Freston Tower House and Cottage is a Grade II listed building in the Babergh local planning authority area, England. First listed on 29 July 1987. House. 3 related planning applications.

Freston Tower House and Cottage

WRENN ID
noble-cinder-woodpecker
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Babergh
Constituency
South Suffolk MP: James Cartlidge (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
29 July 1987
Type
House
Address
Freston Tower House and Cottage, IP9 1AD
OS grid reference
TM 178 396
Coordinates
52.01221, 1.17238
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

This is a 16th-century house range, with a late 16th-century gable end, that has undergone substantial later alterations, additions, and a major renovation around 1979. The structure is timber-framed, featuring an orange brick gable end and stack with blue diapering. Parts of the timber frame are clad, and there are red brick additions in a Flemish bond pattern. The first floor of the west front is rendered, and the roofs are covered with plain tiles. The original range is 4 bays, with two later bays added to the north, including a cellar. The west front now has C20 casement windows, raised brick gables, and kneelers. A later addition to the rear extends under a pent roof. The right gable end is notable for a massive, external crow-stepped stack.

The interior of the Tower House ground floor reveals an exposed spine beam, two chamfered cross beams and joists (partially restored), and a stout timber frame at the first floor. This includes jowled posts, chamfered tie beams with run-out stops, mortices and pegs for missing arch braces, and an edge-halved scarf to the hall plate, with one side renewed. Other interior details include a studded partition and end wall, and a clasped purlin roof with wind braces. The building had previously been subdivided into four cottages and was derelict by the 1970s, when it was extensively renovated and divided into three separate units. The original timber-framed range now constitutes the Tower House.

Local climate

Freston Tower House and Cottage sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 80% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 66% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 14 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 87% of listed buildings. Of these, 7 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • Sale history — 2 transactions since 2015
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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