Spencer Farms (00 (Across 633) Bell Street, Glastonbury (Central Valley))

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a T-shaped barn complex towards the east of Bell Street consisting of a 2 ½ - story eave-entry gable-roof main barn intersected by a 1 ½ - story gable-entry gambrel-roof barn on its east eave-side. The ridge line of the main barn runs north-south parallel to the road while that of the intersecting barn runs east-west. The complex includes a shed-roof addition encompassing the entire length of the north gable-end of the main barn and two other shed-roof out-buildings located along the north and the south eave-sides of the intersecting gambrel-roof barn. The west eave-side of the main barn facing Bell Street is the main façade with two main entrances towards the south through two pairs of hinged wagon doors. The façade has a third entrance towards the north through a pair of dutch-doors, separated from the main entrances by a six-over-six double-hung sash window. The second floor level of the façade is separated by horizontal trim and has a system of ventilation through the vertical siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the sides to open like tall narrow doors, each held in place by its own hook. A margin of cement plastered masonry foundation can be seen on the main façade long the grade level. The north gable-end of the barn has a semi-open shed-roof addition at the first floor level with the name of the farm, ‘SPENCER FARMS’ displayed at the second floor level. The gable attic is lined by deep soffit and is separated by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line. The east eave-side of the main barn has the 1 ½ - story gambrel-roof gable-entry addition towards the south.

The wooden frame of the T-shaped barn complex is supported on cement masonry foundation. The complex has red-painted vertical siding on walls and asphalt shingle roofing.

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 New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relies on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offers many practical advantages. Roofs drain off the side, rather than flooding the dooryard. Although it was seen by many as an improvement over the earlier side entry English Barn, the New England barn did not replace its predecessor but rather coexisted with it. It this case, both an eave entry and a gable entry are used.

The tobacco barn, or shed as it is called in the Connecticut River Valley, is one of the most distinctive of the single-crop barns. They tend to be long, low windowless buildings with pitched roofs. They are characterized by vented sides to regulate air flow and allow harvested tobacco to cure at the appropriate rate. Derived initially from the design of the English barn, the shed is composed of a fixed skeleton consisting of two- or three-aisle bents repeated at intervals of 15 feet to the desired length. The wood-framed bents sit on piers of stone or concrete and the bents are connected by girts and diagonal braces. Typically there are two doors at each end, making the shed a “drive-through,” although some sheds are accessed through doors on the sides. The interior structural framework serves a second purpose in addition to supporting the walls and roof of the building; it provides a framework for the rails used to hang the tobacco as it cures.

Tobacco shed wall ventilation is accomplished with one of four different systems (more than one method may be utilized in a single shed):

a) Vertical slats - siding in which every second board is hinged at the top and tilted out at the bottom by means of a horizontal cleat, that lifts several boards at once, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place;

b) Side slats - Vertical siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the sides to open like tall narrow doors, each held in place by its own hook;

c) Less commonly, horizontal siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the top edge and open like long narrow awnings; this system may be employed along the lower edge of the wall in conjunction with vertical or side slats;

d) A series of large doors along one of the long sides of the building with the other sides of the building vented by one or more of the other methods.

e) The tobacco sheds can have additional ventilation through side-pivot awning vents on the gable-ends, which co-exist with one or more of the above four systems of ventilation.

Although some sheds lack roof ventilation, commonly there is either a series of small ventilators at the ridgeline, or a continuous ridge vent formed by raising the roof structure for a width of up to about 24 inches along the ridge. Alternately, rectangular openings in the attic gable-ends may have pivoting shutters.

Field Notes

The property is located across 633 Bell Street

Use (Historic)

tobacco

Use (Present)

agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

Barn
Shed

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

The 18.77 acres property, property number - 03200007E and property ID - 9855, is located towards the east of Bell Street in a predominantly residential area of rural character. The property is across plot number 633 Bell Street, bordering the town line of Glastonbury and Manchester. Residential plots can be seen towards the north and the west of the property across Bell Street while parcels of farm land can be seen towards the south and the southwest. The property is designated as agriculture land use. The area towards the east and the southeast of the property is covered by dense woodland.

The T-shaped barn complex is located in the northwest corner of the property abutting to Bell Street. The ridge line of the main barn runs north-south parallel to the road. A semi-circular Quonset hut can be seen immediately towards the east of the barn complex. Two green houses are located towards the north of the barn, arranged with their longer sides facing each other and parallel to the road. Parcels of farm land practicing active agriculture can be seen towards the east and the south of the property. A gable-roof shed can be seen towards southeast of the complex while few other sheds can be seen scattered towards further south-east. Dense woodland can be seen in the south-eastern corner of the property.

Building Typology

Materials

Structural System

Roof materials

Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 1440 SqFt; Green House: 1400 SqFt; Shed: 384 SqFt Shed: 629 SqFt Metal storage: 432 SqFt Quonset Hut: 1620 SqFt Tobacco shed: 1152 SqFt

Date Compiled

02/15/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Assessors’ records and GIS Map retrieved on February 15th , 2011 from website http://gis.glastonbury-ct.gov/ceo/ and http://ceo.fando.com

GIS information retrieved on February 15th, 2011 from website http://www.crcog.org

Photograph/Information retrieved on February 11th, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on February 11th, 2011 from website http://www.zillow.com

O’Gorman, James F., Connecticut Valley Vernacular: the Vanishing Landscape and Architecture of the New England Tobacco Fields, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002, 144 pages.

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.

Historic Barns of Connecticut

Barn Record Glastonbury