Waggon lodge and store at Pond Farm, Stoven

Summary

A late-C18 or early-C19 waggon lodge and store.

Reasons for Designation

The waggon lodge and store at Pond Farm is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* for the high proportion of surviving historic fabric, including the original roof structure;
* for its vernacular craftsmanship, particularly the stair formed from quartered logs.

Historic interest:
* as a good example of a combined waggon lodge and store or granary within a well-preserved farmstead;
* dating from the height of the Agricultural Revolution, the waggon lodge and store illustrates an important phase in the development of English farming practice and the operation of the farmstead at Pond Farm.

Group value:
* for its strong historic functional association with the other listed structures at Pond Farm: the farmhouse, threshing barn, and cart lodge.

History

Pond Farm was historically known as Green Farm after Middle Green (or Further Green), which lies immediately south of the farmstead.

Evidence from the fabric of the farmhouse suggests that the site has been occupied since at least the C17. However, the farmhouse was remodelled in the second half of the C18 and most of the working buildings around the farmyard date from the later C18 or early-to-mid C19.

By the C18 much of coastal Suffolk formed part of large private estates and was managed by tenant farmers with mixed farms. This was the case at Pond Farm which remained tenanted into the 2010s.

The threshing barn, the cart lodge, the waggon lodge and store were all extant by 1838, at which date they were recorded on the tithe map for the parish of Stoven. Also shown on that map was an additional outbuilding and small cattle yard between the barn and the southern pond which was demolished at some point between 1977 and 1999.

Between 1838 and 1883 a second outbuilding with a small cattle yard was constructed alongside that mentioned above. This building survives but has not been assessed as access was not possible (2024).

Situated close to the road and principal entrance, the two-storey waggon lodge and store served several functions. It was already extant by 1838 and is likely to date from the C18 along with the threshing barn, reconstructed farmhouse, and the cart lodge. It provided space for the dry storage of wooden waggons and for other implements. The upper storey is ventilated but unglazed and was intended for the storage of goods and is likely to have functioned as a granary.

At some point between 1925 and 1977 a small additional structure was attached to the east gable wall of the waggon lodge, rising to the height of the attic vent. This later structure was ruinous by the early C21 and entirely demolished by 2019.

Details

A late-C18 or early-C19 waggon lodge and store.

MATERIALS

The building is timber framed with one brick gable. All but the east elevations are covered in weatherboards. The pitched roofs are covered in corrugated metal sheets.

PLAN

The ground floor appears to have originally contained a waggon shed and other implement stores. The attic historically functioned as a goods store or granary.

EXTERIOR

The building faces north on to the principal access route into the farmyard. It is four bays long and the walls are covered in weatherboards. The eastern bay has double doors leading to the waggon lodge. Two further entrances lead respectively to the first floor granary and to the ground floor stores.

The east elevation comprises a red brick gable, initially in Flemish bond which changes to monk. At attic level is a louvred vent beneath a segmental brick arch.

The west elevation is covered in weatherboard with a loading door at attic level.

The south elevation has no windows at ground floor. Much of the weatherboarding here has been lost.

INTERIOR

The ground floor is internally subdivided by brick walls and some brick flooring survives. The waggon lodge is separate from the rest of the plan.

The stairs to the first floor are formed of quartered logs resting on wide elm planks which still retain their live or waney edges.

The first floor is a continuous open volume which retains its original floor and roof structure. The roof is simple and comprises hewn timbers, collars at principal rafters and butt purlins.

Sources

Other
Tithe map for the parish of Stoven, 1838
Ordnance Survey 25" sequence from 1883 - 1977
Google earth satellite imaging sequence from 1999 to 2019
Historic Farmsteads. Preliminary Character Statement: East of England Region. English Heritage (Historic England), 2006.

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