Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Historic Resource Inventory

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story eave-entry and cross-gable entry barn with two gable-roofed additions, in the heart of a farming complex. The main facade of the barn faces southwest, with its ridge-line perpendicular to Sterling City Road, which runs approximately southwest-northeast.

The main facade entry is an exterior sliding door on the west side of the cross-gable facade. The track extends into the middle of the facade and the south portion of the cross-gable has a pass-through door and a six-over-six double hung window.

Centered in the gable attic is a hay door. Beneath the apex of the roof is a four-pane window. West of the cross-gable in the southwest eave-facade of the structure is a large open wagon bay flanked by a six-over-six double hung window to the west and a garage door to the east. East of the cross-gable in the southwest eave-facade of the structure are two open bays.

The southeast gable-facade of the main structure is encompassed by a gable-roofed shed with their ridge-lines aligned with an large open bay. Connected to the gable-roofed shed is another gable-roofed shed, this one with its ridge-line parallel to the cross-gable (northeast-southwest).

The northwest gable-facade of the main structure has four six-over-six double hung windows; two on the main level and two in the gable attic. The northeast eave-facade of the main structure is blank except for the revealed mortared field-stone foundation and a six-over-six double hung window towards the east corner. The northeast facade of the rest of the structure is blank except for two vents in the end gable-roofed shed on the main level.

The structure has vertical flush-board painted gray with white trim and an asphalt shingle roof. The foundation is mortared field-stone.

Historical significance:

This is a barn that has changed over time so often that its original form is lost. It has elements of an English barn as well as a wagon shed and New England barn.

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.

Distinguished by the long shed or gable roof and the row of large openings along the eave side, the typical wagon shed was often built as a separate structure or as a wing connected to the farmhouse or the barn. These open-bay structures protect farm vehicles and equipment from the weather and provide shelter for doing small repairs and maintenance.

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. With the main drive floor running parallel to the ridge, the size of the barn could be increased to accommodate larger herds by adding additional bays to the rear gable end. 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.

Field Notes

Mailing address given as Old Lyme.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Carriage House
• Cupola
• Garage
• Shed
• Silo
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural
• Scattered Buildings
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

This barn is at the heart of a farming complex. The associated house is west of the barns. The ridge-line of the house is parallel with Sterling City Road, while the ridge-line of the barn is perpendicular to the house. The barn is accessed from Sterling City Road by a driveway. Behind and to the south of the barn is a series of large, pole barns, cross-gable barns and large sheds, all relatively close together. Four silos are also present in this cluster of agricultural outbuildings.

South of this cluster is a newer cross-gable building with four cupolas. To the southeast of this building are a number of open space fields that are bordered by stone walls for use by animals. To the east and north are large tracts of open space for use in crops.

To the west the site is bordered by Hamburg Road, to the northwest by Sterling City Road, to the northeast, past the open space, is dense woodland. To the east, past the open space, is an portion of land that is used for fill. East of that fill is dense woodland.

The total size of the site is approximately 200 acres; additional acreage and barns are located northwest of Sterling City Road.

Building Typology

• English
• New England
• Wagon Shed

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

1820 S.F.

Date Compiled

07/22/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs by Jane Montanaro.

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.

Map of the Town of Lyme, CT, retrieved on July 22, 2010 from website www.zillow.com.

Town of Lyme assessors office, Town Hall, 480 Hamburg Road, Lyme, CT.

http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 10/04/2010