Valley Farmhouse

Valley Farmhouse is a late 15th-century farmhouse, extended in the 18th century, located in Combs Lane, Stowmarket. It was formerly part of a farm. The farmhouse is timber-framed, with rendered and colourwashed walls in close studding, and has plain tile roofs. It is two storeys and has a dormer attic.

The north front has six irregular bays, including a two-storey entrance porch now positioned to the left of centre, due to the later addition of a bay to the west. The timber frame is exposed on the porch. The entrance door is planked, and the side windows consist of three turned balusters each, formerly open, now glazed. Jettied first and attic floors are supported by bressummers, both featuring carved running leaf ornament. The main roof is gabled, with a hipped section over the new western bay. The upper floor framing is exposed on the north front, which is now largely fitted with 2- and 3-light 20th-century metal casements. A gabled stack has been rebuilt.

The south elevation is dominated by a three-storey gabled staircase tower, originally central to the elevation. Only the attic storey of the tower is jettied, with a carved leaf decoration to the bressummer. The tower rises from a 19th-century slated outshut, which also has 20th-century metal casements. Two 2-light 20th-century casements are present on the first floor of the main wall, along with two flat-topped dormers to the left of the tower. The west gable has a stack, and the east gable features a sash window with 6/6 glazing bars, set within a projecting bay with a hipped, plain tile roof. A jettied attic storey is present on the east gable, with an intricately carved bressummer featuring running interlace leaf decoration. A single-storey and dormer attic extension runs south from the west end of the south front.

The interior’s east ground-floor room has sunk quadrant-moulded cruciform bridging beams, while the west room has chamfered cruciform bridging beams. On the first floor, the main north rooms either side of the porch have brick 4-centred fireplace surrounds: the eastern one with ovolo mouldings and the other with hollow mouldings, alongside chamfered bridging beams. A late 15th-century wall painting depicting a warrior slaying another warrior is located above the fireplace in the west room. A passage has been inserted to the south side of the first floor. Several 17th- and early 18th-century plank and panelled doors remain. The original west wall has a blocked 6-light diamond section mullioned window with King mullions. The roof structure has been replaced with principals, collars, and two tiers of butt purlins.