I took the following pictures this morning at the James Blake House on Columbia Road in Dorchester. The Blake House is the oldest house in Boston and was constructed c. 1648. These provide a rare look into the construction methods used to build a 17th century house in the English west country style. You can see the renovation of an English house built between 1550 and 1630 here. It was built in West Sussex, which is not quite as far west as where the settlers of Dorchester came from. Still, the photos should give you some sense of how the Blake house was built.
Below is the west gable of the attic, showing the exposed 17th century wattle and daub. (Click all photos to enlarge)
And here is a close-up:
The wattle and daub was used to fill in spaces between framing timber and you can still see the 17th century plant material sticking out in places. What you can't see are the animal hairs, human, hair, and 17th century textile fragments which have also been found in it.
In this picture you can see a triangular cut in the roof sheathing, which is where an old gable window projected from the roof. The Blake House has undergone numerous alterations to bring it into line with current architectural fashions--this window was likely removed by 1800.
When the Blake House was renovated and restored in 1896 after being moved about 1200 feet from its original site, some recycled wood found its way into the sheathing. Notice the wallpaper still attached to the board just under the window. The diamond pane windows are from the 1896 renovation which was done in an Arts and Crafts style. All of the leaded glass windows will be removed from the Blake House and restored.
An important part of the current restoration plan is to preserve as much of the original fabric of the Blake House as possible. In cases where the original wood is badly deteriorated, new wood of the same species replaces rotted wood and epoxy is used to conserve and strengthen wood that is damaged. If this house had been built in England, the exterior would likely have looked like this picture, a classic half-timber look. The New England climate proved harsher however, which meant that the frame and wattle and daub had to be covered for durability and warmth.
Hey, thanks for posting these photos, I couldn't make it to the Blake that day.
Q - How's about having the link to the Dorchester Architectural Preservation list here again? just like Spring Training, Dorchester's demolition season is here again...
Q2 - see you this Sunday for the talk at DHS re Edward Everett Square Public Art?
Posted by: Rosanne | 28 February 2007 at 21:55