bing Maps.
  • --- Map: Ordnance Survey. 1880s. Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile map, 1st edition.

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Record last edited

Sep 8 2022 4:44PM

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