Clock House

LITTLE STONHAM CLOCKHOUSE LANE TM 16 SW 2/131 Clock House 9.12.55 - II*

Former farmhouse. Mid or late C15 with major alterations of c.1600. An open- hall house with service cross-wing to right; the parlour cell remodelled and extended in cross-wing form in c.1600. 2 storeys. Timber-framed and plastered. Plaintiled roofs; at both gables the C19 bargeboards have spike finials. Various windows: late C18 or early C19 small-pane sashes; in the right-hand wing early C20 small-pane casements. A chamber window of c.1600 has ovolo-mullions with old diamond leaded glazing. Early C19 6-panelled entrance door; reeded architrave with paterae, and simple cornice. Plaintiled roofs; a fine chimney of c.1600, the square plinth of random yellow and red bricks. Four shafts with moulded octagonal bases of yellow brick; 3 are circular with moulded terracotta panels impressed with roses or fleurs-de-lys, the 4th octagonal (and perhaps rebuilt) in red brick. All shafts have oversailing octagonal caps. The 2-bay open hall has high-quality carpentry: an open truss has a cambered arch-braced tie beam with ogee-and-cavetto moulding, the octagonal crownpost has a moulded capital and base and 4-way knee-braces. The roof is fully exposed. Good close-studding. The cross-wing is in 3 bays, originally having twin service rooms. The chamber above (later subdivided) has open trusses with cross-quadrate type crownposts with 2-way bracing. The original parlour-cell had an in-line roof, hipped or half- hipped. The central chimney of c.1600 has back-to-back fireplaces with ovolo- moulded plastered arched heads. The chamber over the parlour has a fine early C17 coved plaster ceiling, with ribbed geometrical panels, friezes, and central pendants and other motifs all in high relief; despite being incomplete this is one of the richest examples of its type in Suffolk. A good contemporary plastered overmantel in the adjacent room. Other early C17 features include wainscotting in the cross-passage, a 2-storey bay-window with ovolo-moulded mullions and a moulded gable tie-beam, and painted leaf designs in a 1st floor corridor. Suffolk Houses: Sandon: 1977.

Listing NGR: TM1149161189