Henry W. Clark Great Barn, Holiday Farm
567 Concord Avenue
Belmont, Mass.
Year Built: 1869
Year Demolished: Unsure of Date
Charles Brigham designed a “great stable” for Henry Clark in 1869. It was demolished sometime thereafter.
Brigham wrote, “We are at work upon the plans of the large stables to be built at Belmont of which I wrote in a former letter. They are on a large scale and I am allowed to do just as I please with the exterior and as the gentleman will undoubtedly do considerable other building—greenhouses, farmer’s cottages and the like—I am in hopes to make a good thing of it. I have to deal however with a man who now has more confidence in his carpenter than an architect and I shall have to be careful and make no mistakes. The arrangement of the buildings is like this [drawing provided]. A is the stable for fancy stock cattle (40 x 80); B is for calves and cows (26 x 50); C is a poultry house (20 x 22); D is the yard; E is the carriage shed; and F is a stable for horses and carriages (50x60).”
This stable was one of three outbuildings associated with an Italian villa, also no longer standing. They provide an unusual example of vernacular architecture that was used in support buildings of the Italianate Style in their intact farm-like setting. They reflect their rural setting and practical purpose—simplified and restrained in ornament, for which Brigham was known.
References
• Massachusetts Historical Commission, Form B, Belmont, #135, 1982.
• Letters from Charles Brigham to John Hubbard Sturgis, 8/25/1867, 11/26/1867, 2/15/1869, 3/1/1869 (illustration and commentary) and 10/18/1869, Sturgis Papers, Boston Athenaeum Library.
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