Normandy Grange
Encyclopedia
Normandy Grange is located along NY 9D
north of Garrison
, New York, United States. It is a Norman
-style house and farm complex built in the early 20th century.
It was intended to be the gatehouse for Evans Dick's nearby Dick's Castle estate, which was never completed. He and his family lived there during construction of the castle, and found they liked it. In 1982 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as part of the Hudson Highlands Multiple Resource Area
.
: a four-acre (1.6 ha) parcel with the west-facing gatehouse on Route 9D, and the farm buildings on the back 44 acres (17.8 ha). Trees screen most of the front of the gatehouse from the highway. A driveway curves around through an open area past some of the farm buildings, and then uphill. There are five contributing properties
.
The gatehouse is a three-story stucco
-sided building with a steeply-pitched
jerkin roof and exposed rafter
s. It has sixteen steep hipped
dormer windows and three shed-roofed porches. The chimneys have arched brick covers on top. Garage and greenhouse
wings have been added.
Behind it, to the east, is the barn, built into the slope. It is two stories high, with a similarly steep slate gable
roof topped with a cupola
and randomly-placed hipped dormers. Inside are horse stalls and a hayloft
on the upper level and a calf barn on the lower. A one-story stucco-sided slate-covered gable-roofed pigeon and dove roost is attached to the southeast.
Further to the east, up the hill, is the combined carriage house and servants' quarters. It is an H-shaped one-and-a-half-story stone building. Its gabled roof has a similar treatment as the gatehouse, with exposed rafters and stucco chimneys with arched caps. Next to it is a small building known as the Turkey House. Dick liked to play card games there, but it is not known if turkeys were ever actually raised in it.
, rarely used in the U.S. During construction, he and his family lived in the Grange houses themselves and found they liked them.
Later the properties were split into the two lots found today. Some additions were made, such as the greenhouse and garage on the gatehouse, and one of the carriage bays in that house was closed off. The property left the Dick family but has remained private residences, with minimal alteration since those modifications.
In 1993 the pictured "gatehouse" and contiguous property was purchased by S.T.B. Jablonski, a New York City S.E.C. registered investment advisor; from Mr. and Mrs. Donald Trost, through McCaffrey Realty of Cold Spring, N.Y. In 1994, it was discovered that the residence had been infested for decades with a substantial colonization of bats; which had not been disclosed and intentionally hidden by the sellers and their real estate agents, in order to accomplish sale of the property. In 1996 Jablonski filed suit against the sellers and their agents, for rescission of the purchase. Although terms of the settlement cannot be disclosed, the property was transferred in 2005 to the ownership of the wife of the attorney who represented the real estate agents. Prior to this lawsuit, New York had been a
caveat emptor (buyer beware) state with respect to real estate transactions. The lawsuit "Jablonski versus Trost, McCaffrey, Piermarini
et al", has resulted in significant changes protecting buyers from fraudulent concealment by sellers and their agents.
New York State Route 9D
New York State Route 9D , also known as the Bear Mountain – Beacon Highway, is a north–south state highway that runs along the eastern shore of the Hudson River in New York in the United States. It starts at the eastern end of the Bear Mountain Bridge at U.S...
north of Garrison
Garrison, New York
Garrison is a hamlet in Putnam County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown and is on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the United States Military Academy at West Point...
, New York, United States. It is a Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
-style house and farm complex built in the early 20th century.
It was intended to be the gatehouse for Evans Dick's nearby Dick's Castle estate, which was never completed. He and his family lived there during construction of the castle, and found they liked it. In 1982 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as part of the Hudson Highlands Multiple Resource Area
Hudson Highlands Multiple Resource Area
The Hudson Highlands Multiple Resource Area is a Multiple Property Submission study supporting multiple listings in 1982 to the United States National Register of Historic Places...
.
Properties
The Grange is today on two lotsLot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
: a four-acre (1.6 ha) parcel with the west-facing gatehouse on Route 9D, and the farm buildings on the back 44 acres (17.8 ha). Trees screen most of the front of the gatehouse from the highway. A driveway curves around through an open area past some of the farm buildings, and then uphill. There are five contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
.
The gatehouse is a three-story stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
-sided building with a steeply-pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
jerkin roof and exposed rafter
Rafter
A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members , that extend from the ridge or hip to the downslope perimeter or eave, designed to support the roof deck and its associated loads.-Design:...
s. It has sixteen steep hipped
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
dormer windows and three shed-roofed porches. The chimneys have arched brick covers on top. Garage and greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
wings have been added.
Behind it, to the east, is the barn, built into the slope. It is two stories high, with a similarly steep slate gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
roof topped with a cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
and randomly-placed hipped dormers. Inside are horse stalls and a hayloft
Hayloft
A hayloft is a space above a barn, stable or cow-shed, traditionally used for storage of hay or other fodder for the animals below. Haylofts were used mainly before the widespread use of hay bales, which allow simpler handling of bulk hay...
on the upper level and a calf barn on the lower. A one-story stucco-sided slate-covered gable-roofed pigeon and dove roost is attached to the southeast.
Further to the east, up the hill, is the combined carriage house and servants' quarters. It is an H-shaped one-and-a-half-story stone building. Its gabled roof has a similar treatment as the gatehouse, with exposed rafters and stucco chimneys with arched caps. Next to it is a small building known as the Turkey House. Dick liked to play card games there, but it is not known if turkeys were ever actually raised in it.
History
Dick had begun acquiring the property, part of the former Gouverneur estate, as early as 1880 with the intent of building an estate there. He named the support structures for the hilltop castle Normandy Grange, after their Norman architectural styleArchitectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
, rarely used in the U.S. During construction, he and his family lived in the Grange houses themselves and found they liked them.
Later the properties were split into the two lots found today. Some additions were made, such as the greenhouse and garage on the gatehouse, and one of the carriage bays in that house was closed off. The property left the Dick family but has remained private residences, with minimal alteration since those modifications.
In 1993 the pictured "gatehouse" and contiguous property was purchased by S.T.B. Jablonski, a New York City S.E.C. registered investment advisor; from Mr. and Mrs. Donald Trost, through McCaffrey Realty of Cold Spring, N.Y. In 1994, it was discovered that the residence had been infested for decades with a substantial colonization of bats; which had not been disclosed and intentionally hidden by the sellers and their real estate agents, in order to accomplish sale of the property. In 1996 Jablonski filed suit against the sellers and their agents, for rescission of the purchase. Although terms of the settlement cannot be disclosed, the property was transferred in 2005 to the ownership of the wife of the attorney who represented the real estate agents. Prior to this lawsuit, New York had been a
caveat emptor (buyer beware) state with respect to real estate transactions. The lawsuit "Jablonski versus Trost, McCaffrey, Piermarini
et al", has resulted in significant changes protecting buyers from fraudulent concealment by sellers and their agents.