The Richard Mansfield House is a historic house at 35 Jewett Street in
Ansonia, Connecticut
Ansonia is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Located on the Naugatuck River, it is immediately north of Derby, and about northwest of New Haven. The population was 18,918 at the time of the 2020 census. The ZIP code for ...
. Built at the turn of the 17th-century, it is one of the community's oldest surviving buildings, and is noted for its association with a prominent early Episcopal minister. 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 v ...
in 1971.
Description and history
The Richard Mansfield House is located in a residential area east of downtown Ansonia, on the east side of Jewett Street just south of its junction with Root Avenue. It is set close to the street, with a low fieldstone retaining wall. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, stone chimney, and clapboarded exterior. The rear roof face extends to the first floor, giving the house a classic New England
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. The front facade is five bays wide, with sash windows arranged symmetrically around the center entrance. The gable ends at the sides project slightly beyond the faces of the lower wall sections. The interior retains a number of original features, include a fireplace surround.
[ With ]
The house has a build date of at least 1700 and was purchased for Reverend Richard Mansfield, a native of
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
in 1748. Mansfield had been raised a Congregationalist, but converted to the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, and established a mission in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
(which Ansonia was then still part of). Mansfield had to flee during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
due to his
Loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
leanings, but returned and continued to serve in the local Episcopal church until his death in 1820. The house was moved across the street from its original location in 1926, to make way for the church now standing there.
See also
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield, Richard, House
National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Houses completed in 1748
Ansonia, Connecticut