Chadwells Farmhouse

Chadwells Farmhouse is a house dating from the early 17th century, which was extended in the 20th century. It is timber framed, plastered, and has a roof made of handmade red clay tiles. The main part of the house is aligned approximately east to west and features a two-bay crosswing at the eastern end. There is an internal chimney stack at the junction of the main range and crosswing, and an external stack at the western end. An ancillary building at the western end was combined with the house in 1971, creating a second, longer crosswing that encloses the last stack. The house is single-storey with attics.

On the northern elevation, there is a door with a tiled gabled hood and four casement windows, all dating from the 20th century. On the first floor, there are four additional windows, two of which are located in flat-roofed dormers. The main chimney stack features a sunk panel with an inscription painted on plaster: "1631 MS ES," with the four octagonal shafts being rebuilt in 1971. Some of the framing is exposed internally, showcasing jowled posts and straight bracing trenched inside the studs. The main range has plain-chamfered axial beams with lamb's tongue stops, while the crosswing has a plain-chamfered binding beam with more elaborate carved stops. Some joists are exposed and have a horizontal section. Both chimney stacks are original, although the ground-floor hearths have been significantly altered. The roof features clasped purlins.

The name "Chadwells" is first recorded in court rolls from 1293 as "Caldewell." Deeds indicate that the farm, which covers about 110 acres, was purchased by Martin Sparrow of Wixoe, gentleman, in 1622, and his initials can be found on the chimney stack. The initials "E.S." have not been identified. There are farm maps from 1726, 1808, and 1844 located in the Essex Record Office. The history of the property from 1622 is detailed in P. Crouch's work titled "The Story of Chadwells Farm, Birdbrook," published in The Haverhill Historian in September 1981 and May 1982, with copies available in the Suffolk Record Office.