Matthews Farm, 2004

From the front, the barn appears to be like many another old, black wooden building, but the view from the rear is truly surprising, for it is obvious that it dates back from centuries ago. It is typically Suffolk in character, with its  pitched roof and great high door. Inside, it is divided into two halves, with steps leading up from one half to the other. It is constructed of marvellously strong, old oak timbers, one of which has a carving on it.

The outbuildings, also at the rear of the house, again provide much of interest. The stables, which are unchanged, are divided into three - one for storing hay, one a manger and the third a stall. In the manger there is a strong old feeding trough which runs the length of the wall, and in the second an old, wrought iron hay rack.  The floor of the stables is made of small-hewn, oblong bricks, again a sign of the age of the building. Nearby, there are other outhouses, including a work- shop and a brew house. The workshop contains many interesting items - several pairs of shears with different shaped handles, oil cans, a large kettle stand, a scythe with its original thick» strong handle, obviously made from a branch of a tree as it still retains this shape, and a double Beatrice burner; this is really unusual - it is a kind of mini portable oil stove, used for cooking - the original of the present-day Belling stove. The brew house was used years ago, when everyone in the village came to brew their own beer if they wished to do so. In the yard there stands an old pump in perfect working order.

3) The House 

This old farm house, which the tithe map of 1842 shows as being owned by George Smith, Corn Merchant, is surely one of the gems of the village. It has a large cellar (which is occasionally damp underfoot because it has a spring running up into it), complete with a-wine, rack; two staircases, one at each end of the house; six bedrooms, including two attic rooms each reached, again, by 2 separate staircases, one narrow and almost spiral. The Martins' present-day kitchen once housed a bread oven; the peel, the long-handled shovel used for taking loaves out of the oven, still exists. One cupboard halfway up the "spiral staircase" reveals another gem. The walls of this cupboard are papered with old newspapers dating back to the end of the Boer War, each item of immense interest, e.g. the mention  of Pretoria and the War nearing its end (1902), advertisements  for a set of dentures for 1 guinea or a single tooth for 2/6d,and Enfield motors and cycles. On passing from one bedroom to the next, one notices a cupboard in one corner. This cupboard reveals the bricks of the huge chimney breast, maybe 3'- 4' thick, which rises through the house. The wall at the back of the cupboard has been boarded over but, if this were removed, it would be possible to walk through to the next door bedroom alongside the chimney breast. This is evidence that the downstairs rooms must contain great inglenook fireplaces which, at this time, are concealed by comparatively modern ones although these, in themselves, are quite interesting as they probably date back to the turn of the century.

Mr & Mrs Harry Martin Snr outside Matthews Farm