The King's Field House is a historic house at 827 North Street in

Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. As of the 2020 census, ...

. Built about 1723 by the son of an early settler, it is a well-preserved example of 18th-century residential architecture. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1982.

Description and history

The King's Field House stands in a rural suburban area north of the village center of Suffield, on the west side of North Street. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. The rear roof line of the main block descends to the first floor, giving the house a classic

saltbox A saltbox house is a gable-roofed residential structure that is typically two stories in the front and one in the rear. It is a traditional New England style of home, originally timber framed, which takes its name from its resemblance to a woode ...

profile. A modern gable-roofed addition projects to the rear (north) of the main block. The interior exhibits evidence of three periods of development, all in the 18th century: the timber framing is stylisting from the late

First Period First Period is an American architecture style in the time period between approximately 1626 and 1725, used by British colonists during the earliest English settlements in United States, particularly in Massachusetts and Virginia and later in ...

(1720s), parlor spaces have been decorated with later Georgian wood paneling, and the main entrance surround, a late 18th-century proto-Federalist surround with a false fanlight. The house was built about 1723 by Lieutenant William King. King was the son of James King, one of Suffield's early colonial settlers, and was given the surrounding acreage in 1722. King was a major local landowner who was active in civic affairs, serving as a town selectman for many years. Later generations of Kings also lived here, operating diverse businesses including a blacksmith shop and a cooperage. The house underwent restoration in the 1930s by Delphina Clark, the first woman admitted to the

Yale School of Architecture The Yale School of Architecture (YSOA) is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University, and is generally considered to be one of the best architecture schools in the United States. The School awards the degrees of Master of Arc ...

and a one-time resident of the house. The house was restored in the 1930s by Delphina Hammer Clark, author of ''Pictures of Suffield Houses'' (1940) and ''Notebooks on Houses in Suffield'' (1960). The house is now a Bed & Breakfast called Kingsfield.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut Houses completed in 1723 Houses in Hartford County, Connecticut Suffield, Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References