Manor Farm house, Cretingham

Manor Farm House, Cretingham

An early 17th-century vernacular farmhouse, extended in 1855.

The structure incorporates red brick and timber (oak and elm), with roofs covered in pantiles. The historic core was constructed on a T-plan around a central chimney stack, and although the building has since been extended, the original plan remains legible.

The principal elevation faces south onto Swan Lane. It is three bays wide and two storeys high, with a pitched roof covered in black glazed pantiles. The red-brick walling is laid in a diaperwork pattern formed using burnt headers. The windows are eight-over-eight wooden sashes with gauged brick lintels. There is a central doorway, above which is a stone plaque reading '1855' alongside a monogram with the letters C and A.

The west elevation shows the two major phases of construction together. The diaperwork of the 1855 range at the right-hand side, a gable wall with a single window at ground floor, adjoins the hall range and then service wing at the left-hand side. The rendered gable of the hall range terminates a steeply pitched roof covered in unglazed pantiles. There are casement windows of different designs at ground, first and attic storeys, each with timber mullions and metal glazing bars. Projecting to the left-hand side is the service wing with a single ground floor window; the wing's steep roof changes pitch over a small extension.

The north elevation is the gable end of the service wing. It is a single storey high with a large attic storey above. The ground floor has been extended by a single bay to the west and the wall has been rebuilt in brick to the height of the wall plate. There are three arched openings in the gable wall and a longer opening in the extension, all of which have been blocked up.

On the east side of the service wing there is a single doorway, a fixed two-light window, and a dormer window. The service wing forms a corner with the hall range where a long catslide roof descends. The catslide covers a small extension that can be better appreciated by looking at the rendered gable wall at the east end of the hall range; it is wider on the right-hand side to incorporate a single doorway. There are casement windows at ground, first and attic floor levels of the hall gable; the ground floor window is a mid-20th-century replacement. On the left-hand side is the diaperwork gable of the 1855 southern range. It mirrors the western brick gable, with the addition of a small light-well marking the end of the cellar.

There are three brick chimney stacks: two in the valley between the southern and hall ranges, and one large ridge stack at the junction between the service wing and the hall range.

Within the hall range the original timber frame is clearly visible with a very large beam and joists in the former hall: the joists widely spaced with lambs-tongue stops and broad, hollow mouldings. The former parlour is ceiled with a hewn, un-moulded beam visible.

In the hall range the doors appear to be 18th century in date: some are four panelled, others are plank and batten doors, all of which have L-hinges. The upper storeys of this range retain their original floor surfaces made of very wide oak boards.

The roof structure above the hall range is formed of simple common rafters with side purlins, butt-jointed where they meet collars.

The 1855 range retains its original plan form and joinery. The stair hall has pamment paving. The staircase has turned newel posts with ball finials and a handrail supported by stick balusters. The south-eastern room retains a servant's bell-pull. The cellar is walled and floored in brick.

Most of the visible fireplaces appear to be 19th century in date, with wooden surrounds and cast-iron grates. The hall fireplace has been blocked and a mid-20th-century range stands in its place; one of the reception room fireplaces was replaced with a tiled mid-20th-century fire surround; and the first-floor rooms of the hall range have both had their fireplaces removed.

The service wing includes a kitchen (with late-20th-century wall and floor surfaces of lesser interest). There is a dairy at ground floor, with the timber frame exposed to the interior. An external door has been blocked at the north-east corner. The north wall contains ventilated (unglazed) windows with top-hung shutters. Around the edges of the dairy are wide wooden shelves for settling milk. Within the ground floor extension it is possible to see the historic external wall-covering that shows a simple pargeted panel design. Above the dairy is a room with a blocked ventilated window; this room is likely to be a cheese loft. It adjoins an unheated first-floor chamber. Between these two rooms is a strong 17th-century door, the only studded door in the house, perhaps an historic security measure for the goods once stored inside.