|
Home : Quarterly Archives : Volume 4 |
Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society |
|
Source: April 1941 Volume 4 Number 2, Pages 3–10 The re-creation of Penn's Manor The report submitted by Mr. R. Brognard Okie to the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, recording the sources of information for the re-creation of Pennsbury, is published here by the courtesy of the Historical Commission and Mr. Okie. Part I. A work done by authority of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission with the aid of the State of Pennsylvania, the Welcome Society and the Society of Friends. R. Brognard Okie, F.A.I.A, Architect. This brief description has been prepared in order that those who visit Pennsbury and are interested to know what records and information, in addition to the actual physical evidence at the site, contributed to the re-creation of the several buildings. We have gone over all data that was available to us and herewith quote all portions of letters and other documents used in the work that had any bearing on the design and construction of the buildings that have been completed. During the preparation of the contract drawings and specifications and the early stages of construction, letters were written to the following Institutions and individuals asking that they advise us of any data they might have that would be helpful to us in our work.* There was practically nothing learned from these inquiries, however, that was helpful. It is left to others to mention the many friends of Pennsbury who have, in one way or another, been helpful to the Architect, but we particularly wish to record the invaluable research work done by Mr. Charles B. Montgomery and his assistant, Mr. John M. Okie. We also are most grateful to Dr. Warren Powers Laird, who studied the Penn correspondence and other records and criticised the working drawings as they were prepared. Anyone familiar with manuscripts and letters of the period, and particularly with letters in Penn's handwriting, will appreciate the difficulty of the task Mr. Montgomery has performed and in the comparatively short time the then existing conditions allowed. At the request of Major Frank W. Melvin, who was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission during the entire period of construction at Pennsbury, we submit the following:
PENNSBURY * See end of article. The excavations also revealed very definite evidence of a foundation or pier at the outer angle formed by the continuation of the west cellar wall and the north cellar wall, but all traces of a corresponding pier at the other outer angle had been obliterated by the erection of a later house over the northeastern portion of the Manor House site. In other words, although a T shaped cellar was found, a rectangular building evidently had been erected, but without a cellar upon the site of the north east and north west rooms of the original structure. Further evidence that this was the case was found in the fact that the outer walls of the cellar foundations were toothed to receive additional masonry. The cellar walls of the rear portion of the building or the stem of the T were lighter or thinner than the main cellar walls, indicating a lower building at the rear or one of different construction. From careful study of all data, letters from William Penn, his contemporaries and others of subsequent data, we are convinced a rectangular building was erected over the T shaped plan. There is on file at the Pennsylvania Historical Society, 13th & Locust Streets, Philadelphia, Penn Manuscripts, a survey of Pennsbury, ordered by Thomas Penn in 1736, from the Surveyor General, who at that time was Benjamin Eastburn. The portion of Thomas Penn's letter, dated November 25, 1736, that refers to the survey, is as follows: "I have ordered our surveyor general to draw a draft of the Mannor from a large one I employed Isac Pennington and the Surveyor of Bucks County to make from an actual Survey for your satisfaction, which was finished lately tho tis several years since I directed them to do it." The survey plan or map is reproduced herewith and shows the front or River elevation of a building which we have assumed to be the Manor House, and we have followed the same as to number of windows, type of roof, location of main entrance door, etc. By Dr. Cadzow's excavations and careful sifting of all earth as it was removed, a quantity of articles were found, some in fragments, some in their original state, except for rust, etc. In the portion of the cellar under the west parlor, the excavations disclosed a carefully laid stone floor still in excellent condition, covering at least a third of the area of this portion of the cellar; other pieces of the same kind of stone were found under the main hall and under the stair hall. All of these paving stones were carefully saved and sufficient of them were found to entirely repave the floor of the portion of the cellar under the west parlor. The finding of these stones in an undisturbed condition definitely fixed the level of the original cellar floor. This level also agreed with the level of the footings under the original foundation walls. A portion of the original brick cellar foundation wall was found to be in excellent condition at the north side of the southwest cellar. This wall has been retained relaying the old brick exactly as they were found. It is arched over to relieve it of weight, and it is from this original wall that the size and character of the brick that has been used throughout was established. The width of joint, manner of laying, which is so-called "English Bond" alternating header and stretcher courses, etc. Thanks to the never failing support and urgent insistence of Major Melvin, the entire brick construction at Pennsbury has been done with hand made brick to as nearly as possible match the old brick found in the ruins and laid to match the above mentioned retained fragment. A decided saving would have resulted had a cheaper machine made brick been used for all interior walls, chimneys, backing, etc., but in this, as in all other portions of the construction, old methods, duplications of old materials have "been used and no substitutions have been employed even where they do not show. As above stated, a frame house of a much later date than the Manor House had been erected over the eastern portion of the Manor House site. A close examination of the walls of the outside cellar-way of this later period house indicated quite clearly that a portion at least of the cellar-way masonry was much older than the other walls of the later period house. The stones were laid in a different manner, the mortar was not the same and some of the corners of the masonry showed very decided smoothness from use. Also a portion of the east cellar wall of the later period house was built with the same oyster shell lime and indicated earlier construction than the other portions of the wall. The kitchen chimney of the later period house had a large fireplace on the east side of the kitchen with an attached bake oven that had a clean-out door on the outside. The masonry of this bake oven and portions of the masonry of the fireplace were of the same oyster shell lime as in the cellar-way, above referred to, indicating the bake oven and a portion of the kitchen chimney were of earlier construction than the other walls in the cellar of the Caretaker's house and were of the same period as the walls of the outside cellar-way. The above observations fixed the location of the large fireplace in the Manor House Kitchen with the connected bake oven and also fixed the location of the outside cellar-way. The bake oven has been reconstructed over the old foundation and the outside cellar-way side walls have been retained.
Back view - Pennsbury The old cellar walls under the main part of the house indicated quite clearly foundations for a chimney on the south side of the Great Hall, with probable fireplaces in the Great Hall, in the South Parlor and the Withdrawing Room; also making it possible to have fireplaces in the two south bed rooms on the second floor and the two servants' bed rooms in the third floor. No evidence of a corresponding chimney, however, was found on the east of the Great Hall between the Great Room or the Dining Room and the East Parlor, due to the fact, we believe, that the erection of the later date house over this portion of the original cellar necessitated the removal of the foundation of the similarly located chimneys. The fact that fireplaces originally existed on the east side of the hall was established by Dr. Cadzow's finding a quantity of the yellow-brown facing tile and also of the square hearth tile (also of sooty brick) to the east of the Great Hall, where they would have fallen from such a chimney. The blue green fireplace facing tile that have been re-used in the Great Hall, in the West Parlor and in the Withdrawing Room, were all found in excavating to the South of the Great Hall. Sufficient of these blue green tile were recovered to complete the facings of the three first floor fireplaces without the use of any new facing tile. Some of the hearth tile of these first floor fireplaces were found in the ruins and some were procured from an old house on the river, to the east of Penn's Manor. The yellow brown tile had to be matched as closely as possible as practically all of those that were found and were in good condition had been removed. The now yellow brown tile are as close a duplication of the original as it was possible to make after many attempts. The existence of a chimney and fireplaces to the east of the Great Hall is further established from - Penn Papers - 19th 3rd mo. '85 - Vol. 10. p. 13. "The partition between ye best parlor and ye great room ye servants used to eat in, should be wainscoted up & even with ye chimneys at least double leavid doors, one next one & tother next tother room, wich makes a kind of dark closet between no matter for wainscoat. The doors have beet be large between ye other parlor & ye withdrawing room." In the cellar under the Great Hall and on the east side of the same when excavating, Dr. Cadzow found brick on edge with openings between as would be required for studs. This construction suggested an original vegetable bin as is now reconstructed. The kitchen porch was determined by finding very hard packed clay and gravel extending from the north wall of the bake oven to the south wall of the kitchen. The width of this strip of hard packed clay and gravel corresponds very closely with the brick paved kitchen porch as it is now built. The probability of the correctness of the arrangement of the present kitchen wing is further established by the existence of a narrow gravel drive or walk extending from the north of the property, passing the Ice House, Store and Office and Smoke House and between the Bake & Brew House and the Kitchen porch and continuing toward the River. William Penn having requested two larders as per his letter as follows: London - 18th 1st month. 1684-5 - Vol. 9. p. 10 "I would have a Kitchen, two larders, etc.," They have been placed on each side of the passage from the kitchen to the Great Room or Dining Room. Justification for constructing the northeast and northwest portions of the building, together with the central connecting portion with frame outside walls is had from letters as follows:
Wm. Penn to James Harrison - 18th 1 mo. 1684-5 Undated Vol. 10, p. 27. "pray don't let the fronts of ye house be common places to go in & out for shoes will spoile ye steps & bords & their hands soile the doors & walls." Wm. Penn to James Harrison - 18th 1 mo. 1684-5 " x x x What you can do with tricks, do, what you cant doest with good timbers & case them with clapboards about five foot, which will serve other things and we can brick it afterwards, x x x " Also the following: Undated. Vol. 10. p. 28 "thou says nothing of wt is done within doors or without, pray let not ye bords, posts & stairs & doors within doors be stained batter'd or spoyled, I know thy genll care & neatness, but a word by ye (by) does no harm x x x " Regarding the Out Houses, Penn's requests are as follows:
Wm. Penn to James Harrison - 24th 2 mo. '86 " x x x I remember no more, only pray finish ye great house within & wt cant be done with brick of my outhouses do with wood slight, yt may be done after & see we have a good kitchen garden x x x "
Wm. Penn to James Harrison - 17th 9 mo. '86 " x x x I would have thee press James about ye most serviceable things. The man I sent, can make bricks, wt you build better it be wth bricks." 24th 2 mo. 1686 - Vol. 10. p. 26 "only pray finish ye great house within & wt cant be done with "brick of my outhouses, do with wood slight, yt may be done after x x x " BREW HOUSE
Brew House
Penn MSS Private Corrospondence - Vol. 11. p. 141 - H.S.P. " x x x no person has lived in the big house for near twenty years so that you must conceive it is much weatherbeaten and one-half which is brick built with oyster shel is in many places cracked. When I came here I found the house at Pennsbury was very near falling, the Roof open as well as windows, and the woodwork almost rotten x x x " 19th 3 mo. '85 - Vol. 10. p. 12 - Penn Papers "I hope Ralph has layd out ye garden next the house & yt ye court be taken in yt is on ye timber side." Further justification for the adoption of the rectangular plan and the placing of the rooms at the northeast and northwest of the rectangle is had from the following letter which shows there was a room that was not reached from the hall and that a door was requested to this room from the foot of the stairs, the main stair location and the side of the house on which they occur being definitely fixed by a gravel walk leading from the barn directly to the centre of the rear hall door under the second stair landing.
Logan Papers - Vol. 1 (blue /binding) p. 296 - H.S.P. "We have positively agreed with Coll. Quarry for Pennsbury, he takes it for 7 years unless thou comes over sooner & then must have 6 moths warning, the rent is 40 lbs, per ann.; he to stand to all repairs after ye first wch upon ye house itself is only to make if light repair ye windows & make one new door to ye Lower Chamber at ye foot of ye stairs and to lay ye upper floor of ye Outhouse & run one partition to repair ye garden fences & build up ye wall before ye front of ye descending steps, all wch was absolutely to be done if any of ye family come into it for the old wall in that place being quite gone; the rains washed away the upper ground wch has lost so much to raise other things, etc. he is to doe at his own expense and whatever thou may think of ye rent, those here know ye trouble of repairing great buildings and the damage that an ordinary tennant would doe to such a building and the advantage that an Improving one will be to it & to those gardens, think we have taken a very prudent course and much for thy benefit, x x x" (Page 253 - 5th of Mo. 1707/8 - the news we had of thy affairs in Chancery put a stop to our bargain) (Lease to Coll. Quarry) The interior and exterior door sizes of the Manor House are determined from a letter Penn writes giving instructions regarding a proposed house for a friend. 24th 2nd mo. '86 - Vol. 10. p. 26 - Penn Papers "Let ye doors be three foot - half broad & light high at entrance at least, ye rest within two foot ten inches and seven foot high as myn are." Regarding the windows, Penn writes as follows: 24th 2nd mo. '86 - Vol. 10, P. 26 - Penn Papers "Robert Ripsy, J. Bradberry, Thomas Russell are pretty fellows, middlemost a rare Joyner, he will make sash windows and I would have my middle floor sasht, if thou could sell or use elsewhere the windows yt are in, for they are ye best a hindrance." Also in another letter regarding the house for a friend or relative which Penn hoped to build, he gives instructions from which window sizes are determined as follows: Undated letter - Vol. 10. - p. 25 - Penn MSS. "The rooms beloe nine foot high above ye garretts seven and one half lutheran lights x x x let the lower lights be five foot one half deep, ye upper story lights, seven foot deep or near it like mine, if ye rooms above be but nine foot and one half to ye plastering it will doe." Regarding outside steps, Penn writes as follows: 24th 2nd mo. '86 - Vol. 10, Page 26 - Penn Papers "...let it be with three steps in ye house" end again definitely outside steps: 19th 3rd mo. 85 - vol. 10, Page 12 "...I would have steps at ye water side, out of one court into another layd, also at ye door." Also - 11th 5th mo. 1685 - Penn Papers - Vol. 10, p. 13 "The steps at ye landing up to ye house & into ye landing up to the house before & behind should be finished." 17th 9th mo. '86 - Vol. 10. p. 20 "If I had ye dimensions of ye steps with ye house I would send free stones, but I hope tis done with wt you have, also at ye landing." Also - 18th 1st mo. 1684-5 "I desire a pair of handsome playn steps be made at ye landing right ag'nst ye house." Also in the above quoted letter in the Logan papers mention is made of repairing "garden fences and build up ye wall before ye front of ye descending steps, etc." In addition to the tile for fireplace facings, roofing tile stone evidently from a roof and the stone floor in the cellar all as above referred to, there were many pieces of hardware found in the ruins, some sufficiently intact to verify the window widths as above mentioned in the Penn letters, the reinforcing iron found with the casement fast attached agreeing exactly with the Penn letter as to width. Other casement fasts found did not have the brace iron or reinforcing iron. Each type has been copied for the casements in the several buildings. Leads for windows and parts of leaded glass sash gave the size and shape of the panes of glass in the upper sash of the Manor House, second floor windows. While none of the leaded glass sash were intact, parts were found which when pieced together agreed with the sash size requiring the brace irons above referred to. The width and thickness of the old leads has also been followed as nearly as possible. An iron latch plate in a very good state of preservation was found and has been reproduced for the first and second floor doors of the Manor House where a more elaborate latch would have been used. The plainer latch parts have been copied for the third floor. Hand made nails have been used throughout for all exposed nailing of finish, floors, etc., the floor nails having the heads only partially counter sunk. All door and window frames are solid white oak mortised and tenoned as was the custom at the time. The sills of the cellar window frames are yellow locust as was the custom where the most durable result was desired. On the landing of the stairs to the third floor the solid oak wall plate is left exposed and shows the tenons of the oak outlookers which extend through the wall plate and are keyed on the inside. These outlookers support a roof plate which in turn supports the roof rafters. All of white oak and all pinned with oak pins. This roof and plate construction is to be found in the oldest buildings in Pennsylvania. (continued in Volume 4 Number 3 page 53) |
