The General Wolfe is a Grade II listed building in the Mid Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 24 April 1986. House, former farmhouse, public house. 13 related planning applications.
The General Wolfe
- WRENN ID
- distant-tower-sienna
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Mid Suffolk
- Constituency
- Waveney Valley MP: Adrian Ramsay (Green)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 24 April 1986
- Type
- House, former farmhouse, public house
- Address
- The General Wolfe, Wolfe House, High Street, Laxfield, Woodbridge, IP13 8DX
- OS grid reference
- TM 294 723
- Coordinates
- 52.30157, 1.36453
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Probably originally a farmhouse, it was used as a public house until 1952 and is now a private residence. The building largely dates to the late 16th and early 17th centuries, with a later 17th-century wing at the rear. A smaller, earlier core exists within the structure. It is timber-framed and plastered, with a roof of modern plain tiles in the front. The rear wing has cement render and glazed black pantiles.
The building has a half-H plan, with flanking cross-wings that project forward; the left wing has been extended in a later phase. It is two storeys high, with attics. Windows vary, including 19th-century small-paned sash windows in the wings, an early 20th-century tripartite sash window on the ground floor of the right wing, a mid-20th century showroom window to the left wing, and casement windows along the centre range. A particularly notable feature is a good 18th or early 19th-century three-light window on the ground floor of the centre range. A 19th-century six-panel door, with the upper two panels glazed, is present. A 20th-century open lean-to extends across the centre. An axial stack, positioned between the hall and parlour wing, has four attached shafts arranged in a cross shape.
The interior has been altered, notably the left wing, which has been gutted on the ground floor. A notably long parlour occupies the whole ground floor of the right wing. Both the hall and parlour have plain joists. At the rear of the left wing, a small section of framing is visible at a lower level than the main structure, likely part of an earlier range. The roof over the central range has clasped purlins and cranked wind-bracing.
Local climate
The General Wolfe sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 92% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 63% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 21 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 78% of listed buildings. Of these, 11 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 10 transactions since 2003
- Related listed building consents — 13 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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