Barn Record Scotland

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Building Name (Common)
Tea: A Magazine Editorial Office
Building Name (Historic)
Lemuel Pettengill House
Address
3 Devotion Road (Rte 97), Scotland
Typology
Overview

Designations

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½-story gable-entry bank barn with a gable-roof and a shed-roof addition extending the entire length the south eave-side of the barn.  The main gable-end façade faces east and appears to be at grade, with the ground sloping gradually away to the west.  The ridge-line runs east-west, parallel to Huntington Road (CT 14), which lies to the north.  Principal entry is provided by a pass-through door opening located in the center of the east gable-end.  The door itself appears to be missing.  Below the apex of the roof on is a four-pane stable window.  To the south, along the main façade of the shed-roof addition is a hinged pass-through door constructed of vertical wood boards.  To its south are two window openings, one of which is covered with plywood. 

Along the basement level of the north eave-side of the barn appear to be two stable windows, one located in the center of the north eave-side of the barn, the other at its western corner.  Along the basement level of the west gable-end of the barn is a pass-through entry in the northern corner.  To its south are three evenly spaced stable windows spanning the entire length of the west gable-end of the original barn basement.  There is a large hay-loft opening in the center of the west gable-end, beginning directly above the girt-line siding divide and ending at the apex of the roof.  Above the hay-loft opening, the roof extends outward in a triangular projection, forming a hay hood.  Further south, on the west gable-end of the shed-roof addition, is a window opening. 

The exterior walls are covered with unpainted vertical board siding.  The roof is covered with asphalt shingles.  The foundation is constructed of mortared concrete blocks. 


Historical significance:

The New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relied on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offered many practical advantages.  Roofs drained 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; both types continued to be constructed.

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.


Historical background:

The c. 1760 house is currently utilized as the editorial office of “Tea: A Magazine,” a quarterly magazine devoted to tea and the culture surrounding its consumption.

Field Notes

The property is on the west side of Devotion Road, south side of Rte. 14. The caretaker said that the house is 250 years old, and the barn not quite as old. The barn is visible from Rte. 14, and also from the driveway of the property.

Use & Accessibility

Use (Historic)

Use (Present)


Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Environment

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

This barn is located in the center of the Town of Scotland, in a largely residential district with a few scattered commercial enterprises.  The barn is located on an L-shaped 2.5-acre parcel consisting largely of open land.  The property is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Huntington and Devotion Roads.  The property is bordered by Huntington Road (CT 14) to the north, and to the east by Devotion Road.  To the west, the property is bordered by narrow groves of trees and Merrick Brook, a tributary of the Shetucket River, beyond which are large expanses of woods and farmland.  In addition to the barn, the property also features a garage and a c. 1760 house with Georgian details.

The c. 1760 house is located to the northeast of the barn. It is a 2 ½-story, five-bay structure with an L-shape plan and a cross-gable roof.  Its main façade faces east and its ridge-line runs north-south, parallel to Devotion Road.  On the northern half of the west-eave side is a 2 ½-story addition with a gable-roof, its ridge-line running perpendicular to that of the original house.  The principal entry is through a paneled pass-through door in the center bay of the main façade.  Above the door is a six-pane transom.  Flanking both sides of the door are two twelve-over-twelve double-hung windows with trim.  On the second story of the main façade are five identical windows, their location corresponding to each of the five bays.  In the center of the south gable-end of the house is a pass-through door with a single-story entry portico with a gable-roof that is supported by two cylindrical columns.  This entryway is flanked on either side by a twelve-over-twelve double-hung window with trim.  There are three identical windows on the second story of the south gable-end of the house, as well as what appears to be a twelve-over-eight double-hung window below the apex of the roof.  Along the north gable-end of the house are eight double-hung windows, four on the first story, and an additional four on the second story.  There is a double-hung window below the apex of the roof on the north gable-end.  The walls are covered in clapboard siding painted a blue-gray.  The roof is covered with asphalt shingles.  In the center of the roof at the ridge-line is a brick chimney with decorative corbelling.

To the south of the house there is a short driveway that begins on Devotion Road and heads due-west to a gable-entry garage with two bays that lies at the southwest corner of the c. 1760 house.  Its main façade faces east, and its ridge-line runs east-west, perpendicular to Devotion Road.  Each bay features an overhead garage door with trim.  The walls of the garage are covered in clapboard siding painted to match the main house.

Typology & Materials

Building Typology

Materials


Structural System

Roof materials


Roof type


Approximate Dimensions

28 x 32 feet

Source

Date Compiled

03/21/2011

Compiled By

E. Reisman & T. Levine; reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Joan Tomaszewski, -10/17/2010.

Town of Scotland’sGIS Viewer: 
http://www.wincog-gis.org/ags_map/default.asp?town=Scotland
(Parcel ID # 21/19/14:  2.5-acres: c.1760 house, 3,000 sq. ft.)
 
Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 03/22/2011.

‘Tea:  A Magazine.’  Accessed on 03/22/2011. http://www.teamag.com/index.html

Cunningham, Jan, Scotland Center National Register Historic District No. 93001377, National Park Service, 1993.

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.

PhotosClick on image to view full file