The House on Buttery

We think the house at the bend of Buttery Road was first built between 1740 and 1750. The architecture, and particularly the detail of the beehive oven within the fireplace, rather than next to it, argues for that dating. It was a small house, owned by the Fitch family, farmers who lived nearby on Carter Street. This house was probably first occupied by a tenant farmer. We know that in 1778 the house was occupied by the family of Peter Smith, who was, in the winter-time, a weaver. The Fitches were shoemakers, in the winter months. Their account books show that they traded shoes, or repairs to shoes, for Peter Smith, his wife, his son Henry, and later a daughter, for work on the farm and for weaving woolens.

A cart path came right along the side of the house, where there is a small room that may have been the studio in which Peter Smith did his weaving. The small room has a tiny fireplace, and a grand window to the east, which would have provided light.

The cart path that divides the property came to be along the side of the house because the oxen could not easily pull up a steep hill on a straight path. In the late 1800's, when roads were given names, the road was called Buttery, named for the family that occupied the house at that time.

For fifty years, from 1950 to 2000, the family of Arthur and Alice Chivvis occupied the house; they enlarged it, added the pool where a collapsed barn once stood, and maintained the grounds with superb taste.

In 2001 an enclosed sun room was converted to the new kitchen. The chimney was restored, connecting to all three fireplaces. The pool was rebuilt. A new furnace, restored bedroom, and a new bathroom, added to the restoration.

Some pictures follow.

The old fireplace in the house, with a beehive oven "built in." TN

The outside of the oldest part of the house, seen from the southeast. TN

The outside, garage and driveway. TN

The new kitchen, seen from the dining room. TN

The new kitchen, looking towards the dining room. TN

The house and grounds, from the north. TN

The pool in summer. TN

The pool in winter. TN

The main floor bedroom. TN

Another view of the bedroom. TN