Impaugh Farm (AKA Elseys In The Fields)

Impaugh Farm (AKA Elseys In The Fields)

Impaugh Farm is a Grade II listed building in Mill Green, Stonham Aspal, Suffolk. It was first listed on 26th March 1987.¹

The building, now Impaugh Farm, has a long history. It was called "Elseys in the Fields" and had a holding of 12 acres.

"Elseys in the Fields" was so-called to distinguish it from Elseys in Coddenham. It is first mentioned in 1384 when John Else had two tenements in Stonham Aspel and also 6 acres in Coddenham, (where a man of the same name was, later, Vicar). The family had been mentioned often before , as, for example, in 1347, when Alice Else died "seized of a third part of a messuage".

The Coddenham holding was granted to John Else in 1366. The two tenements in Stonham Aspal and Coddenham are thereafter mentioned together until 1491, when an empty tenement in Coddenham was conceded by the Lord to Richard Pilburn. In 1491 there begins a list of abstracts from the relevant court roles which have been pinned together to show the title up to 1629 (Record Office HA 24 :50/19/3/3).

Elliot Elseys, as it was sometimes called, is mentioned separately in 1499 and thereafter. By the time of Henry VI the building was in the hands of the Catchpole family, and from the 1562 survey we know that it was held by Robert Catchpole, who was a considerable man, also holding Impaw of 30 acres, Sheepcote Close of 11 acres, Leye Close of 12 acres , Impaw Wood of 8 acres and two pieces in Bednall Field of 24 acres. The survey also mentions that in 1656 it was all still held by John and then Alan Catchpole. It was a daughter, Anne, who in 1717 became a Baldry and it was not until 1748 that the connection was broken and the Jefferson family took over. Through a daughter again who married a Glover in the early 19th century, this line remained unbroken at least until 1851.

The interesting social comment is that the house has passed through so few families. From the first actual mention in 1384 when the Else family held it, there were only four families involved and of these two only held it for 10 years or so. The Catchpole family held it for 300 years. The Jeffersons held it a mere 100, while the Else family could have held it for another 100 years. We cannot be certain of this but the architecture of the building is not inconsistent with a date in the 14th century.

Those who have lived or worked at Impaugh Farm include the following:

Copyright © 1998- by Suzie Morley