Jakew903
04-14-2009, 05:28 PM
Don't worry, it's not name dropping, it's in use, and one can go see it anytime. But, now for the write up.
The 500 acre Pemberton estate dates back to 1683 (they called it Bolton in memory of their English home in Bouton, Lancashire. I guess with the accent it came out as Bolton.) The Mansion was built in 1687 in what is now Levittown, Bucks County. The home itself is sort of a hodge-podge of design. It was added to and modernized at least four times up to the 1860s. It lasted as a working estate until 1938 when it was given to the University of Penn. It quickly changed hands, going to U.S. Steel as a guest house ten years later and then to suburban innovator William Levitt in 1952. He in turn gave it to Bristol Township, which used it as a municipal building until 1966. This old home sat vacant for decades, and now it's a National Historic Landmark being renovated by the Bucks County Conservancy. intelligence, the Pemberton family for nearly a hundred years was the most prominent in Pennsylvania." 1 The ancestral home of the Pemberton family is located on the Newportville-Fallsington Road in Bucks County and has been known for two hundred and ninety years as "Bolton Farm." Historically and architecturally, the house is one of the most significant in Pennsylvania; nearly every one of its inhabitants since the days of William Penn has influenced the course of history in the state.
Now that the attempted demolition of the house is an issue of the past and restoration work is beginning, a reevaluation of the historical and architectural importance of Bolton Farm is in order. Bolton Farm has been altered considerably over the course of nearly three centuries of use and what now exists is a complex structure of some twenty-seven rooms built and rebuilt as demands upon it have changed and expanded. Architectural evidence alone is sometimes conflicting and it is not the purpose of this paper to affirm indisputably certain dates of construction and physical appearances. Rather, the purpose is coordinate the architectural evidence at hand with the historical evidence that has been researched up to now, in order to gain a clearer picture of the history of the house as a whole and to elucidate the issues which will become increasingly important as restoration work proceeds. The first issue to arise is that of the original date of the house. After their families had arrived, on November 17, 1683, Phineas Pemberton purchased five hundred acres of land and built a house, probably of English frame construction which was called Grove place. Finding this location damp and unhealthy, they finished another house in 1687, five miles from the Delaware, the beginning of the Piedmont. This house was called "Pemberton" or Bolton. This lintel is clearly from a house of English frame construction 2 and since the oldest section of the house is stone, conflicting evidence arises. Several theories are possible. That part of Bolton built by Phineas could have been of English frame construction and later rebuilt in stone in the early eighteenth century. It is also possible that the original house was indeed stone. Several factors become important to this issue. First, as to the validity of the 1687 date, the fireplace in this section is of a very early type (before 1700) being a low Jacobean arch. A strong case exists that is the original fireplace stack of the Phineas Pemberton house. 3 Even if the original walls were taken down at some later date, this fireplace stack validates the 1687 date. Secondly, there is a line in the stone of this section that occurs at the bottom of the second story window sills. It is possible that the 1687 house was one and one half stories in height (either stone or wood) and later raised to two full stories. The one and one half story form of the house would have been more consistent with typical construction of the time. The break line in the stone complete with quoins, indicates that a stone structure did exist at some point independently from the stone section to the east. It is not unlikely that Phineas would have built of stone, after living in the English frame Grove Place. It is possible that the lintel is from Grove Place and not Bolton and that Bolton was indeed originally stone. nthony Morris' ties to the University of Pennsylvania resulted in the use of Bolton as an experimental farm, perhaps as early as the 1820's. In 1938, Effingham Morris' children gave the house to the University. United States Steel purchased the property in the late 1940's to house dignitaries planning the construction of the Fairless Works on the Delaware River. William Levitt bought the house and constructed Levittown around it in 1952, leaving six acres from the original 354. The property was given to Bristol Township to use as its municipal offices. When the Township vacated the property in 1966, professional as well as amateur vandalism occurred. After many demolition threats by safety-conscious fire marshals, the house is now registered as an Historic Site and is deeded to the Bucks County Conservancy. Restoration has begun with the bake oven and the Israel Pemberton addition by Mr. Edwin Brumbaugh and Mr. Albert Ruthrauff.
Now for the pictures:
1. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3120.jpg
2. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3119.jpg
3. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3118.jpg
4. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3116.jpg
5. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3117.jpg
6. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3115.jpg
7. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3113.jpg
8. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3112.jpg
9. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3110.jpg
10. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3108.jpg
11. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3107.jpg
12. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3106.jpg
13. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3105.jpg
14. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3104.jpg
15. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3103.jpg
16. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3102.jpg
17. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3101.jpg
18. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3100.jpg
19. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3099.jpg
The 500 acre Pemberton estate dates back to 1683 (they called it Bolton in memory of their English home in Bouton, Lancashire. I guess with the accent it came out as Bolton.) The Mansion was built in 1687 in what is now Levittown, Bucks County. The home itself is sort of a hodge-podge of design. It was added to and modernized at least four times up to the 1860s. It lasted as a working estate until 1938 when it was given to the University of Penn. It quickly changed hands, going to U.S. Steel as a guest house ten years later and then to suburban innovator William Levitt in 1952. He in turn gave it to Bristol Township, which used it as a municipal building until 1966. This old home sat vacant for decades, and now it's a National Historic Landmark being renovated by the Bucks County Conservancy. intelligence, the Pemberton family for nearly a hundred years was the most prominent in Pennsylvania." 1 The ancestral home of the Pemberton family is located on the Newportville-Fallsington Road in Bucks County and has been known for two hundred and ninety years as "Bolton Farm." Historically and architecturally, the house is one of the most significant in Pennsylvania; nearly every one of its inhabitants since the days of William Penn has influenced the course of history in the state.
Now that the attempted demolition of the house is an issue of the past and restoration work is beginning, a reevaluation of the historical and architectural importance of Bolton Farm is in order. Bolton Farm has been altered considerably over the course of nearly three centuries of use and what now exists is a complex structure of some twenty-seven rooms built and rebuilt as demands upon it have changed and expanded. Architectural evidence alone is sometimes conflicting and it is not the purpose of this paper to affirm indisputably certain dates of construction and physical appearances. Rather, the purpose is coordinate the architectural evidence at hand with the historical evidence that has been researched up to now, in order to gain a clearer picture of the history of the house as a whole and to elucidate the issues which will become increasingly important as restoration work proceeds. The first issue to arise is that of the original date of the house. After their families had arrived, on November 17, 1683, Phineas Pemberton purchased five hundred acres of land and built a house, probably of English frame construction which was called Grove place. Finding this location damp and unhealthy, they finished another house in 1687, five miles from the Delaware, the beginning of the Piedmont. This house was called "Pemberton" or Bolton. This lintel is clearly from a house of English frame construction 2 and since the oldest section of the house is stone, conflicting evidence arises. Several theories are possible. That part of Bolton built by Phineas could have been of English frame construction and later rebuilt in stone in the early eighteenth century. It is also possible that the original house was indeed stone. Several factors become important to this issue. First, as to the validity of the 1687 date, the fireplace in this section is of a very early type (before 1700) being a low Jacobean arch. A strong case exists that is the original fireplace stack of the Phineas Pemberton house. 3 Even if the original walls were taken down at some later date, this fireplace stack validates the 1687 date. Secondly, there is a line in the stone of this section that occurs at the bottom of the second story window sills. It is possible that the 1687 house was one and one half stories in height (either stone or wood) and later raised to two full stories. The one and one half story form of the house would have been more consistent with typical construction of the time. The break line in the stone complete with quoins, indicates that a stone structure did exist at some point independently from the stone section to the east. It is not unlikely that Phineas would have built of stone, after living in the English frame Grove Place. It is possible that the lintel is from Grove Place and not Bolton and that Bolton was indeed originally stone. nthony Morris' ties to the University of Pennsylvania resulted in the use of Bolton as an experimental farm, perhaps as early as the 1820's. In 1938, Effingham Morris' children gave the house to the University. United States Steel purchased the property in the late 1940's to house dignitaries planning the construction of the Fairless Works on the Delaware River. William Levitt bought the house and constructed Levittown around it in 1952, leaving six acres from the original 354. The property was given to Bristol Township to use as its municipal offices. When the Township vacated the property in 1966, professional as well as amateur vandalism occurred. After many demolition threats by safety-conscious fire marshals, the house is now registered as an Historic Site and is deeded to the Bucks County Conservancy. Restoration has begun with the bake oven and the Israel Pemberton addition by Mr. Edwin Brumbaugh and Mr. Albert Ruthrauff.
Now for the pictures:
1. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3120.jpg
2. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3119.jpg
3. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3118.jpg
4. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3116.jpg
5. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3117.jpg
6. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3115.jpg
7. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3113.jpg
8. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3112.jpg
9. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3110.jpg
10. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3108.jpg
11. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3107.jpg
12. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3106.jpg
13. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3105.jpg
14. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3104.jpg
15. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3103.jpg
16. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3102.jpg
17. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3101.jpg
18. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3100.jpg
19. http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss221/JakePA/Holly%20Hill%20Bolton%20Mansion/IMG_3099.jpg