Very little is known about the Church Lane Maltings in its original form, or who it was built for or when. The Maltings were disused as such by 1903. Later it was used as a slaughterhouse, and also an implement store for Clare Farm (J.H.Moore). During the Second World War the building was taken over by the army and used as a R.E.M.E. workshop. The meadow opposite in Church Lane was a hutted camp attached to the workshops.
After the war Messrs Heatons, forage merchants of Newmarket used the building as a store and workshop. The last occupier was the Dullingham Garage (Harold Misson); again it was used as a vehicle store.
Sadly, on the 13th November 1991, at 7.30pm, a freak tornado struck the village and completely demolished the building. This all happened in three minutes!
“I remember the Maltings so well as a boy. Part of the second floor of the main building was still in place. Grandfather’s slaughterhouse was at the end of the building and I think this must have been where the original kiln area was. The building was a really substantial; red brick with a red pantiled roof, and had many small slatted windows for ventilation”.
“It was the custom of my Grandfather and Father to visit the slaughter house after church on Sunday morning. Sundays and Wednesdays were slaughtering mornings. I was always expected to go with them, being a male member of the family, though only nine or ten years old. I decided at a very early age that I would not follow in the family footsteps and be a butcher”.
Joe Moore, September 2003
The Maltings, Church Lane, 1991
(Photo courtesy Joe Moore Archive)
Photos 72 and 73 depict the devastion caused by a tornao which struck the village at approximately 7.30pm on Wednesday 13th November 1991. Joe Moore's grandfather ran a slaughterhouse in the Maltings. It was also used to store implements. The site remained derelict for many years before being cleared and redeveloped as three private dwellings with upstairs living accommodation to afford fine views over St Mary's Church and the village pond.
Three new dwellings have been built on the site of The
Maltings
