The building, until recently referred to as 'The Dutch Barn' was constructed in approximately 1840 as a fishing net shed and later in the century as a sail loft specialising in the fabrication of sails for the wherries which were built in the nearby workshops such as the one documented at this link. then as a manufacturing facility for cod-liver oil, and as part of the salt works. An OS map of 1874 suggests that building originally had a large rear extension.(Source: English Heritage). Sail-making evidently continued into the 1920s and '30s in a separate out-house located in what is now the car park, although the main building had by then been converted to residential accommodation.

For most of its existence the freeholder has been Southwold Corporation and, from 1974 to c 2002 Southwold Town Council.

c1861 - 1874
William & Samuel Powditch - Coastal traders and cargo ship owners, are believed to have used the building to store their equipment at about this time.

Note: Brothers William (b 1830) and Samuel Powditch (b 1824) are from Brancaster in North Norfolk and moved to Southwold in the early 1860s. Both have cargo boats of their own and, for a time, are business partners:

William, who is described as a 'mariner', owns the vessel 'The Good Intent' and seems to specialise in transporting and dealing in coal. By 1868, though, Kelly's and White's Directories describe him as an 'old clothes' dealer living at an unspecified house in Queen Street with his wife, Maria (nee Lord). However, it is likely that second-hand clothing is a sideline, as he continues his involvement in coastal trading until the 1880s.

His brother Samuel, a 'Master Mariner', owns at least four ships over the course of his career. However, he has suffered three serious personal setbacks. The first was the death in childbirth of his wife, Isabella Brightmer and of their newborn son in 1853, just a year after their marriage. The second is his involvement in a serious accident at the recently developed Royal Victoria Docks in London which disables him and brings his seagoing career to an end. The third tragedy is the loss of his ship, 'The Mariner's Hope' in 1869. Now captained by his brother, William, it is in collision with the schooner 'Time' and sinks off the coast of South Shields. William and his two crew are rescued by the crew of 'Time'.

After this misfortune, the people of Southwold organise a collection for Samuel and raise £111 - a generous gesture, particularly considering that he and his second wife, Eliza, have been Southwold residents for less than nine years. Samuel, Eliza and their six daughters set up home at No 8 High Street where, by 1879, they are running a confectionery business (K1879).

William, meanwhile continues to captain his own ship, 'The Good Intent' until the early 1880s, when he and his wife Maria retire to run the Sole Bay Inn at No 7 East Green.

We are grateful to Carol Stone, great-great granddaughter of William Powditch, for sharing her family research with us. For a fuller account of the Powditch story, click here.

c 1913
Frederic Blagden Malim - leases the building as a holiday home for his family. Frederic is Headmaster of Haileybury College in Hertfordshire.

1921
Frederic Blagden Malim - continues to use the building as a family holiday residence. This year he becomes Master of Wellington College, Berkshire.. (Source: Lavinia Greenwood, nee Malim, Frederic's daughter who lived in British Columbia until her death in 2021. To read her memories of chidhood holidays in Ferry Road during the 1920s and 30s, click here.)

Frederic Blagden Malim - family holiday home.

1940
HM Forces requisition the building for the manufacture of parachutes and camouflage netting. The workforce is almost entirely female.The two-storey height of the interior at that time makes it particularly suited to this work .

1947
Major Reginald Lovett Stamford Raffles, with his wife and three daughters, leases the building from Southwold Corporation. The family have moved from West Suffolk and have been living at No 27 Field Stile Road while the building was converted into a restaurant with a family flat above it. Major Raffles' Dutch wife, Johanna (nee Trost) is to run the restaurant and names it 'The Dutch Barn'.

Note: Major Raffles is the great grandson of Rev Thomas Raffles, who had inherited the fortune of Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, the founder in 1819 of the City of Singapore. Although only indirectly descended from Sir Stamford, the Rev became his heir because all his sons had predeceased him.

Johanna Raffles - trading as 'The Dutch Barn' Restaurant.

1950
The building is extensively damaged by a fire, resulting from a fault in the construction of a chimney. The family escape with their lives and temporarily move to 'The Red Barn', one of two adjacent bungalows owned by Johanna. While the building is being repaired and refurbished, the restaurant relocates to No 81a High Street (part of Buckenham House.)

1953
Scarcely have the Raffles family and the restaurant reoccupied the building than the Dutch Barn is once again badly damaged, this time by the great tidal flood which affected much of the East Coast this January. Once again the building requires extensive repair. This time the restaurant relocates to Harbour House at the estuary end of Ferry Road, while the family temporarily move into a cottage in Frostenden and later to a house in Pier Avenue, Southwold. The restaurant is not able to move back into The Dutch Barn until much later this year. The return is delayed not only by the substantial structural work required but by the fact that the beach is cordoned off for a while as several WWII mines have been discovered on the beach, brought in by the exceptional storm suurge.

To read a first-hand account of the night of the flood by the Raffles' middle daughter, Sylvia, click here.

Johanna Raffles - trading as 'The Dutch Barn' Restaurant. Grietje Stuij a Dutch restaurant manager, has been employed to run the restaurant and helps to develop its growing reputation while attracting a celebrity clientele. The three Raffles daughters, Angie, Sylvia and Olivia, regularly help out with the service.

1970
The Raffles' middle daughter, Sylvia, opens a bistro-style restaurant 'Ticky's Barn', in the now vacant flat above her mother's main restaurant. It is open in the evenings only and provides a more informal setting with live guitar music.

1972
The business is sold to Nicholas Wilton, a noted South African chef who quickly builds up a fashionable reputation for The Dutch Barn. It becomes well known for its champagne parties and wedding receptions.

1976
Robert Wade and his wife take over the lease and continue to develop the establishment's fashionable reputation.

Winston & Mary Colloby - 'The Dutch Barn' restaurant.

c2002
Winston & Mary Colloby purchase the freehold from Southwold Town Council.

2006
Ms Ed Darragh -This Irish-born singer-songwriter purchases the building and changes its name to 'Casa Mia'. It is run as an Italian-style piano and cocktail bar.

2009
The Casa Mia closes and stands empty.

2010
Premises bought by Christopher Buck with the aim of redeveloping the site. By 2014, planning permission has still not been granted and the premises remain derelict.

2015
The building is extensively redeveloped by a consortium once again as a restaurant called 'The Sail Loft', reflecting one of its early uses.

Acknowledgments to Sylvia Barsby (nee Raffles) for detailed information about her parents' tenure of the building. Also to Emily Whalley of Ferry Road and to English Heritage for some of the names and dates on this page, and to Adnams PLC for permission to reproduce extracts from the letter written by Major Raffles from The Swan Hotel where the family were offered refuge after the flood.