Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania’s Bucks County and Brandywine Valley is a unique presentation of beloved building traditions in one of the most charming and historically significant regions in the nation. Houses, barns, and outbuildings dating from the colonial and Federal periods, built with local stone predominantly in an English Cotswold vernacular style, represent a form that has become popular across the nation. Geoffrey Gross’s stunning photographs document a remarkable collection of early buildings, including the John Chad House (circa 1720), Peter Wentz Farmstead (circa 1758), and Buckingham Friends Meeting House (1768), as well as more recent designs, in part inspired by such traditional homes, by architects R. Brognard Okie, G. Edwin Brumbaugh, and John D. Milner. Part of the original Pennsylvania Colony founded in March of 1681 by William Penn, the region encompassing Bucks County and the Brandywine Valley is important not only for its history as an early English settlement in the New World, but also for its role as a crucial site in the struggle for American independence. The evidence for this is obvious in the story of its houses. Some notable examples include the Thompson-Neely House at Washington Crossing, in which, it is said, Washington’s officers were billeted during the famous night of his crossing of the Delaware, and Pennsbury Manor, the reconstructed home of William Penn. With its authoritative text and exquisite full-color photography, Stone Houses is a beautiful record of a historically rich regional building tradition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Geoffrey Gross is a widely published photographer whose work has appeared in Art & Antiques, New York Times Magazine, The Magazine Antiques, Better Homes and Gardens, Interior Design, Old House Interiors, Popular Mechanics, and elsewhere. He is the photographer of Rizzoli’s Dutch Colonial Homes in America.
Margaret Bye Richie is an architecture historian, lecturer, and active preservationist. She is the author of Victorian Sketchbook and for two years wrote the column “Restoration Primer” for Panorama Magazine. Dr. Richie, of the eleventh generation of the Bye family in Bucks County, lived in “Old Congress” at Byecroft Farm (p. 68), the family seat since the early 1700s.
Gregory D. Huber is president and owner of Past Perspectives–a historic resources company specializing in House Histories of the Northeast. An architecture historian, Mr. Huber is co-author of the second edition of New World Dutch Barn: The Evolution, Forms, and Structure of a Disappearing Icon and has written more than sixty articles on vernacular houses and barns of the eastern United States.
John D. Milner is an architect practicing in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and lives in the Abiah Taylor House (p. 206). His firm specializes in the restoration of historic buildings and the design of new houses that are inspired by the architectural traditions of the past. He has a particular passion for the vernacular architecture of the Delaware Valley. Mr. Milner is also an Adjunct Professor of Architecture in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design.
Margaret Bye Richie is an architecture historian, lecturer, and active preservationist. She is the author of Victorian Sketchbook and for two years wrote the column “Restoration Primer” for Panorama Magazine. Dr. Richie, of the eleventh generation of the Bye family in Bucks County, lived in “Old Congress” at Byecroft Farm (p. 68), the family seat since the early 1700s.
Gregory D. Huber is president and owner of Past Perspectives–a historic resources company specializing in House Histories of the Northeast. An architecture historian, Mr. Huber is co-author of the second edition of New World Dutch Barn: The Evolution, Forms, and Structure of a Disappearing Icon and has written more than sixty articles on vernacular houses and barns of the eastern United States.
John D. Milner is an architect practicing in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and lives in the Abiah Taylor House (p. 206). His firm specializes in the restoration of historic buildings and the design of new houses that are inspired by the architectural traditions of the past. He has a particular passion for the vernacular architecture of the Delaware Valley. Mr. Milner is also an Adjunct Professor of Architecture in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book, great pictures,
By
This review is from: Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley (Hardcover)
This book contains a wonderful pictorial view of stone houses, better than I've ever seen. It includes all forms of construction and gives very informative descriptions of each style. The history related here is invaluable to the reader, as it takes you back in time. The pictures are full color and very articulately done. I found the colors presented in the homes helpful to me in restoring our stone house, built in the 1830's. This book is more than a "coffee table" book, it's a history lesson.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
BEAUTIFUL STONE,
By
This review is from: Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley (Hardcover)
I have always thought the stone used on houses in the Philadelphia area was beautiful; it's warm and elegant. This book has crisp images and well researched, interesting text on these wonderful homes. If you have any interest in this subject then I highly recommend this book, you won't be disappointed.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley.,
By
This review is from: Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley (Hardcover)
Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley. Authors: Margaret Bye Richie, Geoffrey Gross, Gregory Huber. 208 pages. 2005.
I picked up this book from the library. At the library I thumbed through the book and was very impressed with the photography. I knew from previous readings that stone house construction was more common in the Keystone State than any other of the original colonies. Stone construction was used in the construction of Georgian designs which in other colonies were constructed of wood or brick. This extensive use of stone makes Pennsylvania somewhat unique. This book did little expand my knowledge on the how or the why of stone construction. Surprisingly only about 70 of the houses in this book are actually constructed of stone, others are built of brick. Not every building in this book is a house and several of these buildings were constructed in the 20th Century. Not exactly what I was looking for when I checked the book out of the library. While the book was not exactly what I hoped it would be I will say that the photographs are beautiful, especially the interiors. The accompanying text tends to focus on provenance and therefore who and when. The text provides little as to the why or the distinctive features. A good book as a pretty coffee table book.
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