Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is 1 1/2 –story two-bay eave-entry barn with a shed-roof addition encompassing the entire length of its east gable-end. The north eave-side of the barn flush with the north side-wall of the shed-roof addition faces Spencer Plains Road while the ridge line runs east-west parallel to this portion of the road. The main façade of the barn is the south eave-façade with the main entrance towards the west through a pair of paneled hinged wagon doors with eight-pane door leafs. The façade has a second entrance towards immediate east of the main entrance through a hinged pass-through door while a hinged hay door can be seen above it, off-centered towards the east. The main south eave-façade of the barn has two four-pane awning windows towards the east with trim at the sill level and projecting rafter tails lining the eave-level. The south side-wall of the shed-roof addition flush with the south eave-side of the barn has a hinged pass-through door towards the west and a six-pane window towards the west. The east eave-side of the shed-roof addition encompassing the entire length of the east gable-end of the barn has four equally spaced four-pane windows and a hinged hay door centered above them. The gable attic of the east gable-end of the barn is lined by deep soffit and has a window at the center. The north eave-side of the barn flush with the north side-wall of the shed-roof addition is blank. The west gable-end of the barn has a double window at the center with a six-pane window towards the north and a twelve-pane window towards the south. The two windows are tied together by a continuous trim at the lintel level. A hay door can be seen above the six-pane window while the gable attic is separated by a distinct girt siding divide line. The gable attic is lined by deep soffit and has a four-pane window at the center. The west gable-end of the barn has a margin of exposed un-coursed field stone masonry along the grade level. 

The wooden frame of the barn is supported on un-coursed field stone masonry foundation which has a recently added protective band surrounding the barn at the plinth level. The barn has asphalt shingle roofing and red painted vertical siding walls.

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

n/a

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The .52 acre parcel, Property ID: 162/053 and Account number – S0322403_1, is located towards the south of Spencer Plains Road. The property is situated in a predominantly residential area with individual plots separated by woodland. Residential plots can be seen be seen towards the west, south and the north of the property across the road, while the area towards the east is covered by dense woodland. Stone boundary wall demarcates the southern edge of the plot.

The barn is located in the northwest corner of the property abutting to Spencer Plain Road. The circa 2006 main residence is located towards the southeast, separated from the barn by a open land. The ridge line of both the barn and the main residence run east-west parallel to each other and to this portion of the road. The property is accessed by a driveway towards the east of the barn that continues south approaching the main residence.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Other
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 20 X 30 Sqft, Circa 1950;

Date Compiled

03/29/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field notes and photographs provided by: Meg Parulis, 09/10/2010

Assessors’ records retrieved on March 29th, 2011 from website http://host.appgeo.com/WestbrookCT/PropertyRecordCard.ashx.

GIS information retrieved on March 29th, 2011 from website http://host.appgeo.com/WestbrookCT/Map.aspx .

Photograph/Information retrieved on March 29th, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on March 29th, 2011 from website http://www.bing.com.

Photograph/Information retrieved on March 29th, 2011 from website http://www.zillow.com.

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.