Details
BROCKLEY
113/0/10006 Gulling Green Barn
12-OCT-05
II
Stable, may have been constructed as a cowshed or neathouse. Date no later than 1800 with re-use of much earlier timbers. Timber-framed and weatherboarded, corrugated iron roof, previously thatched. Concrete floor on brick and flint plinth. Two bays, half hipped at both ends and originally freestanding. Plain clasped purlin roof. Stable door on the south front, opening onto yard. Unusual small vertical sliding hatch set in the boarding far left of the door, appears to be original. Partial collapse of north wall.
The frame comprises substantial un-pegged stud mortises. The posts and tie beam of the open truss are re-used from a much larger and earlier building but the arch braces (of which only one survives) are fully tenoned and pegged, unusual in this context post c.1800 (Aitkens, 2005, p.2). The top-plate of stable tenoned into the corner post of the barn. Original thatch replaced with corrugated iron.
This building's final function as a stable indicated by the C19 hay rack but original purpose is less clear. The low level of light, poor ventilation and lack of evidence of a hayloft is suggestive of use by cattle rather than horses, though use may have been multi-purpose (Aitkens & Wade-Martins, 1999, p.41). The 'hatch' may be significant to its original use.
The stable is part of a small group of farm buildings which occupy the northern side of a moated enclosure, against the southern edge of Gulling Green. The moated site is typical of many found on the Suffolk claylands, many of which date from the C13. It is likely that the re-used timbers in the stable and attached barn came from the medieval or Tudor farmhouse formerly on the site (Alston, 2001, 4; Breen, 2004, 4).
The attached barn and former cart lodge are not of special architectural interest though the re-used timbers in the barn are of local interest.
Summary of importance:
This C18 stable or former cowshed is a rare survival in this part of Suffolk and is of a type of farm building under-represented in the lists. It is located within a medieval moated site and contains much earlier re-used timbers, possibly from the former farmhouse, which adds to its historic interest.
Sources:
Wade-Martins, S and Aitkens, P, 1999, The Farmsteads of Suffolk: A Thematic Survey, English Heritage
Alston, L A, February, 2001, Gulling Green Barn, Brockley, Suffolk, A Historical Survey, unpublished report
Carr, R D, July 2004, Archaeological Assessment: Brockley, Gulling Green, unpublished report, Suffolk County Council Archaeological Services
Aitkens, P, March, 2005, A Farm Building at Gulling Green, Brockley, Bury St Edmunds: some notes on the architectural History, unpublished report
