Vale Farmhouse

Vale Farmhouse is a former farmhouse dating from the early 16th century, with an extension added around 1600. It is a rare example in Suffolk of a two-bay "croglofft" house, featuring an open smoke bay at one end and a loft at the other. The building is one storey with attics, constructed from timber framing and plaster, and has a Roman pantiled roof that was once thatched. There is a central chimney made of red brick from the 17th or 18th century. The windows include small-pane casements from the 20th century and an ovolo-mullioned window from around 1600 located at the left-hand gable. The entrance door, which is boarded, dates from the 19th century and is positioned at the cross-entry. The framing is well-preserved with unmoulded features and arch windbraced studwork. Inside, there are heavy unchamfered floor joists in the storeyed bay, and the roof is likely of coupled-rafter form, originally hipped, with moderate smoke-blackening. Around 1600, a parlour block was added to the right, featuring close studding and an ovolo-mullioned window that was repositioned in the 20th century. The parlour includes an arched fireplace from around 1600. The house is particularly notable for its original two-bay plan form.