Oak Farm Cottage

Oak Farm Cottage, formerly known as Oak Farmhouse, is a historic building located on Mill Street in Gislingham. It dates back to the 16th century and was originally a unit house or service range for The Old Guildhall. The structure underwent significant changes in the 17th century when a stack was inserted and part of it was rebuilt. It was extended in the 19th century and altered in the 20th century.

The cottage features a timber frame that is plastered, with a thatched roof. There are also some flint and brick elements, along with a slate roof. The building consists of three bays and stands two stories tall. The gable end facing the road has a ground floor that is brick-cased, with a 20th-century three-light lattice leaded casement window. The first floor has two dual two-light leaded casement windows, hoodboards, and elaborately cusped and waved finialed 19th-century bargeboards.

On the right side, there are scattered two and three-light casements, some of which have early leaded lights. A ridge stack is located at the rear of the center, with its cap rebuilt. To the left, there is a 19th-century bay and a 20th-century entrance that features a bracketed hood, along with leaded three-light casements and coving to the oversailing timber-framed upper storey. The eaves are boxed, and there is an internal end stack. Behind the main range, there is a 19th-century brick and pantiled lean-to outshut.

Inside, the original entrances were located at the rear and to the left side of the front bay. The interior includes stop-chamfered cross axial binding beams, chamfered jowled storey posts, and a rear bay that was largely rebuilt following a fire in the late 17th century. The first floor features close studding with straight arched braces in the walls and edge halved scarf joints in the wall plates. The roof is a simple collar rafter design with inserted side purlins.