The South Britain Historic District encompasses the core of the unincorporated village of South Britain in
Southbury, Connecticut
Southbury is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Southbury is north of Oxford and Newtown, and east of Brookfield. Its population was 19,879 at the 2020 census.
Southbury comprises sprawling rural country areas, sub ...
, United States. The village arose in the 18th century as an industrial center serving the surrounding agricultural community, powered by the
Pomperaug River The Pomperaug River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in the US state of Connecticut. The two main tributaries to the Pomperaug are the Nonnewaug Ri ...
, and rivalled the town center of Southbury in importance. The district 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 1987.
Description and history
South Britain is located near the geographic center of Southbury, extending north along
Connecticut Route 172 (South Britain Avenue) north of its crossing of the Pomperaug River. Near the river crossing, a dam spans the river, at a site that has been dammed since the 18th century. Foundational remnants of mill buildings line both sides of the river in this area, and a 19th-century power canal extends from the river, where it supplied power to further mill complexes. The village center, now a cluster of commercial, civic, and residential buildings, reaches its northern extent at the cemetery north of East Flat Hill Road. At the junction with Flat Hill Road stand two 19th-century churches, the Federal-style South Britain Congregational Church (1825) and the now unoccupied Greek Revival Methodist Church (1832).
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The early industries of South Britain included fulling, grist, and lumber mills, which served the surrounding area. In the 19th century a wider variety of water-powered industries developed, including textile manufacture. Because of its economic importance, it shared civic duties with the town center, and was granted construction of the Italianate town hall (1873, still standing). That period marked the height of the area's economic influence, as the mills gradually declined.
The town hall remained the seat of local government until 1964.
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Contributing properties
*B.C. Bradley House, 497 South Britain Road, from 1802 or earlier by assessor records, with cottage and shed of similar age
*H. Curtis House, 584-586 South Britain Road, of Colonial era, probably the oldest house in the district.[
*Miss H. E. and S. E. Canfield House, 524 South Britain Road, a ]Georgian style
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Hano ...
twin-chimney central-hall house "with Adamesque detail in its portico and cornice" from 1802 or earlier (see accompanying photo 2)[
*George Smith House, 605 South Britain Road, a ]Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
house, c. 1835, with cabin and garage from mid 1900s[
*Benjamin Downs House, 657 South Britain Road, a brick ]Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
with marble dressing, from 1770 by assessor records[
*Mrs. B. Chatfield House, 24 Hawkins Road, a brick ]Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
, from 1850 (see photo 12)[
*Congregational Church, 683 South Britain Road, from 1825. ]Federal style
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...
with later Gothic window. (See photo 15)[
*Methodist Church, "an austere example of the Greek Revival style", from 1832, in deteriorated condition in 1986. (See photos 15 and 18)][
*Town Hall, an 1873-built ]Italianate style
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
building (see photo 10)[
*Mitchell Double House, at 545-547 South Britain Road, built in 1752. It has (probably later) Federal-style elements, including the entryway. The house was built by Zephania Clark and was home to M. M. Canfield and C. Muirhill. A later owner, Deacon Mitchell, left the house to his two sons. There was once a grist mill on the property, built c. 1796.
Also included in the district is a steel-span bridge from 1939.
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See also
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References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Historic districts in New Haven County, Connecticut
Southbury, Connecticut
Greek Revival architecture in Connecticut
Colonial architecture in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut