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Description:
Tudor Hall is a 1 1/2 story Gothic-Revival cottage built of painted brick laid in common bond. It is constructed in a cross plan which originally had a detached kitchen house. A paneled central square brick chimney rises from the intersection of four gables. The roof covering is standing seam tin. A horizontal mullion in each window separates a pair of upper casement sashes from a pair of lower casement sashes, each hinged inwardly. The upper ones are about a third as high as the lower ones. Diamond panes are formed by wooden muntins. The front, second story window has a label-lintel. It has been enlarged so that the window is the principal feature of the façade. The north gable window, with its sharply gabled pediment, is extended to the floor and gives access to a small, decorative wood balcony with a jig-saw cut balustrade. A one-story, flat-roofed porch with octagonal wood columns having molded caps and bases, extends across the principal (southeast) front. A small frame vestibule is built into the front porch at the central door. It has a pair of paneled doors and a transom on the front. There are single upper and lower casements on the sides, which have matching sashes standard to the house. The separate kitchen house is a very late example of an earlier custom. This kitchen has since been connected to the house with an infill area now incorporated into the dining room. Interior finishes are relatively simple, typical of the period and rural area. Wood mantels consist of shallow plain pilasters supporting a very low Tudor arched "frieze." Doors are typically four panels. The stair rail is typical, with a round walnut rail, turned walnut newel, and plain painted balusters. Such simplicity of interior detail is expected of a house built by local craftsmen following a published basic design.
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Significance:
Tudor Hall is a Gothic-Revival cottage built as a country retreat by Junius Brutus Booth (1796-1852), the head of a family famous on the American Shakespearean stage throughout the 19th century. Its design is from Plates 44 and 45, Design XVII, of The Architect, by William H. Ranlett, 1847. Although Gothic Revival became the prevailing style for churches in the 19th century, houses carefully rendered in that style were relatively rare. Tudor Hall is an example of a house built in this style from a published design, thus resulting in a correct exterior design and plan, including several exterior details, but a very typical, simple mid 19th century interior.
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