Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½ story side or eave-entry bank barn. The left bay of the main eave-facade has a fixed twelve-pane window and a hinged door just below the eave that is similar in size to the window. The center bay has a twelve-over-twelve double hung sash window. Below the eave in the center bay is a fixed twelve-pane window. The right bay on the main facade has a sliding door mounted on an interior track. Above the door is a fixed twelve-pane window. The left gable-end has a fixed twelve-pane window above the girt line siding divide. There is some deterioration and rot where the siding meets the foundation. In the center of the left gable-end is an opening for a door that is partially boarded up. On the rear eave-facade, the left bay has a fixed twelve-pane window below the eave. The center bay has a twelve-over-twelve double hung sash window and a fixed twelve-pane window below the eave. In the bottom right hand corner of the center bay is a small hinged door. The right bay also has a twelve-over-twelve double hung sash window and a fixed twelve-pane window below the eave. The left and center bays on the basement level are both open while the right bay is enclosed and appears to have a pass-through door. The barn has vertical siding that is unpainted and an asphalt shingle roof.

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.

The 19th century saw the introduction of a basement under the barn to allow for the easy collection and storage of a winter’s worth of manure from the animals sheltered within the building. The bank barn is characterized by the location of its main floor above grade, either through building into a hillside or by raising the building on a foundation. This innovation, aided by the introduction of windows for light and ventilation, would eventually be joined by the introduction of space to shelter more animals under the main floor of the barn.

Field Notes

Historically rear used as ice house. Rear 1/3 in need of major repair. Front 1/2 of barn currently used as a shop. Built in the 19th century although house on property dates back to the 17th century.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Garage
• Shed
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Residential
• Rural
• Scattered Buildings
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is behind and to the east of the house with which it is associated. The ridgeline of the barn is perpendicular to the ridgeline of the house. A driveway from Bates Road runs east towards the barn, just north of the house. The driveway turns north at the house towards the garage, a shed and a second English barn; http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/13799.  The open space of the site extends to the east where it is demarcated by stone walls and dense woodland. To the Northeast is Mansfield Hollow State Park. The total size of the site is 1.60 acres. The area surrounding the site is residential, open space and woodland.

Building Typology

• English Bank

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

BRN3 Barn w Loft 600 S.F. 3200 BRN5 Barn 2 St. 1120 S.F. 6700 GAR1 Garage 400 S.F. 3600

Date Compiled

02/09/2010

Compiled By

T. Levine and S. Lessard, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes by Warren Church - 02/09/2010.

Town of Chaplin Assessor’s Record Account number B000146, MBLU: 2/26//.

Arial map - www.googlemaps.com accessed 2/09/2010.

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.