The Old Forge

The Old Forge is a late 16th-century house, originally associated with the village forge and smithy, and later divided into cottages. The original timber frame has largely been replaced over time with red brick walling, constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries using English, Flemish, and random bond techniques, with some blue headers. The roof is covered in clay pantiles. The chimney stack has a partly rendered brick shaft. Gable ends feature tumbled brickwork. The building has two flat-headed dormers and 3-light casement windows with transoms, all with arched surrounds. A plank door and another with four flush panels provide access.

The original core of the house has a two-cell lobby entrance plan and is arranged over four bays, including a chimney bay. A ground floor room to the north of the stack has an exposed ceiling with plain, heavy joists and a chamfered main beam with curved stops. The studs are widely spaced, but substantial. The roof has clasped side purlins. A bay was added in the 18th century, featuring thin joists set on edge. A small lean-to was added to the rear wall before the brick facing, covering a section of pargetting: decorative plasterwork with an ornate raised frieze at eaves level. A 19th-century extension with a large gable-end stack exists at the south end of the house, potentially indicating it was once a separate cottage. The 1½-storey height is unusual for post-medieval houses in the South Elmham parishes, and the fragment of pargetting is the most ornate surviving in the area.