Site Event/Activity record ESF21558 - Tree-ring analysis of timbers from Freston Tower, Freston Park, Ipswich

This rare six-storey brick tower was thought to have been built around AD 1550 and displays a mixture of classical pediments and medieval angle turrets, coupled with an odd brick parapet balustrade. The ceilings of the lower floors have oak joists running east-west and laid flat, whilst those in the fifth-floor run north-south and are laid on-edge. The fifth-floor joists could not be dated. Joists from the lower ceilings were constructed from trees cut in winter AD 1578/9 or spring AD 1579 suggesting a construction date for the tower of AD 1579 or very soon thereafter. The tower thus provides a late example of the use of flat-laid joists. Project status: Complete Yes, Validated Yes Previous/Future Work: Previous No, Future Not known Associated Identifiers: Related HER No. FRT 030 NMR No. 1564815 Project Type: Building Recording Methods and Techniques: ''Dendrochronological Survey'' Reason for Investigation: Research Site status: Listed Building Monument Type(s)/Period(s): TOWER Post Medieval Artefact Type(s)/Period(s): N/A None PROJECT LOCATION Area 200.00 Square metres Grid Reference: TM1779239664 Point PROJECT CREATOR(S) Organisation: University College, London Brief originator: None Design originator: English Heritage Director/Manager: Martin Bridge Supervisor: Martin Bridge DIGITAL ARCHIVE Recipient: English Heritage Contents: 'Survey' Media: 'Images raster / digital photography', 'Survey' PAPER ARCHIVE Recipient: National Monuments Record Contents: 'Survey' Media: 'Report' BIBLIOGRAPHY Publication Type: Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Title: Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers from Freston Tower, Freston Park, Ipswich, Suffolk Author(s)/Editor(s): Bridge, M. C. Other Bibliographic Details: 94/2003 Date: 2003 Issuer/Publisher: English Heritage Place of Issue or Publication: Portsmouth Description: A4 bound report of 12pp (ISSN 1749 8775)