Gillard Barn (234 Gurleyville Road, Mansfield (Eastern Uplands))

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

Barn I:

This is a relatively new 1 ½-story gable-entry bank barn with a shed-roofed annex off the northwest gable-end and a hyphen off the northeast eave-side connecting the barn to the main residence. The main entry façade of the barn is the southeast gable-end and the ridgeline of the barn is parallel to Gurleyville Road, which at this point runs approximately southeast to northwest. The main entry is a centered paneled sliding door with three evenly spaced four-pane windows. To the south of the main entry is a six-over-six double-hung window. The grade declines sharply east of the main entry revealing a basement of field-stone. In the basement level of the southeast gable-façade is a six-pane window. To the east of the main entry on the southeast gable-façade is a six-over-six double-hung window. Above the main entry is an elongated overhanging hood over the door-rail extending to the south and east corners. Above the main entry rail is a twelve-pane transom running the length of the entry with decorative cap above. Near the apex of the southeast gable-façade is a four-pane diamond-shaped window. Set back at the basement level to the east side of the southeast gable-façade of the barn is a 1 ½ -story hyphen. Running from south to east along the hyphen is an elliptical arched pair of barn doors with six-pane windows in the upper halves, followed to the east by a side-hinged door. This door is followed further along the east on the hyphen by another elliptical shaped opening for firewood storage and by a side-hinged door with a nine-pane window in the upper half. The hyphen connects the basement level of the barn to the back of the main house.

The southwest eave-side of the barn appears to have a centered door with a set of three windows toward the south corner and a set of three windows toward the west corner. The northwest gable-end of the barn has a centered shed-roofed annex projecting north. There appears to be an overhead garage door off-center to the north on the shed-roofed annex and a small side-hinged door off-center to the west, also on the shed-roofed annex. There is a set of three windows centered in the gable of the northwest gable-end. Set back at north corner of the basement level of the northwest gable-end of the barn is the hyphen projecting northeast connecting the barn to the main house. The grade declines sharply at the northeast eave-side of the barn revealing a basement level of field-stone, and extends northwest in the form of a retaining wall. There is a six-pane window toward the north corner in the basement level of the northeast eave-side of the barn. There is a six-pane window to the east corner of the basement level of the northeast eave-side of the barn. Set back to the east corner of the basement level of the northeast eave-side of the barn is a field-stone retaining wall extending southeast. There are two evenly spaced nine-pane windows on the main level of the northeast eave-side of the barn. The barn is covered in clapboard painted white with corner boards, cornice boards and trim. The foundation is fieldstone. The roof is covered with asphalt shingles and a cupola is centered atop the ridge-line. The cupola has four-pane windows in each side, a hipped roof and is topped with a weather-vane.

Barn II:

The second barn is a 1 ½-story gable-roofed barn with a shed-roofed annex off the northwest gable-end. The ridgeline of the barn is parallel to Gurleyville Road, which at this point runs approximately southeast to northwest. The main entry appears to be a pair of side-hinged doors centered on the southeast gable façade or in the southwest eave-side. Extending west from the west corner of the northwest eave-side of the barn is shed-roofed annex. The grade of the northwest gable-end declines slightly revealing the timber supports of the shed-roofed annex which encompasses the entire with and height up to the girt line of the barn. The northwest gable-end is blank. The grade continues to decline on the northeast eave-side of the barn revealing a basement of fieldstone and two timber supports at the east corner. There are two six-pane windows evenly spaced on the center of the northeast eave-side of the barn. There is a small square opening at the east corner of the northeast eave-side of the barn. The barn is covered in un-painted vertical siding. The roof is covered in asphalt shingles. The foundation is fieldstone.

Historical significance:

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.

The 19th century also 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 on 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.

Connected barns tied all of the functions of a farmstead - home, hearth, workplace and barn - into a series of linked buildings. This is the “big house, little house, back house, barn” of nursery rhymes.`

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, as both types continued to be built.

Field Notes

Unpainted old barn, white newer barn. All notes re old barn. Vertical siding, looks like asphalt shingle gable roof, could be wood shingle. New England barn, maybe bank style because of side lower entrance

Use (Historic)

agriculture

Use (Present)

unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

Barn I is attached off the southwest of the c. 1860 house with which it is associated. The ridgeline of the house is parallel with that of the barn. There is a field-stone retaining wall to the northeast of the house. Barn II is to the southwest of the c. 1860 house. The ridgeline of the house is parallel with that of the barn. The site is terraced downslope from the barns to the house and to the road level. The terraces are held by fieldstone retaining walls. To the northeast of the site is Gurleyville Road. The site is bordered to the north and south by wooden fences and to east and west by stonewalls. The total size of the site is 7.33 acres. The area surrounding the site is light residential, open land and woodlands.

Building Typology

Materials

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

02/26/2011

Compiled By

TR Revella & T. Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Benjamin Sachs date 04/06/2008.

Town of Mansfield Assessor’s Record http://www.mainstreetmaps.com/CT/Mansfield/
Parcel ID: 10-43-35

Aerial Mapping:
http://maps.google.com accessed 02/26/2011
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 02/26/2011.

Hubka, Thomas C., Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn: The Connected Farm
Buildings of New England, University Press of New England, Hanover NH 1984, pg. 6

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 Mansfield