Barn At Seckford Hall And Spur Wall

This is a barn dating back to the 16th or 17th century, situated within the grounds of Seckford Hall, alongside a spur wall. The barn is constructed of red brick in English bond, with a plain tiled roof. It has an open-plan design across six main bays, with six smaller subsidiary bays.

The front of the barn originally featured a projecting plinth to the lower wall. A 19th-century outshut is attached to the right, with a lean-to roof, and a gabled projecting cattleshed extends to the far left. Between the outshut and the main barn are 19th-century doorways that have been blocked and replaced with 20th-century horizontal windows. A cross window is situated to the left of these, all set into what appears to be renewed brickwork. Further to the left is earlier brickwork, and above the plinth is a row of rectangular ventilation holes, now blocked. A double-door opening extends the full height of the walling, with a wooden lintel just below the wall plate.

The right-hand gable end has a 19th-century double door with a cambered head, and above this is a blocked four-light mullioned casement window. The gable itself features three bands of chevron decoration created with fired brick headers. The left-hand gable end, which faces the road, also has a projecting plinth, with brickwork arranged in a lattice pattern of fired headers forming diamond shapes. There is a blocked opening at ground floor level, alongside a 20th-century metal window. A two-light window with a chamfered surround is set into the gable. The forecourt front is largely masked by the 19th-century lean-to outshuts, however, the brickwork behind these reveals a projecting plinth and blocked rectangular ventilation holes.

Inside, the barn has six major trusses with tie beams, collar beams, and wind bracing. Six subsidiary trusses have no tie beams or wind bracing, except for those at the far northern end.

A spur wall extends from the north-eastern corner of the barn, terminating in a square gate pier with a stepped cap and a globe-light finial. The spur wall has a lattice pattern of fired headers on its roadside face, along with a cogged band below the saddle-back shaped parapet. This walling continues on the other side of the gate, forming the walls of a walled garden in Martlesham and contributing to the northern wall of the western garden.