Packing Sheds and Cottages which were once part of the Great Orchard in Bures St Mary
Part 1.

Planning Application B/13/00074 dated 22/01/2013 Former Cottages and Packing Sheds, Eves Orchard Application for Advertising Consent - erection of a single Sales Board and 4 Flag Poles Applicant:-Persimmon Homes	Planning Application B/13/00078 dated 22/01/2013 Former Cottages and Packing Sheds, Eves Orchard Change of use to temporary sales area including a site office for a period of 1 year Applicant:-Persimmon Homes
Planning Application 06/08/2012 Previous application from "Eves and Cockrell" to demolish these buildings had expired - new application submitted
Planning Application from Eves and Cockrell dated 12th December 2008 Renewal of Consent to demolish former Cottages and Packing Sheds No B/05/01670/CAC/GP Previous application dated December 2008 had expired

Plans submitted to Babergh to divert footpath from Friends Field into the Nayland Rd. Approved

Planning Consent application 17/12/2008 Orchard Packing Sheds The plot of land along the unmade road to the Telephone Exchange is seeking planning consent demolition of existing structure and to build for 2 houses and gardens. At the rear of these properties, there is an unofficial footpath which runs between Friends Field and Nayland Road, this result in a minor diversion. The existing properties consist of two derelict cottages and an apple packing shed. This was in use many years ago by Dennis Eaves(dec) when he operated a fruit and veg stall from this site.

History of the packing Sheds and Cottages. No packing Sheds or Cottages appear on the Tithe Map of 1837. At that time Abraham Hardy owned the Orchard of some 4 acres which was described as an "orchard and garden" The Ordnance Survey map (left) of 1885 then clearly indicates the three buildings. These structures then appear in all subsequent publications of the Ordnance Survey maps until the present day This would make these buildings in excess of 150 years of age. Acknowledgment to Leigh Alston, Researcher and Mediaeval Historian

Summary of Historic Building Survey by Leigh Alston on behalf of Suffolk County Council The buildings known for planning purposes as 'cottages and packing sheds' form a linear range of four structures adjoining the remains of a commercial orchard and nursery ground close to the village centre. They previously belonged to an adjacent 16th inn ( now The Horseshoes) and were owned in conjunction with the adjoining grade II-listed house at 1 Nayland Road until it was sold separately in or about the 1960s. The earliest of the four is a highly unusual structure of circa 1840 with an original sunken brick floor approximately half a metre below ground level. Its internal ceiling and timber-framed upper storey consists largely of re-used timber, including a series of high-status ogee-moulded Tudor joists that were probably salvaged from the rear wing of the inn which was demolished around the same time. Wrongly described as a former cottage this building is almost certainly a rare early-Victorian apple store which retains an original fireplace designed to prevent frost damage in winter. Its external gables preserve good original decorative pargeting within the adjoining sheds, both bearing the scars of older, smaller sheds on the same sites. A second early-19th century fireplace that may have heated a potting shed now lies within an early-20th century vehicle shed to the west. The eastern end of the range is a single-storied red-brick stable of the 1890s with the remains of three stalls and a separate cart shed containing wooden harness hooks. Its rear elevation incorporates an early- 19th century boundary wall consisting largely of over-fired 'wasters' from a brick kiln which provide evidence of the village's industrial past: at least one brick kiln is recorded in Bures. This wall extends into a second two-storied building which also dates from the 1890s but was much altered in the mid-20th century when it may well have operated as a packing shed, although in more recent years it housed a retail shop selling fruit and vegetables directly to the public. The various structures are of considerable historic interest and visual character, illustrating the sophisticated nature of the service buildings required by a commercial Victorian orchard and nursery ground. Acknowledgment to Suffolk County Council, Archaeological Dept for allowing the web site to reproduce this text.

The Great Orchard

The orchard now reduced by 50% due to the development of Friends Field and Eves Orchard bungalows
Photo taken possibly circa 1990, courtesy of Ken Baxter

Photograph circa 1961, courtesy of Ken Baxter
Before Friends Field or Claypits Ave constructed