1892 in Havre De Grace, MD
Sold / Archive From 2022
1350 Blenhiem Farm Ln, Havre De Grace, MD 21078
- 6 Bed
- 1.5 Bath
- 4414 Sq Ft
- 1.51 Ac.
Edward Garono, Cummings & Co. Realtors :: 410-823-0033
Edward Garono, Cummings & Co. Realtors :: 410-823-0033
2011 post:
https://www.oldhousedreams.com/2011/01/04/1892-havre-de-grace-md-tuck-everlasting/
I’ve been worried about this home since the original posting due to the development around it. Owners, great job!
First things first! This house has stunning woodwork, nice paint scheme outside, and beautiful stained glass windows! Yes please! Nice job folks.
Only major and instant thing for me would be, I would remove the modern kitchen from what was originally the room it was and move it back to where it was originally in the kitchen wing. Then undo any damage done to the walls and floors. Pic 39 is the original kitchen and butlery.
I was really impressed by the kitchen, it strikes me as a very sensitive way to create a convenient, contemporary kitchen with the style and flair of yesteryear. The cabinetry and island in particular look attractive and not at all out of place in the home.
But, I haven’t seen the original.
That’s a fair argument. There is a truth to that if you’re looking for a contemporary implementation. And they at least didn’t gut the room. But for me personally it doesn’t work. 🙂
Could you point to some examples of homes restored to a correct kitchen? I would love to learn more.
Hello my friend. Yes. Look up mark Twain house in hartford. Look up historic New England and tour some of those homes. The Eustice estate has a kitchen. It’s odd because the owner says the room above was never a kitchen but it does house many features consistent with 99 percent of all homes of this era to be a kitchen. Now I m or homes if the time also have had laundries built in and disconnected kitchens so it could be possible but I’ll stick with my original plan to convert that room back to a kitchen.
https://www.historicnewengland.org/property/eustis-estate-museum-study-center/
Hello all, my wife and I are the current owners of Blenheim, we have been restoring and preserving the home and remaining property for almost 5 years now. Thanks to everyone for their very generous comments it makes me feel good about the hard work exhausted here. Unfortunately we have to leave the area to help support family in a tough time. Our children are very young so we are able to make a move but it’s very hard to let all of the work go that we have completed. Blenheim is a very special building in our area, a lot went into creating it over 130 years ago in a very rural place at that time. To put it in perspective the old Blenheim lane was a dirt road until after the late 1990’s. Hard to imagine that now. Anyway I wanted to touch base on a few comments most all I agree with as an old house lover. I would like to clarify the decision for the kitchen and the arrangement. Blenheim originally had no indoor kitchen as we would think of one, the original kitchen was outside the main building behind the Butlers quarters. There was a hand dug well right off the East corner of the house that would service the kitchen. That structure burned to the ground decades ago I have not found any documents as to determine the date but I would guess before the 1920’s. The cooking would have also taken place at the small hearth in the Butlers quarters where the laundry area is now. That would not have been the main kitchen for large gatherings though. Henry Osborn was the original owner responsible for hiring Jacob E Bull to build the home. Henry Osborn passed away in the late 1920’s and his wife Francis in the 1930’s. Their two daughters were the only surviving family members left as their brother Henry jr passed away from the influenza just after the great war. Because of this shock to their family I would guess that if the original outdoor kitchen was lost it would have been around this time where the need for a large cooking area was not needed. I do know it caught fire and burned and was never rebuilt most likely because it was not needed. So the area in the butlers quarters was basically a open fire hearth a cupboard and washboard. There never was a kitchen there with any antique stove or anything else to help prepare food. The kitchen everyone may have seen in a past real estate listing was added by Farm hands who were renting the building in the 1980’s. That area is relatively small and it did not lend enough room for what we now consider a basic kitchen. I then decided I had to use half the dining area as there were no other areas in the house that would be appropriate. It made me sick to alter the home but I did it with out disrupting and original fabric of the home, no walls changed, no flooring lost, every original window was still in play just like the room was designed. That required custom depth wall cabinets, hand made unique pantry countertops and many other items to blend the accessories around the original space. If I was a millionaire and did not have a full time job I would have made all the cabinetry like the built in cupboard I added in the laundry area. Unfortunately I play the same poor man’s game every Monday through Friday. The kitchen we added looks modern I agree with the stainless front appliances, but I had to be realistic with what we could afford since the rest of the home required so much to make it livable again. I reused the original baseboard and base cap molding to blend around the cabinets at the floor, areas where I needed longer runs I produced in my carpentry shop downstairs. Overall everything I did could be undone but raising a family with 3 kids, commuting to work my wife also commuting to work, it doesn’t leave a lot of time to light a wood burning stove and run to the cellar to get the kids breakfast ready to make it to school on time. I hate to say it but our fast paced lifestyles today make it impossible to live like people were able to back then.
Oh real quick the widows peak on the roof was mentioned, that would have just been a lookout on the roof, it was called a widows peak from an old term during colonial days I believe when wives or mothers would have been looking out for their husband or sons returning from war. It still has the original wood ladder in the attic to access the platform on the roof. I had to completely rebuild the 6 columns that hold the structure. They were heavily damaged from poor repairs and basically doctoring them up for the Disney movie that was filmed there in early 2000’s. I made 6 new columns that tied into the original roof structure just like they originally were, adapted them just below the tapered section of the column with a 6” long mortise and tenon joint and pegged them with a 1-1/4” oak pin. I have most of the railings fabricated in the wood shop but I have not had the time to finish them and complete the install. So there would never have been a bell there it was a decorative cupola and a great place to view the Chesapeake Bay from. Always a nice breeze up there too being 40 feet off the ground. I have tons of photos documenting the work over the past 5 years and a lot of memories. I have worked on dozens of old buildings and never had the privilege to work on and preserve as nice a structure as Blenheim, we will miss it dearly, I can’t imagine not taking our family Christmas picture on the main front staircase this year. I’m hoping to one day be able to find another place similar where we will stay put to have time to develop those memories. Take care everyone and thanks again for the nice comments.
You’ve done a beautiful job on the colors, woodwork and everything. The room you are saying isn’t ever a kitchen is a room consistently with 90 percent of historic floor plan drawings for a kitchen so that’s why I surmised it was one. In restoring historic kitchens and laundry’s I’ve seen many of the elements still in situ in your house. The stove would have been portable I’m assuming if it was one since the current opening is small. I have seen in my studies outside kitchens as well so I don’t dispute that at all and it’s sad it’s lost. Sometimes called A summer kitchen I’ve seen in period drawings and plans. The room with the toilet now with the pass through probably the original butlers pantry. There is a slide to pass the food through for preparation in the dishes. So if that other room wasn’t the kitchen they would clearly bring it from the outside in through this building. That’s consistent with most building plans of this decade. Again it’s totally possible what you’re saying was true. I’d just love to see an original floor plan or investigate it more. Either way it’s just a matter of taste and preference and I don’t like entertaining in my kitchen so if this home was near me to purchase I’d move your current kitchen into that room. And I’m sad you have to sell your stunning masterpiece.
Dear Rod,
Thank You for sharing your story here. I have to say that I loved seeing what you did to make a working kitchen, it blends beautifully with the home but is also (like you said) necessary and practical for living in today’s world.
All of your home is breathtaking and is truly one of my favorites from Old House Dreams thus far. You have put such thought and care into everything! I’m sure it is hard for you to leave.
Best of luck to you and your family!
I am not a fan of having the kitchen being so visible to the formal dining room. HOWEVER, I love the new kitchen and the way people entertain these days it creates a great space to entertain informally, Just close the pocket doors for more formal dining in the dining room. I love EVERY THING about this lovely home! The only changes would be to create a cute vintage kitchen with vintage appliances in the original kitchen oh… a bell in the tower!
I have been past this house many times. At one point it was standing empty, so it’s very nice to see that the current owners have done a commendable job in updating the place. Note that this house is squarely in the middle of a gated housing development on the edge of a small rural town on the Chesapeake Bay.
Wow, wow, wow! An absolute triumph! Just gorgeous. THOSE WINDOWS! What a treat to finally REALLY get to see them after all these years. Still no attic shots though.
I don’t remember that 2011 post. It sat on the market for a good long time because there was another OHD post of it probably 2014 or so. Lots of great bants in that thread. I remember finding and posting the link to the below linked (pretty darn good considering) video there.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KhejminCWEI
I VERY clearly remember literally yelling NOOOOOOO at the screen as he passes over the attic stair completely nonchalantly at the end. Heheheh.
Pity about the farm becoming tacky suburbia; but in this case well worth dealing with to live in this FABULOUSLY renewed house. These super successful re-dos are so very rare. Warms the heart.
Quite a stunning home! The virtual tour is well worth the effort and for all those who are into shop and woodworking, make sure you go downstairs into the basement! I agree with M.G. about the location of the kitchen. That said, kitchen remodels are brain-damage expensive, not for the weak of pocketbook. Of course, I was thrilled the virtual tour let you go to the basement but wouldn’t let you access the attic. Drat! The owners have done a stunning job on this home!
I don’t think I ever (or seldom) look at a new kitchen in an old home and think “I’d tear that out” because as JDmiddleson remarked, “remodels are brain-damage expensive” plus this one is respectful to the home. In this case, I like the newly created one and like that the old one is being used and the old fixtures left in place. Is that really a bell tower and why would it be? Seems rather an over the top addition just to call the farm workers in to dinner or is it just another beautiful part of the design? Nice barn and I expect when the trees/bushes leaf out, the housing edition would become less of a visual issue.
Hello all, my wife and I are the current owners of Blenheim, we have been restoring and preserving the home and remaining property for almost 5 years now. Thanks to everyone for their very generous comments it makes me feel good about the hard work exhausted here. Unfortunately we have to leave the area to help support family in a tough time. Our children are very young so we are able to make a move but it’s very hard to let all of the work go that we have completed. Blenheim is a very special building in our area, a lot went into creating it over 130 years ago in a very rural place at that time. To put it in perspective the old Blenheim lane was a dirt road until after the late 1990’s. Hard to imagine that now. Anyway I wanted to touch base on a few comments most all I agree with as an old house lover. I would like to clarify the decision for the kitchen and the arrangement. Blenheim originally had no indoor kitchen as we would think of one, the original kitchen was outside the main building behind the Butlers quarters. There was a hand dug well right off the East corner of the house that would service the kitchen. That structure burned to the ground decades ago I have not found any documents as to determine the date but I would guess before the 1920’s. The cooking would have also taken place at the small hearth in the Butlers quarters where the laundry area is now. That would not have been the main kitchen for large gatherings though. Henry Osborn was the original owner responsible for hiring Jacob E Bull to build the home. Henry Osborn passed away in the late 1920’s and his wife Francis in the 1930’s. Their two daughters were the only surviving family members left as their brother Henry jr passed away from the influenza just after the great war. Because of this shock to their family I would guess that if the original outdoor kitchen was lost it would have been around this time where the need for a large cooking area was not needed. I do know it caught fire and burned and was never rebuilt most likely because it was not needed. So the area in the butlers quarters was basically a open fire hearth a cupboard and washboard. There never was a kitchen there with any antique stove or anything else to help prepare food. The kitchen everyone may have seen in a past real estate listing was added by Farm hands who were renting the building in the 1980’s. That area is relatively small and it did not lend enough room for what we now consider a basic kitchen. I then decided I had to use half the dining area as there were no other areas in the house that would be appropriate. It made me sick to alter the home but I did it with out disrupting and original fabric of the home, no walls changed, no flooring lost, every original window was still in play just like the room was designed. That required custom depth wall cabinets, hand made unique pantry countertops and many other items to blend the accessories around the original space. If I was a millionaire and did not have a full time job I would have made all the cabinetry like the built in cupboard I added in the laundry area. Unfortunately I play the same poor man’s game every Monday through Friday. The kitchen we added looks modern I agree with the stainless front appliances, but I had to be realistic with what we could afford since the rest of the home required so much to make it livable again. I reused the original baseboard and base cap molding to blend around the cabinets at the floor, areas where I needed longer runs I produced in my carpentry shop downstairs. Overall everything I did could be undone but raising a family with 3 kids, commuting to work my wife also commuting to work, it doesn’t leave a lot of time to light a wood burning stove and run to the cellar to get the kids breakfast ready to make it to school on time. I hate to say it but our fast paced lifestyles today make it impossible to live like people were able to back then.
Oh real quick the widows peak on the roof was mentioned, that would have just been a lookout on the roof, it was called a widows peak from an old term during colonial days I believe when wives or mothers would have been looking out for their husband or sons returning from war. It still has the original wood ladder in the attic to access the platform on the roof. I had to completely rebuild the 6 columns that hold the structure. They were heavily damaged from poor repairs and basically doctoring them up for the Disney movie that was filmed there in early 2000’s. I made 6 new columns that tied into the original roof structure just like they originally were, adapted them just below the tapered section of the column with a 6” long mortise and tenon joint and pegged them with a 1-1/4” oak pin. I have most of the railings fabricated in the wood shop but I have not had the time to finish them and complete the install. So there would never have been a bell there it was a decorative cupola and a great place to view the Chesapeake Bay from. Always a nice breeze up there too being 40 feet off the ground. I have tons of photos documenting the work over the past 5 years and a lot of memories. I have worked on dozens of old buildings and never had the privilege to work on and preserve as nice a structure as Blenheim, we will miss it dearly, I can’t imagine not taking our family Christmas picture on the main front staircase this year. I’m hoping to one day be able to find another place similar where we will stay put to have time to develop those memories. Take care everyone and thanks again for the nice comments.
Thank you for sharing your story, as well as this beautiful house, with us. It is an amazing home and your respect for the home shows in every part of the home. Well done! I’m sure there is a home out there waiting for you to give it the same love you have to this one. Best wishes! (I’m envious of your shop, by the way.)
Here is a more in-depth explanation of the roof deck. Though no written evidence exists I believe still from the past that these were actually used as “widows walks” or called that during these eras but many scholars believe this is a 20th century myth. Though I’ve not researched in depth to colonial times. There are lot of unsubstantiated myths that surround the 19th century and this could be one of them. Victorian folks loved towers and cupolas etc. Mostly described in period journals, architectural catalogs, records as well as subscriptions like Architectural record and building news, and even periodicals like Good Housekeeping of this era as a “roof deck” or an “observatory” for example.
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