Monk Soham Hall

Monk Soham Hall is a manor farmhouse, primarily dating to the 16th and 17th centuries, with alterations from the 19th century. It comprises a two-cell main range with a cross-wing to the left, which extends to the rear. The cross-wing originally served as service accommodation; the front section of the main range was later repurposed for this function. The house is timber-framed, with the front and right gable end of the main range cased in red brick dating to the late 18th or early 19th century. The remainder of the structure is plastered, with some colourwashed brick casing on the side wall of the cross-wing. Simple pargetting remains on the gable end of the wing. The roof is tiled with clay tiles on the front slope of the main range and the forward section of the wing, and concrete tiles elsewhere.

The main range is two storeys with an attic, while the cross-wing has an end jetty supported by three original brackets of four. The main range has three windows, which are late 19th-century casements: three-light windows flank the porch, and a single-light window is located on the extreme left. The upper right window is a mid-20th-century replacement of a standard design. All windows have cambered arches with hoodmoulds above. A 19th-century gabled brick porch with pierced bargeboards fronts the lobby entrance. The doorcase features moulded jambs, an entablature, and panelled reveals, with a semi-glazed door. A hoodmoulded two-light window is situated above. Mid-20th century single-paned windows are in the gable end of the wing. The interior includes two internal stacks – one with a rendered cross-axial shaft in the main range, and another in the cross-wing.

The oldest part of the interior is the front three bays of the cross-wing, which feature plain first-floor studding and irregular, heavy ceiling joists in the forwardmost ground-floor room. One solid tie beam brace is visible from a former open truss; this tie beam shows evidence of a former crown-post, but the roof is a 17th-century replacement with diminished butt purlins. To the rear are two mid-17th-century bays and a further bay dating to around 1700, all raised in height during the 19th century to match the front section. Ground floor ceilings in the main range have chamfered cross-beams with 17th-century plasterwork. A room on the left, now subdivided, features Fleur-de-lys, foliage, and flower motifs symmetrically arranged in each quarter, while the right-hand ceiling is plain with a moulded border. One first-floor room has a chamfered-joist ceiling, although much of the structure is otherwise concealed. The roof includes two rows of butt purlins with arched wind-bracing, likely predating the roof over the 16th-century section. Within the entrance addition is a staircase with stick balusters, a ramped and wreathed handrail, and carved tread-ends.