Mendlesham House

Mendlesham House is a former farmhouse dating from the first half of the 16th century, with a later wing, possibly from the 17th century, added to the rear. The building is timber framed and plastered, topped with a shallow-pitched concrete-pantiled roof. It has a three-cell layout and stands two storeys high, featuring three mid-20th century casement windows with small panes. The internal stack has a narrow brick axial shaft, while a later stack is located against the left gable end. A mid-20th century doorway is found at the rear.

Inside, the house boasts a high-quality five-bay frame with heavy studding and tension bracing. There is evidence of massive tie beam braces supporting open trusses over the hall and parlour chambers, although the tie beams and original roof have been lost. The ceilings in the hall and parlour feature heavy cross beams, with the joists concealed. The hall ceiling beams are knee-braced to buttress-shafted wallposts that have moulded caps, which is an unusual feature. A blocked rear cross-entry doorway has a wide four-centred arch. The service partition is well-preserved, with paired central doorways that have moulded jambs and hollow-chamfered four-centred arches. The front wall of the parlour chamber includes the sill of a former oriel window. An arched doorway at the rear on the upper floor may have led to a stair wing. There is some evidence of an original timber flue in the parlour. The current stack is a later addition in the hall cell, featuring back-to-back open fireplaces on the ground floor. The two-bay rear wing has its upper floor supported by secondary timbers set in front of the wallposts. The building was formerly known as Hill Farmhouse.