Historic home comfortable, up-to-date

A row of rose bushes along a decorative, hand-cut front fence sets the tone for this romantic Victorian Swiss Gothic at 956 Broad St. in Stratford.

Designed and built by renowned architect Leopold Eidlitz in 1859, this house was originally constructed as a parsonage for the nearby Congregational Church on Main Street. This historic home sits in the town's Academy Hill Historic District. It straddles the 19th and 21st centuries in that its Swiss Gothic architecture is a reminder of the dominant style of the mid-1800s, and the house still retains its period appeal. Yet, the house has undergone major upgrades to accommodate modern lifestyles.

Additionally, the house sits on an attractive .44-acre lot that allows for gardening and other leisure activities, and it is within very easy walking distance of the Stratford train station, public library and downtown restaurants. It also has easy access to I-95 and Stratford's Long Island Sound beaches.

The home's architecture resembles some high profile 19th century Gothic structures, including St. George Episcopal Church in New York, the American Stock Exchange and the New York state Capitol building. Since 1959, when the Rev. Benjamin Swan first took up residence in the house, there have been 10 ministers and their families who resided there. The last was the Rev. Stanley Sellick, who lived there for 30 years beginning in 1927.

In 1957 the Congregational Church sold the house and it is no longer affiliated with the church. The 3,918-square-foot house has six bedrooms, two of them on the third floor, and six fireplaces, three of which are decorative and three are working. The marble fireplaces in the living and dining rooms are functional, as is the brick fireplace with the Napolean fireplace insert with blower in the kitchen. The fireplaces in the first-floor office, or library, and in two second-floor bedrooms are not operational.

The two-story barn in the backyard predates the house and the gazebo was not original to the property. Rather, it was deconstructed from some other location and rebuilt in this backyard more recently. Contrary to popular belief, the tool shed in the backyard was never a privy, according to the current owners.

From the lovely row of roses along the front of the property there is a slate circular path that crosses in front of the house. The path is bordered on one side by a U-shaped row of privet hedges. A paved driveway leads to the backyard.

The exterior of the house is pale taupe clapboard with decorative elements in a darker taupe, coral and ivory. One detail along the long, screened-in front porch mirrors the hand-cut fence along the front perimeter of the property. There is a slate gable-hip roof over the main house.

From the entrance foyer, which has crown molding, chair railing and a space under the stairs for a desk or other furniture, there is access to the formal living room to the left, the office, or library to the right and to the mudroom and the formal front staircase to the second floor. The lower banister is not an accident. It was installed the way it is to make the entrance to the house seem grander.

Many of the rooms have exceptional crown molding and trim and 12½-inch baseboards. Most of the rooms have hardwood flooring, although some rooms have different types of wood. For example, the family room addition off the kitchen boasts a newly installed oak floor. The formal living and dining rooms have refinished yellow pine floors.

Throughout the first floor there are 10-foot ceilings and the second-floor ceilings are 9-feet tall. Every room has oversized tall and wide wood doors with recessed paneling. Some rooms have more than one entrance and exit into the foyer and into other rooms. Between the dining room and the laundry room, there is a large cafe door, and there is a Dutch door on the butler's pantry.

Between the kitchen and the foyer is a mudroom with a dark gray tile floor, glass front cabinets, a decorative glass window that resembles stained glass and a door to the side yard and driveway. This room has wainscoting on the lower walls.

The kitchen has a checkerboard floor of alternating light- and medium-gray tiles and a tin ceiling. It has a long L-shaped counter topped with granite in earth tones and a large porcelain farmer's sink. The granite on the cherry wood center island is a darker color. Almost all the cabinets are off-white and have glass front doors and under-cabinet lighting. Appliances include a GE refrigerator and GE dishwasher and a Hotpoint range.

Off the kitchen is a full bath with a white ceramic tile floor with black mosaic tile inserts, a shower stall and white fixtures. The laundry room is also accessed in the kitchen. It has an LG washer and dryer.

Take one step down to access the family room, which has a cathedral ceiling, ceiling fan and a door to the long back porch and the bluestone patio.

The kitchen provides access to a rear set of stairs to the second floor, which has four bedrooms and a full bath. The bath features a claw-foot cast-iron tub, pedestal sink and a water closet-type old-fashioned commode. There is also a large, built-in linen closet.

Despite the era in which this house was built, it has ample closets and storage space. Large custom-built closets were installed more recently in three of the four second-floor bedrooms without compromising the size of the bedrooms. The two bedrooms on the third level have closets, new wall-to-wall carpeting and have recently been painted.

Although this house sits in the town's history district it is not on the National Register of Historic Places and is, therefore, not subject to any regulations regarding renovations or exterior paint colors.

There will be an open house today from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. For more information, or to set up a private appointment to see the house, call Michele Uss of William Raveis Real Estate at 203-314-9910 or 203-783-4833 or e-mail her at ussm@raveisre.com.

ABOUT THIS HOUSE

TYPE OF HOUSE: Victorian Swiss Gothic house

ADDRESS: 956 Broad St., Stratford

PRICE: $500,000

NUMBER OF ROOMS: 14

AMENITIES: beautiful level grounds, long screened-in front porch, six fireplaces (three decorative, three working), two-story barn, tool shed with electricity, laundry room, gourmet kitchen with decorative tin ceiling, butler's pantry with soapstone counter, gazebo, library, security system, full storm windows, walking distance to train station and restaurants, plaster walls, invisible pet fence, bluestone patio and a second patio by gazebo, crown molding, mudroom, wood privacy fence, decorative lampposts

OTHER INFORMATION: six bedrooms, two full baths, no garage, full unfinished basement with hatchway, radiator steam oil heat, sewer system, city water

SCHOOLS: Stratford Academy Elementary, Wooster Middle, Stratford High

ASSESSMENT: $317,100

TAX RATE: 30.510 mills

TAXES: $9,674