The Ancient House is a medieval timber-framed and partly pargeted building located in

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England. It is a Grade I listed building.

History

The oldest part of the building is the west wing, dating from the 14th century, whilst the heavily decorated east wing is believed to have been built in 1473. The house features a moulded timber ceiling in one of the ground floor rooms and some elaborately carved oriel windows. It is mentioned in a will dating to 1502. The Ancient House was acquired in the early 1930s by a local farmer, Charles W. Byford, in order to prevent its removal to the United States. It was then gifted in 1938 to Clare Parish Council to put to "a useful public purpose". A museum was established by the council in 1979. In the 1990s it was re-designed with grants and help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, St Edmundsbury District Council, and the Landmark Trust. It is now preserved as part Landmark holiday accommodation and part museum.

References

External links

Landmark Trust page on the house, as of April 2023Clare Ancient House Museum websiteLandmark Trust history sheet for the Ancient HouseEnglish Heritage listing
{{Authority control Landmark Trust properties in England Grade I listed buildings in Suffolk Grade I listed houses Houses in Suffolk Local museums in Suffolk Timber framed buildings in Suffolk Clare, Suffolk Hall houses