Dan Antion

Wethersfield Houses

Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). If you like, you can add our badge to your post.

I am including some of the local houses in the area known as Old Wethersfield in the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut. I don’t have a lot of history to share about these houses, but that’s OK because I have some administrative issues to take care of.

First. I want to extend another round of thanks to Cee Neuner for sharing Thursday Doors as her Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge last week. Cross-links between the two challenges pushed us to a record number of participants, and an amazing number of wonderful doors.

I also want to announce that there will be a Second Annual Thursday Doors Writing Challenge. Last year’s inaugural challenge was well received, but I began the process a little late. The writing challenge will take place in May, but in order for that to happen, we need doors. So, today’s announcement is mainly for Thursday Doors participants.

You may recall that the challenge asks the writers, poets, authors, journalists, well, you get the picture, to choose an image of a door/doorlike object for inspiration. Last year, I think I gave people a week or so to choose a door to share. Given that selecting one door from the hundreds of doors most of our participants gather in a year is a daunting task, I thought it best to start early. I also think restricting people to a single image is a little harsh, especially since we had multiple writing entries last year. However, I do want to offer writing participants a finite number of images to choose from.

So, start thinking about two or three images you would be willing to share as inspiration. Remember, specific images, not entire libraries.

That’s it for the details. Now, I hope you enjoy the doors from Old Wethersfield and the doors linked in by our participants.

This house keeps surprising me with its angles
I believe this is an example of a mansard roof. It is also known as a French Roof.
I love this gate and the curved walkway to the front door
I couldn’t get a good picture of the front door, but you can see the garage doors.
Another example of a Coffin Door
I think the structure on the right is an addition, but it’s in keeping with the main house and the period.
The large parking lot suggests that this house has been turned into a commercial facility.
The layout of windows and location of the chimneys gives a good indication as to how they heated this house.
Multiple doors and curved details I like it.
For those of you who thought Silas Deane’s house was asymmetrical, I offer an alternative.
For the record, I am not a fan of this addition.
And another off-center front door.
Pretty red doors and I love the details in the porch posts. This is the door to the house with the mansard roof. I am unable to relocate it, due to an error with WordPress.
What’s not to love?

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134 comments

  1. Former resident of West Hartford here. I adore your posts with photos from Wethersfield and Old Wethersfield and spent many an hour exploring there. You’re correct about that mansard roof. There’s some fascinating history behind the French use of mansard roof to evade taxes. I really am enjoying the historical details you hilight.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I’m glad you enjoyed these posts. I’ve been through Old Wethersfield so many times (heading to/from DMV) but I never realized all the history that was there. I am so glad these houses have been preserved. I think I have one more week in thie historic district. Thanks for mentioning the French tax connection to mansard roofs.

      Liked by 1 person

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  8. Hi Dan – I must say these are wonderful photos – and the Mansard Roof house is very pretty … that sort of roof/building I call a ‘card-house’ … I use to live in a flat added on to one of the large Victorian houses in London – back in the 1970s. I’d rather live in Wethersfield! Delightful to see … and interesting history re the tax aspect – cheers Hilary

    Liked by 1 person

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    • It does look like a house of cads, Hilary. I like that. I’m glad you like these photos. It’s such a pretty area. It is amazing how tax and property laws impact architecture. I hope you have a great weekend.

      Liked by 1 person

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  9. Love the first house with the intriguing mansard roof. So many details to catch your eye. The entryway of the house with the gorgeous red doors and all the details on the porch is a knockout.

    The last house I especially like. Everything about it. Every detail was carefully planned and crafted.

    What’s up with these off-center entryways? Same architect perhaps?

    All these homes are works of art and have been lovingly preserved over the years. They are a treat to see and speaks well of the families who occupy them.

    Wethersfield provides a beautiful tour Dan. Thanks for letting me come along.
    Ginger

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I’m glad you like these house, Ginger. Sometimes. It’s enough just to see how they’ve been preserved and cared for over the long span of time. I couldn’t choose Bettye first house and the last. They both call out to be featured. I don’t know what it is with the off-center doors. I imagine it was as odd looking 200 years ago as it is now. I can picture the neighbors asking snarky questions. I think it’s why some houses have the entrance turned to the gable end of the house.

      I’m glad you came a long and I hope you can stay dry today and safe when all this rain turns to ice.

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  10. I have a thing for yellow houses, and this one made me go weak in the knees. I also have a thing for red doors, so that house with two red doors is especially beautiful to me. That off-center door? I have to wonder if some builders just have a wicked sense of humor. Old Wethersfield must be a wonderful place to explore — these are beautiful. I’m with Ginger: thanks for taking us along!

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Some were taken down and more than a few were destroyed by fire. The houses from the 1700s or interesting, but many are from the 1800s. Some of those were replacements and some were the homes of children of the prominent early settlers.

      Liked by 1 person

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  17. I like the final yellow one best. Although it is a little too yellow for me. But that first house would work brilliantly in a horror movie. I love the windows and the door and the walkway. I’m just saying…

    Liked by 1 person

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  19. Sounds like this will be a fun challenge for all who participate, Dan. And I love the photos you shared here. I think my favorite is the red door and the way they accented the porch columns to match. Thanks for sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

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  22. I could very happily live in any of these houses, Dan. They are all beauties. The off-center door is strange, but I do love the shade of green they painted the house–as if they wanted it to blend into nature. The mansard roof…be still my heart. So many of these homes, I’d like to knock on the door and say, “You house is beautiful outside. Mind if I look around inside?” 🙄

    Liked by 1 person

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    • You might have better luck than I would, Lois. I have only encountered a few home owners and the look I got was more of a “get off of my lawn” look than a welcome. I do plan to step inside the ones that are open for tours (when they open for the season).

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  23. The yellow house is cheery, and the color scheme of the Mansard roofed house is lovely. The yellow house that is asymmetrical and the green house with the off center door strike me as odd because there’s no shelter from the weather like rain and snow over the front doors. I’d hate to be fiddling with my keys while having rain or snow drip down my neck. That always puzzles me …why they didn’t have a portico? Costs? Perhaps.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • I always wonder if they planned, or had at one time, a more sheltered side entrance. A lot of the asymmetrical main houses have an addition off to the side where the barn or carriage house would have been. I know I’d be adding one. I hate standing in the rain fumbling for keys.

      Liked by 1 person

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  24. I enjoyed seeing all of these homes. I have to agree on that hideous addition. What were they thinking? It looks like they wanted their house to look like the back. Also, that gutter downspout is very poorly located, and the electrical meter on the front looks awful. I agree we are not fond of this addition not to mention that green lounge on the porch.

    Liked by 1 person

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  33. There’s a Chinese mythic belief in the curved walkway in front of the door, Dan. They (people believe in Fung Shui) believe that the evil spirits could come in from the front door. They go straight, so if the walkway is curved, they won’t hit through the doors.

    Interesting doors and history.

    Liked by 1 person

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  34. Another barn! This week my favourite is the little pale house with the blue door. I really like the windows.

    This week I’m sharing another Parisian door, this time at Place de Rio de Janeiro where the previous resident with a list of accomplishments and accolades that makes my head spin.

    Thursday Doors – Paris

    Liked by 1 person

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  45. Hi Dan,
    Your photos clearly took me to another land. Nothing like that around here, and they’re so striking. My favourite was the last yellow house. It’s like a big doll’s house and the white edging is beautiful.
    I was back to Cork Ireland this week. These are from a second doorscursion I went on last week. Doing a doorscursion a week out is fraught with trouble. However, I think I managed to reassemble this week’s offering of doors in something like the right order.
    Here’s the link: https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2022/02/04/thursday-doors-returning-to-the-city-of-cork-ireland/
    Best wishes and many thanks,
    Rowena

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • We mostly find houses like these in historic districts or in the older portions of the original towns. It is always good to find a nice collection of them, well maintained and preserved.

      Thanks for another interesting tour!

      Like

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