Porches of North America

4. Various Forms

enclosed฀attached฀฀ entry฀porches Although the most common form of entry porch in North America has open sides and a roof supported by posts, there is also a long history of attached porches being enclosed with walls to provide protection for entrances.1 Indeed such enclosed entry porches were being attached to houses, barns, and other buildings to protect entrances during Elizabethan times in Britain , as well as in New England by the late 1660s and early 1700s.2 Such enclosed entry porches were also being attached to various types of Georgian-style buildings built by the mid-1700s, especially in New England and in the Canadian Maritimes. Some of these gabled projections featured classical pediments above six-panel doors flanked by pilasters, such as on the circa 1745 Georgian-style Daniel Shute House (figure 4.1) in Hingham, Massachusetts.3 Enclosed porches were also appended to meetinghouses built during the second half of the eighteenth century in New England . Single-stairwell porches centered on the front elevations were popular on meetinghouses constructed in coastal communities of New England during this period.4 The Old Ship Church, started in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts, for example, had an enclosed attached porch added in 1755 on the southeast side and another porch (figure 4.2) constructed on the southwest side in 1792.5 The Rockingham Meetinghouse (figure 4.3), built in the Georgian style between 1787 and 1801 in Rockingham, Vermont, has twin two-story porches with enclosed stairwells, one at each gable end. An important Canadian example of a two-story, enclosed attached porch is on the Commissariat House (figure 4.4) in Saint John’s, Newfoundland, built between 1818 and 1820 by British military engineers.6 Various฀Forms enclosed฀attached฀฀ entry฀porches Although the most common form of entry porch in North America has open sides and a roof supported by posts, there is also a long history of attached porches being enclosed with walls to provide protection for entrances.1 Indeed such enclosed entry porches were being attached to houses, barns, and other buildings to protect entrances during Elizabethan times in Britain , as well as in New England by the late 1660s and early 1700s.2 Such enclosed entry porches were also being attached to various types of Georgian-style buildings built by the mid-1700s, especially in New England and in the Canadian Maritimes. Some of these gabled projections featured classical pediments above six-panel doors flanked by pilasters, such as on the circa 1745 Georgian-style Daniel Shute House (figure 4.1) in Hingham, Massachusetts.3 Enclosed porches were also appended to meetinghouses built during the second half of the eighteenth century in New England . Single-stairwell porches centered on the front elevations were popular on meetinghouses constructed in coastal communities of New England during this period.4 The Old Ship Church, started in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts, for example, had an enclosed attached porch added in 1755 on the southeast side and another porch (figure 4.2) constructed on the southwest side in 1792.5 The Rockingham Meetinghouse (figure 4.3), built in the Georgian style between 1787 and 1801 in Rockingham, Vermont, has twin two-story porches with enclosed stairwells, one at each gable end. An important Canadian example of a two-story, enclosed attached porch is on the Commissariat House (figure 4.4) in Saint John’s, Newfoundland, built between 1818 and 1820 by British military engineers.6 Various฀Forms Figure฀4.1. A small, hipped-roof enclosed entry porch with bull’s-eye glass transom lights over the front door were features of the Daniel Shute House, built around 1745 in Hingham, Massachusetts. Historic American Buildings Survey photograph, 1935, habs mass,12-hing,7-4. Figure฀4.4. The Commissariat House in Saint John’s, Newfoundland, built between 1818 and 1820, and restored to a circa 1830s appearance, features a two-story, enclosed entry porch. Figure฀4.3. Two-story, gable-roofed enclosed porches with stairwells within provide access to the upper floor of the Rockingham Meetinghouse in Rockingham, Vermont, built between 1787 and 1801. Figure฀4.2. The enclosed gable-roofed entry porch at the right was added in 1792 to the Old Ship Church in Hingham, Massachusetts. Historic American Buildings Survey, Frank O. Branzetti, photographer, 1941, habs mass,12-hing,5-15. Various Forms 147 Small, enclosed entry porches also became popular features of Colonial Revival– style homes and...