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1. Great Cornard, Abbas Hall (TL 901 404)
a) Aisled Hall Felling date: Winter 1289/90
Arcade plates 1255; 1282(31); Braces 1256(5); 1288(17C); 1289(24C); Arcade posts 1289(17C); 1289(24C) Dated 7/9; Site Master 1150 – 1289 (t = 7.1 New Inn Oxford; 6.4 Cressing; 6.1 Glastonbury)
b) Inserted Floor Felling date: Winter 1548/9
Ceiling beam 1548(17C); Dated 1/1 Site Master 1421 – 1548 (t = 5.7 Nuffield; 5.7 Acton; 5.4 Gosfield)
This building had been dated c1290 on stylistic grounds, having long braces and notched lap joints. The house was the home of the steward of the manor, owned by the nunnery at West Malling, Kent. It is on the edge of an ancient woodland that was also part of the manor, and seems the likely source of the timber. The inserted floor is dated on the basis of a single timber, but this long series retained its full sapwood. The floor date is significant in that it is just post-Dissolution. The work was commssioned by English Heritage. See also Bridge, M. Tree-ring analysis of timbers from Abbas Hall, Great Cornard, Suffolk, Unpubl. AML Report 35/2000.
2. WINGFIELD, Wingfield College, (TM 229768) Felling date range: 1379 - 1383 Posts 1368; 1379(15C); 1383(11C) Dated 3/17, Site Master 1310 - 1382 (t= 7.3 Cann Hall, 5.5 London1175, 4.9 Fyfield2)
The college is known to have been founded in 1362. It has been studied extensively in the past. A scarf joint in the arcade plate was originally thought by Hewett (1980) to belong to the period 1300 - 1320, but he later found this joint throughout the fourteenth century. The early parts of the college are now thought to represent as many as three phases built within a period of twenty to thirty years (Aitkens pers comm). The earliest phases used very fast-grown oaks and could not be dated, but the date for the the third phase fits with this theory. English Heritage commissioned this work. See also Bridge, M. (1999).
3. WINGFIELD, Wingfield Great Barn, (TM 229768)
Felling date: 1527
Posts 1506(h/s); 1510(h/s); wall plate 1512(h/s); stud 1526(29); rail 1527(30C) Dated 5/15, Site Master 1451 - 1527 (t= 6.0 Gosfield, 4.7 Magdalen Laver, 4.6 Cann Hall)
The barn is closely associated with the college, which is known to have fallen out of use in the first half of the sixteenth century. The barn, with its long convex braces supporting the tie beam, upon which sit pairs of jowelled queen posts, was thought to be of mid- sixteenth century date. The date of the barn was therefore of use in interpreting the history of the whole site. This date, commissioned by English Heritage, was a few decades earlier than many people expected. See also Bridge, M. (1998)
4. Otley Hall, OTLEY (TM 207 653)
(a) West Wing (Hall and Screen) Felling date: 1511/12
(b) South Wing (Kitchen) Felling date range: 1518-1538
(c) East Wing (Moat wing) Felling date range: 1565-1591
(d) North Wing (Playhouse wing) Felling date: 1588
(a) Door frame 1484(h/s); 1486(19); 1489(h/s); Ceiling joists 1502(6); 1545(h/s); Binding beam 1510(20C); Partition studs 1511(13C); 1511(C). (b) Corner post 1518(21). (c) Corner posts 1556(6); 1559(10). (d) Joist 1549(6); Wall plates 1558(h/s); 1587(47 1/4C). Site Master 1415-1587 OTLEY (t = 7.8 MARY ROSE REFIT; 6.9 LT WYMONDLEY; 6.8 CANN HALL; 6.7 WINGFIELD BARN)
This building has many interesting features, including some fine panelling (dated by Ian Tyers to 1535-1566). Philip Aitkens has carried out an extensive survey of the building which prompted questions as to the sequence of building. The doorway of the West Wing is thought to be the original entrance, and study of its narrow-ringed timbers alone suggested a marginally earlier felling period. It appears to be integral with the partition screen and Hall however, which have timbers felled in the winters of 1510/11 and 1511/12, except for one ceiling joist (1554-1586) which is a repair, perhaps coinciding with the panelling of this room. This part of the building employs the diminished haunch soffit tenon, the second earliest dated example, and of interest in this secular, non-royal context (Aitkens, pers comm). The south wing, originally thought possibly to be the first section to be constructed, is mostly of elm. The east wing appears to be next, and the north wing last. Dating Commissioned by the owner, Mr Nicholas Hagger.
5. Walpole Old Chapel, WALPOLE (TM 374 752),
Roof repair Felling date: after 1766
Principal rafter 1757. Site Master 1698-1757 WOC06 (t = 5.6 READING ABBEY; 5.1 WINCHESTER; 5.0 THAXTED)
This is one of the oldest Independent chapels in the country, thought to have been used since 1647. Four phases of construction have been recognised, but none of the timbers in the earlier phases had sufficient rings to be dated dendrochronologically. The single timber dated here represents a change to the roof structure. See also Bridge, M. 2000 Tree-ring analysis of timbers from Walpole Old Chapel. Walpole, Suffolk, Unpubl. AML Report 51/2000
6. St Mary Magdalene Church, DEBENHAM (TM 174 632),
Nave Roof Felling date range: 1397-1409
Dated 6/17. Wall plate 1343; Ashlar pieces 1357; 1368(h/s); 1374; Cornice piece 1362; Rafter 1388(h/s). Site Master 1256-1388 DEBENHAM (t = 7.2 THETFORD; 6.5 HIGH HALDEN; 5.9 CHICKSANDS)
This medieval church was extensively renovated in Victorian times. The nave roof, with its alternating ties and hammerbeams and embattled cornice, has been attributed by some to the late-fifteenth century. Its similarity to a number of other churches in the area suggest it could be the work of the architect Hawes of Occold in the 1420s, but the present date suggests earlier construction. Dating commissioned by English Heritage. See also Bridge, M. 2001 Tree-ring analysis of timbers from St Mary Magdalene Church, Debenham, Suffolk, CfA Report 43/2001.
7. The Post Mill, DRINKSTONE (TL 964622)
a) Re-used timbers Felling Date Range: 1543-73
b) Main post Felling Date Range: Winter 1586-7
Site Master 1464 - 1586 (t= 6.9 Anglia00, 6.3 Gosfield, 5.9 Little Wymondley)
The central post on which the mill rotates was much older than expected. The later superstructure could not be dated.
See also Bridge, M. 2001 CfA Report 60/2001
8. Isaac Lord Complex, 80/80A Fore Street, IPSWICH (TM 168441)
a) 80 Fore Street Felling Date Range: 1418-49
b) 80A Fore Street Felling Date: Spring 1636
c) Warehouse 4 Felling Date: 1587
Site Master 1420 - 1635 (t= 7.8 London1175, 6.9 Oxon93, 6.6 Hants97)
A Merchant's House in several phases with a range of warehouses behind, running down to the River Orwell. The earlier part of the house is earlier than expected, the 1636 date accords with a carved date on the front of the building. A number of the warehouse ranges did not date, some being large ranges of softwood (probably imported) which may be useful in the future. See also Bridge, M. 1999, AML Report 49/99
9. HENGRAVE, Hengrave Hall (TL 824686)
a) East Range Felling Date Range: 1521-47
b) Gatehouse Felling Date Range: 1516-48
c) North Range Felling Date Range: 1517-49
d) Queen Elizabeth Room Felling Date: 1536
e) Stable Block Felling Date Range: 1526-55
Site Master: HENGRAVE 1367 - 1516 (t= 8.8 Thetford; 7.5 Cann Hall; 7.4 Saffron Walden)
A large impressive Tudor building, written records suggested the complex was built between 1525-36. There was not enough sapwood left on timbers to narrow down felling dates sufficiently to be able to date individual ranges. The site has however provided much needed data for Suffolk. There is evidence of re-used timbers in some areas. The site provides the earliest dated examples of the use of on-edge joists. See also CfA Report 111/2001.
10. ALPHETON, Mill House (TL 879 492)
Inserted Floor Felling Date: 1617
Site Master APHFBM 1501 - 1616 (t= 6.4 London1175; 6.3 Suffolk; 6.0 Oxon93)
A large hall house wit htwo cross wings, possibly all contemporaneous and stylistically late fifteenth century. Oak, ash and elm wasused in the framing. None of the fast-grown oak dated. A beam from an inserted floor beam was the only timber to date. See also CfA Report 2/2002.
11. LINSTEAD MAGNA, Model Farm (TM 307 778)
Farmhouse Felling Date: Spring 1615
Site Master MODELFM 1497 - 1614 (t= 7.3 Hill Hall; 6.8 Broomfield; 6.5 Wimpole)
A standard 3-bay lobby entrance house with chimney bay. The roof has been replaced.
12. FRESTON, Freston Tower, Freston Park (TM 178 397)
Floors Felling Dates: Winter 1578/9, Spring 1579
Joists 1521, 1532, 1544(h/s), 1550, 1550(h/s), 1559(7), 1577(27), 1578(26¼C), 1578(30C), 1578(30¼C), Stair support 1578(7¼C). Site Master 1458-1578 FRESTON (t = 8.8 DRINKSTONE; 6.8 OTLEY HALL; 6.6 ELLAND OLD HALL)
It is a grade II* listed six-storey brick building, thought to have been built as a look-out tower, its commanding view of the Orwell estuary being a useful vantage point for a merchant of the nearby (3-4 km) port of Ipswich. The problems of dating are discussed in some detail in Wilson Compton Associates, 'Freston Tower, Freston, Suffolk, historical appraisal and analysis', which draws parallels with the Clifton Tower at King's Lynn in Norfolk. One feature recognised in that report is that the floor joists in the lower floors have been laid flat, a technique thought to have gone out of use by the AD 1570s, and superseded by the on-edge style employed on the fifth floor, which is therefore thought to be a later replacement floor. M. Bridge, 'Tree-ring analysis of timebrs from Freston Tower, Freston Park, Ipswich, Suffolk, CfA report 94/2003. Dating commissioned by English Heritage.
13. BROCKLEY, Brockley Hall, Hawk's Lane (TL 826 555)
Felling dates: Winter 1317/18, 1318/19
All timbers (4/8); Arcade post 1292, 1306(2); Bridging beam 1317(16C); Brace 1318(20C). Site Master 1174-1318 BROCKLEY (t = 7.2 ANGLIA03; 7.2 STNSTJN1; 6.4 ABBAS HALL).
Brockley Hall is a Grade I listed former manor house, thought to be from the late 13th or early 14th century, with later alterations, possibly built for Alexander de Walsham between 1303-38. There is a Hall range with two cross-wings. The main range consists of an aisled hall 10.5 metres long and 8 metres wide, with a contemporary cross-wing to the east, the west cross-wing being 18th-century.The hall contains a pair of octagonal arcade posts with moulded capitals. Dating commissioned by Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History.
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