Bacon'S Barn

Bacon's Barn is a former farmhouse that dates from the 15th century and was partly built around 1600. The structure is timber-framed and rendered, with some outer walls replaced in colour-washed brick. It features a thatched roof on part of the building, which is half-hipped at the west end, while the remainder has black glazed and clay pantiles. The older western half of the barn is 1½ storeys high, while the rest is 2 storeys with attics. These two sections are connected by an internal chimney stack made of small red Tudor bricks.

The building has two gabled dormers, 20th-century casement windows, and three-light casements with a single bar in the circa 1600 section. On the garden front, part of the original hall window has been reinstated, and one old casement window retains diamond-leaded panes. There is a 20th-century plank door next to the chimney stack.

Inside, the western half contains the remains of a 2-bay open hall with a crown-post roof. The crown-post is octagonal with a moulded cap and is braced in four directions at the head, although the base has been cut off, and the supporting tie-beam has been removed. A later queen-post structure has been inserted below, resulting in a modified raised aisle truss. Some components of the queen-post are smoke-blackened and appear to be reused. At the west end of the hall, a timber-framed partition has been replaced with a wall of Tudor brick laid in English bond, and the bay beyond is a late 17th-century reconstruction. The inserted ceiling in the hall is plain and heavy, with exposed main beams and joists.

The added 2-bay parlour block on the east is well-timbered, featuring close studding and exposed ceilings on both floors, with main beams that have curved stops and a plain timber lintel above the hearth. There are also remains of mullioned window openings. The roof includes clasped side purlins, arched windbraces, and intermediate collars between the trusses. It is likely that the inserted stack was preceded by a smoke bay. Notably, this is the only house in the South Elmham parishes that retains a crown-post roof.