|
The Bishop-Irick Farmstead with main house, outbuildings, and pastures is significant as a remarkably intact representative example of a colonial brick farmhouse. With the traditional dated gable-end initials, cove cornice, winding stairs, paneled fire surround and original door treatments, the main house retains the features once so typical of Georgian structures built throughout the Delaware Valley. Not only does the patterned-brick farmhouse employ the Flemish bond brickwork so prevalent in the southwestern New Jersey tradition, it also features a very late example of English bond masonry on the northern fascade. Such a brick pattern is rarely found in houses in this area built after 1741, so the 1753 date of construction extends the documented period when English bond masonry was used. Although some alterations have occurred, the building retains a high degree of architectural integrity.
The Bishop-Irick Farmstead is strongly associated with two of Vincentown’s most significant families--the Bishops and the Iricks, who related by marriage, owned the property for almost 200 years. Thomas Bishop, one of Vincentown’s principal colonial landowners, purchased a 430 acre tract from the West Jersey Proprietors prior to 1740. In his will, he divided the property amongst his children, with John Bishop receiving 170 acres. In 1753, John and his wife Rebecca built the original section of the brick house. John Bishop left the house and his plantation to his son William in 1760. During William’s 28 year tenure, the farm grew to 240 acres and the house was enlarged with the two and one-half story western kitchen addition. In addition to his role as managing a considerable estate, William Bishop was significant as an original founder and Trustee of the Vincentown Friends Meeting. The house and land passed through generations of Bishops and then by marriage, to the Iricks. In 1832, Emeline Bishop married John Stockton Irick, whose name appears as owner of the farmstead on an 1858 map of Burlington County. The property remained within the Bishop-Irick family until 1932.
This material adapted from 1992 HPO documentation prepared by Westfield Architects & Preservation Consultants
|
