Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural Description:

This is a 1 ½ story three-bay eave-entry horse barn with a saltbox-roof addition on its western gable-facade. The eastern gable-façade of the barn faces Winthrop Road while the northern eave-façade is the main façade. The main entrance to the barn is centered on the northern three-bay eave-façade through an exterior-hung sliding wagon door. A hinged hay door can be seen just above the main wagon door entrance. A four-pane framed stable window can be seen towards the east of the main entrance and a six-pane framed stable window can be seen towards the west. The façade also has two six-pane framed stable windows, one each on either side of the hay-door. The western gable-façade of the barn has a saltbox-roof addition that wraps the main barn along its southern eave-façade and continues to cover part of the eastern gable-façade. The northern eave-façade of the saltbox-roof addition has three three-pane horizontal stable windows towards the west. The eastern gable-side of the saltbox-roof addition is semi-open with a small shed-roof addition towards its south. A white sign board displaying the name of the farm- Flight Way Farm, with a metal saddle above can be seen on the gable attic of the eastern gable-side of the saltbox-roof addition. The view of the eastern gable-façade of the main barn is partially blocked by a water-tower placed towards it east. The façade has three equally spaced six-pane framed stable windows with the gable attic separated above by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line. The facade appears to have a hay-door with trim above the windows which has now been boarded. The gable attic has a six-pane vertical window just above the dropped girt siding divide line with horizontal siding on both sides. A hay-track can be seen projecting out just below the apex of the roof.
The wooden frame of the barn has asphalt shingle roofing and red painted vertical siding walls with white trim. The eastern gable-façade has a part of the gable attic covered with horizontal siding.

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.

Field Notes

House was built in mid 1700's. English barn has had many additions. Present owner runs Flight Way Farm, giving riding lessons and boarding horses. [Source: Diane Lindsay]

Use (Historic)

• equestrian

Use (Present)

• equestrian

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Shed
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Residential
• Scattered Buildings

Relationship to surroundings

The property is towards the west of Winthrop Road.

The main residence of the property can be seen towards the north-east of the barn with a driveway along the southern gable-facade of the house leads to the equestrian barn. The view of the barn from the road is partially blocked by a water tower towards the east of the eastern gable-façade of the barn. The property has a series of small fenced horse-fields towards the west of the barn. The barn is flanked by a large horse-field with the hurdles to train horses towards its south. A few sheds and out-buildings can be seen scattered towards the west of the horse-field along the southern edge of the property. Parcels of open-land can be seen towards the south-west and north-east of the barn with another large horse-field towards further north. 

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Clapboard

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

07/15/2010

Compiled By

T. Levine and M. Patnaik, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs and information provided by –
Diane Lindsay, DianeDaveLindsay@att.net

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.