Mastin-Batson House

The story

Behind the sketch.

The Mastin–Batson House is not quite what it appears to be. Its façade belongs largely to an expansion built around 1855, directly across the front of an earlier Federal-period house, dating to about 1819. Rather than demolishing the original residence, its owners simply doubled the building toward the street. The first center hall and staircase remain inside, behind the newer entrance hall and stair. It is essentially a house within a house. A surviving two-story brick service building dates to approximately 1819, and originally contained a kitchen, work areas, and quarters for enslaved residents. The main house also had a basement winter kitchen and workspace used by enslaved people. Together, these spaces preserve evidence of the labor that supported life in the more formal rooms above. Few houses provide such a literal walk through changing tastes. Enter through the turn-of-the-century porch, pass into the 1850s addition, and continue into the 1819 house behind it. Here, "original" depends largely upon how far through the front door one has walked.

Neighborhood

Twickenham

Book location

Page 40