Barn Record Guilford

RETURN TO ‘FIND BARNS’
Building Name (Common)
n/a
Building Name (Historic)
n/a
Address
186 Boston Post Road (Route 1), Guilford
Typology
Overview

Designations

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 2 1/2-story gable-roofed eave entry barn. The main facade faces east and the ridgeline runs north-south, perpendicular to Boston Post Road. The main entry is a double-height sliding door towards the north corner of the east eave-facade of the barn. Near the center of the facade are two three-over-three six-pane windows to each side of a pass-through door. There are four closely spaced three-over-three six-pane windows towards the south corner. There appears to have once been a 1-story gabled addition at the center of this side, over the pass-through door and northern window. The south gable-end of the barn has three closely spaced three-over-three six-pane windows on each side of a hooded pair of sliding doors in the center. There is a nine-pane window in the gable attic. The west eave-side of the barn appears to have a 1-story gable-entry addition at the center. There appears to be a series of three-over-three six-pane windows to the south, and possibly the north, of this addition. The north gable-end of the barn appears to have no openings apart from a window in the gable attic. The foundation appears to be cement block.

The barn has vertical siding and flush-board doors painted red with white painted window trim and cornice boards. The gable roof projects slightly on all sides and is covered with asphalt shingles. There are two metal ventilators, painted red, each centered on the ridge about one-quarter the length of the barn in from each gable end.

Historical significance:

The oldest barns still found in the state are called the “English Barn,” “side-entry barn,” “eave entry,” or a 30 x 40. They are simple buildings with rectangular plan, pitched gable roof, and a door or doors located on one or both of the eave sides of the building based on the grain warehouses of the English colonists’ homeland. The name “30 by 40” originates from its size (in feet), which was large enough for 1 family and could service about 100 acres. The multi-purpose use of the English barn is reflected by the building’s construction in three distinct bays - one for each use. The middle bay was used for threshing, which is separating the seed from the stalk in wheat and oat by beating the stalks with a flail. The flanking bays would be for animals and hay storage.

 

Historical background:

This barn is in the Guilford Historic Town Center National Register Historic District, and may be a contributing property. However, the nomination form as viewed on-line does not specifically mention the barn.

 

Field Notes

Very Large Red Barn on remainder of Farm (rest of farm is subdivision) Vertical Siding with Asphalt Gable Roof Concrete foundation Located at southwest corner of Horseshoe Road and Boston Post Road.

Use & Accessibility

Use (Historic)

Use (Present)


Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Environment

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

The site is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Boston Post Road (Route 1) and the west end of Horseshoe Road, which forms a U-shape and intersects Boston Post Road at both end points. The site has been subdivided and the corner lot contains only two barns (no house). The ridgeline of the barn is parallel to Horseshoe Road, running roughly north-south at this point, and perpendicular to Boston Post Road. There is a smaller two-part New England barn near the northeast corner of the English barn. The ridgeline of the second barn is oriented roughly east-west, parallel to Boston Post Road. The two parts of this barn align along the north eave side; the western half is slightly lower and narrower and the ridgelines of the two halves are offset. The main entry of the second barn is at the west gable end. This barn is also red painted vertical siding. A driveway from Boston Post Road terminating in a small turn-around near the barn entry is mostly on what is now a separate lot. The area around the mostly level 1.37 acre property is residential with some open space including marshland and fields.

Typology & Materials

Building Typology

Materials


Structural System

Roof materials


Roof type


Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Source

Date Compiled

03/16/2011

Compiled By

Meg Henry & T.Levine, reviewed by the CT Trust

Sources

Field notes by Dempsey Fitton, 08/10/2009

Photographs by Dempsey Fitton, 08/10/2009

Town of Guilford GIS Viewer
http://www.guilfordgis.com (Parcel ID: 042032A)

Town of Guilford’s Assessor’s Record
http://www.prophecyone.us/fieldcard.php?property_id=2150824

Aerial Mapping
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 2/27/2011

Raiche, Stephen, Guilford Historic Town Center National Register District Nomination No. 76001988, National Park Service, 1976.

Sexton, James, PhD, Survey Narrative of the Connecticut Barn, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, Hamden, CT, 2005, http://www.connecticutbarns.org/history.

Visser, Thomas D., Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings, University Press of New England, 1997.

PhotosClick on image to view full file