Shrublands

Shrublands is a farmhouse originating in the late 16th century, with earlier work dating back to the late 15th or early 16th century at the rear. It is located in Wetheringsett-cum-Brockford, near Brockford Green. The main range is timber-framed, with exposed close studding, except for the right gable end which is rendered. The rear has exposed framing. The roofs are mainly plaintiled.

The farmhouse originally comprised three cells, and was extended to the left and linked to the main range in the 17th century. It appears as two storeys, with a partial attic. The left side is end-jettied. The windows are mostly casement windows, with 2 and 3 lights. Mid-20th century windows replace some on the ground floor; the upper floor windows are older. A 20th-century lobby entry features a battened and studded plank door. The original cross-entry is now blocked. A large stack has a square plinth with four square shafts forming a diamond pattern. The original elements of the stack, including the plinth and moulded bases, remain, while the rest was rebuilt in the 20th century. The left gable end contains a projecting 4-light ground-floor window from around 1600, with ovolo-moulded mullions. Evidence suggests original first-floor and attic windows existed above. At the rear is an original gabled stair wing with later additions on either side. A massive stack against the rear wall of the service cell has four offsets and a dated brick (1738). The parlour cell retains an original blocked rear doorway.

A parallel block stands to the rear, offset to the right, with three diamond-mullioned windows, a plank door, and an internal stack with a plain axial shaft. A one-storey dairy was added to the left gable end.

Interior features of the earliest work are found in the right-hand half of the rear block, consisting of one complete bay and part of a second. There is full-height studding, a reverse-curved brace, and a removed tie beam. The original roof is fragmentary, with sooted rafters and wind-braced side purlins, indicating a possible former open hall or smoke bay. The left cell of the rear block features plain studding and ceiling joists. One original gable window has chamfered mullions and diamond glazing bars. The hall has a chamfered-joist ceiling. A service room was enlarged by removing a partition wall to the hall, retaining slightly chamfered ceiling joists and a blocked fireplace with three 17th-century cupboards adjacent. The parlour chamber retains an original division into two rooms. In the hall chamber, two doors retain outlines of birds, remnants of a previously complete painted decoration covering the entire room in the 19th century. The surviving stair has a circular newel post. There are several good 16th-17th century doors, mainly in the rear sections. The roof over the main range has not been examined.