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Homestead layout

LOCATION WITH REGARD TO THE ROAD AND TO THE FIELD

The area of Nizina Sartowicko-Nowska is characterised by the joint as well as dispersed homesteads.
The majority of houses are located along the main road of a given village (or at a small distance from it). Parcels on which different elements of the homestead are built are in shape of a square or a parallelogram^[1]. The yard is usually situated on the side of the field^[2].
44 houses are built with their ridge to the road and 23 with their gable to the road. The larger number of those first results from large dimensions of parcels in this area. Buildings with their gables facing the road were probably the result of a denser development of the village^[3]. It is visible in Dragacz, Wielki Lubień and Mątawy.
A detached barn is orientated parallel or perpendicularly to the house (always closing one side of the yard)^[4]. Its location decides of the location of other buildings. Farm buildings included a barn, a stable and a pigpen under one roof.
Among the best-preserved layouts is the homestead Mątawy 28. The house, detached with an arcade extension, is built with its ridge to the road. Parallel to it, on the other side of the yard, we will find a barn. A cowshed stands perpendicularly. In the centre of the yard there is a well. The L-shaped cottage Krusze 4 is situated with the residential part's ridge to the road. The barn, bending at the right angle, closes the second wing of the yard. On its other side, parallel to the house, a coach house and a pigpen have been preserved. A similar layout can be found in Dragacz 58. A detached house is built with its ridge facing the road. Parallel, on the opposite side of the yard, we will find a farm building. The barn is orientated perpendicularly, closing the yard.
Orchards and gardens were very important elements of the homestead (illustration 7

)^[5]. Today this tradition is no longer cultivated, only in some homesteads we will find flowers in front of the house. Sometimes near the homestead we will find trees that originally sheltered the yard on one or two sides and constituted the vertical dominant of the entire homestead. The elements of small architecture are also very rare. Only the brick homestead in Mątawy 3 preserved a wrought gate (illustration 8

) bearing the initials of the owner - H. M. (Herbert Worm).
It clearly indicates the scale and rate of decay of the homesteads' historical elements, which today are nowhere to be found in their full and original shape.

FORM OF THE HOUSE

At present in Nizina Sartowicko-Nowska there are three types of houses characteristic for the Olęder colonisation (illustration 9

).
Among 67 sites, 29 are connected with farm buildings. Among them a small number has a barn under the same roof.
The house lined up with the farm section (Langhof) is characteristic for the entire 19th century, although it is more popular in the first half of the century. Homesteads dating from the beginning of the century tend to have the farm section in the same building as the residential section^[6]. Since the thirties, the house and the farm section are separated by a brick firewall (illustration 10

)^[7]. The majority of houses, independently on the time of their construction, have the same height and width as the farm section^[8].
In the homesteads Bratwin 39 and Krusze 4 the barn is L-shaped. This structure was created by moving the barn 90o with regard to the house. The site in Bratwin has a contemporary barn, but it partly refers to the original^[9].
It cannot be excluded that in this area joint cross-shaped homesteads existed^[10].
The largest number, 36 sites, can be qualified as dispersed homesteads. This last type of Olęder house in Nizina starts to distinguish itself in the thirties of the 19th century, and at the end of the third quarter of the century it becomes a dominating form. Together with separated farm buildings these homesteads form inner yards.
On this territory only one house with arcade extension has survived - Mątawy 28. It is an example of the final stage of such development, where arcades are situated in the middle axis of the longitudinal wall. The building itself is not connected with farm buildings, and together with a barn and a cowshed it forms a yard.
We know that on this territory there were more houses with arcade extensions. In the available materials there are iconographies of such houses in Wielki Lubień^[11], Wielkie Zajączkowo^[12], Sartowice^[13] and two in Mątawy^[14]. Sites in Wielki Lubień, Mątawy and Wielkie Zajączowo have arcades on the side of the ridge and they are connected with farm buildings. The second site in Mątawy is different. The arcades are located in the gable part of the barn. It seems to refer to the second type of the Żuławski house with arcades. The most interesting example is however the house in Sartowice with arcades protruding on the entire length of the ridge and having timber-frame walls. Is it also a product of Olęder colonisation?
Around the mid-19th century the regress of the arcade extension takes place - the pointing sill appears. The roof and the extension become flatter and flatter, and transform gradually into a veranda^[15].
Porches have survived in twelve sites^[16]. All have the form of an elongated rectangle, adjoining the elevation with its longer side. The most often they are covered by a double-pitched roof^[17]. In the majority of sites they are located in the longitudinal wall, only in Wielki Lubień 47 (illustration 11

) and Wielkie Zajaczkowo 33 (illustration 12

) they are placed in the gable wall. Brick porches (probably contemporary) can be found in Osiek 11, Dragacz 117 and Wielki Komórsk, ul. Nowska 5. The remaining ones have a timber-frame structure. They are covered with roof paper, sometimes with asbestos cement. Their unique decorative elements consist of open-work gables and baluster barriers. The most often they are open above the barrier. The porch was a widespread form in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century. They were also added to already existing houses in the 4th quarter of the 19th century and the beginning of 20th century^[18]. As an original element they were built probably in Wielki Komórsk, ul. Grudziądzka 17, Wielkie Zajączkowo 33 and Mątawy 52. Their form is similar to suburban porches constructed at that time^[19].
The degree of deterioration of houses in Dolna Grupa 11 and Wielkie Stwolno 33 does not allow identification of the homestead type.
Nizina Sartowicko-Nowska is characterised by a relatively high number of the last phase of the Olęder homestead. Besides the dispersed layout we will find here typical linear and corner developments. One house with a preserved arcade extension gives an outlook on the shape of this development that was more numerous in the past.

SPATIAL AND FUNCTIONAL LAYOUT

The attempt to characterise the layout of different rooms seems very difficult. It is the most often transformed element of the house. However, views of the ground floor were drawn for 24 sites in Nizina Sartowicko-Nowska^[20], and they will constitute the basis for the interior spatial layouts analysis^[21].
All houses are characterised by the two-bay layout of rooms. The main entrance is situated always in the front wall, on its central axis or closer to the gable wall (this second solution is typical for houses of the first half of the 19th century). It leads to a small, the most often passage hallway, connected with a kitchen in the second bay. Here we find entrances to rooms, usually four (their number depends mainly on the financial status of the owner)^[22]. The kitchen may be situated on the longitudinal wall, next to the hallway. Then the back side forms a chamber or a winter kitchen. If in the building there is a 'czarna kuchnia' (black kitchen)^[23], then the hallway and the kitchen are divided into two separate rooms^[24].
The site in Dragacz 117 constitutes a characteristic example of a two-family house. Next to the hallway there are four rooms on one side. Behind the hallway there are kitchens, then rooms (on the other side of the hallway there are two more rooms). Both parts of the house are not connected. A multi-family house could be located also in Wielkie Stwolno 46^[25].
Some sites dating from the end of the 19th century are characterised by a simplified spatial layout. The views, having almost a square form, are divided into a hallway, a kitchen and two rooms^[26].
The form of the house - joint or dispersed homestead - practically does not influence the interior layout. The only difference is a passage in the wall adjoining the farm section. Such passage could be located in the hallway as well as in the chamber beside it. In the majority of cases this was one door, although in larger homesteads there were two or three passages.
Each room in the house is illuminated by a window. In representative rooms there were three or even four window openings.
Besides the main entrance, such houses often possess a second entrance in the other longitudinal wall. It is the result of the passage character of the hallway. In buildings dating from the second half of the century we can also find entrances located in the central axis of the gable wall.
An element that is very characteristic for the Olęders developments is the existence of elders' rooms. In the analysed area no house with such room survived, but we know that such sites existed^[27]. Z. Ludkiewicz writes that the floor above the residential part could have been used as an annex for parents, as in a homestead in Bratwin^[28].
Sometimes the loft also had a residential function. It contains rooms, illuminated mainly by a gable window. In Wielki Lubień 47 and Osiek 5, there are mansard roofs on both sides, and the loft is divided into two rooms.
Farm buildings included all the elements: a cowshed, a stable, a pigpen, a hen house and a barn^[29]. The entrance door was always located on the gable side and was used to dispose of the dung. An elongated corridor ran through the centre of the barn, sometimes crossed by a second, perpendicular one^[30]. Doors were then located in both longer walls.
The largest barns, preserved in Dragacz 117 and Tryl 45 (illustration 13

,illustration 14

), have one thrashing floor and two storage spaces each. The passage corridor was always in the thrashing floor part and storing spaces had at least one entrance.
Sometimes lofts were used as barn. In many cases they have two levels.
Cellars were also used as storage rooms. Very popular, they were located at one of the longer walls of the building, underneath one of the rooms or chambers. The entrances to the cellars were located outside or inside, in a hallway or a chamber. Only Dragacz 117 has the cellar under the entire house.
The divisions inside the residential buildings have some common features, in spite of numerous modifications - the two-bay layout with a hallway on the side of the yard and a kitchen (sometimes winter and summer kitchen), and large lofts often housing residential rooms.

STRUCTURE

The residential buildings have wide range of dimensions. Their length (without the farm section) varies from 9 to 20m. The width - from 6 to 12, and the height reaches almost 11m.
The main factor influencing the dimensions of a homestead was the wealth and social status of the farmer. In the 3rd and 4th quarter of the 19th century larger buildings dominate. However, the type of the building is without significance to its size.
The foundation of the house is high and is made of natural stone, the most often cut, bonded with lime mortar. It occurs only under the residential part. On the foundation there is a layer of brick, on which we find the ground sill joined at the corners with timber joints (illustration 15

).
The walls had a corner-notched structure^[31]. The homestead Mątawy 32 is an exception - it is a timber-frame smithy dating from the beginning of the 20th century, adapted for residential purposes. The no longer existing arcade building in Sartowice had the same structure.
In the course of years the tie-beam was replaced. Houses in Krusze 39 and Wielki Komórsk, ul. Grudziądzka 28, have almost half of the walls made of brick. The only original brick elements were fire walls and bottle-shaped chimneys (illustration 16

).
The tie-beam is connected in two ways: by saddle-notch corner joints with log ends illustration 17

, characteristic for sites dating from the beginning of the 19th century (Krusze 6, Dolna Grupa 3, Wielki Komórsk ul. Nowska 16 and ul. Grudziądzka 28) and with dovetail halvings (illustration 18

illustration 18), occurring in the course of the entire century. If the corner joints did not have log ends, quoins were covered with decorative slats. Probably their function was not only decorative - both forms protected the wood against weather conditions.
Quoins, the width of which reached 50cm, are connected with dowel joints (illustration 19

). In older buildings logs had wanes and the space between them was sealed with moss and clay.
In some cases the tie-beam walls were joined with vertical-post log construction. The posts reinforced the wall (Górna Grupa 54), its extension, and sometimes window and door frames (Bratwin 21, Nowe Marzy 11). In the second half of the 19th century a new element appeared - the pointing sill. Built in the timber-frame construction, planked, it reposed on ceiling joists. It increased the height of the roof, enlarging the usable floor space of the loft. On this wall reposed the roof structure.
The roof frame was built in the collar-beam or king post construction. In case of the first one (illustration 20

), rafters were stiffened by one or two collars. The king post roof frame was based on purlins which, together with braces, formed the longitudinal frame (illustration 21

). The elements were joined with tenon joists or pegged laps. Oblong wind ties were also an often-encountered element of the roof frame.
Till the present day some houses are thatched, although in the 19th century roof tiles were very popular. The majority of houses are covered with asbestos cement. Sometimes roofs are covered with steel, roofing paper and cement slabs.
Cellars, built of brick, had the so-called 'Klein's ceiling'.
Originally the floors were mostly made of battens. In kitchens and hallways we can find brick floors.
In all cottages there are beam ceilings made of boards, sometimes with bevelled beams. At present most of the ceilings are ceiled with board.
The farm buildings are mainly built of brick. Only in buildings dating from the first half of the century the farm section is made of wood.
Behind a brick cowshed a barn was situated. Whether it was joint or detached, it always had a timber-frame construction and was planked.

^[1] It was the colonist who chose the most convenient place on the field. It depended mostly on the natural conditions of the terrain. The situation was probably the same in Nizina, what is indicated by the 19th century maps. Compare: M. Warchoł, op. cit., p. 58; National Archives in Bydgoszcz, Inventory of the collection of printed topographical maps ref. no. 1/75.
^[2] It facilitated the communication and access to field works.
^[3] According to Z. Ludkiewicz houses built with their gable to the road belonged to large peasant homesteads. Compare: Z. Ludkiewicz, op. cit., p. 96. Such layout can be found in houses in Wielki Lubień 47 or Mątawy 54 but it can not be considered as a rule.
^[4] Z. Ludkiewicz writes that barns were built usually parallel to the house. Compare ibidem. Also gables facing the road are known in large farms, e.g. in Dragacz 117, Wielki Lubień 47.
^[5] Ibidem, p. 84.
^[6] Such layout can be found in the cottage Michale 68, Dolna Grupa 3, Dolna Grupa 81, although much later examples are known, such as Fletowo 30 (3rd quarter of the 19th century)
^[7] Such prominent brick walls were in homesteads: Bratwin 39, Mątawy 54, Mątawy 27, Osiek 5, Wielki Lubień 47, Michale 9, Tryl 40.
^[8] A layout with different sizes of particular elements is at present characteristic for homesteads that were subject to later modifications (the difference consists mainly of different height of the roof). Among the sites that have not survived, such arrangement was in a homestead from Mątawy; maybe it was the only one original, referring to homesteads described by O. Kloeppel. Compare: O. Kloeppel, op. cit., 179
^[9] The catalogue of historic monuments dating from 1977 describes such type of development also in Wielki Lubień. In the book by H. Wiebe there is a photo of an L-shaped barn from Wielkie Stwolno. Compare: H. Wiebe, op. cit., p. 26; Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol.XI, Dawne województwo bydgoskie..., op. cit., p. 13.
^[10] According to the information obtained from inhabitants, such houses existed in Dolna Grupa. It is confirmed by the map dating from the second half of the 19th century. Compare: Special collections of the City and Voivodeship Public Library in Bydgoszcz, ref. no. C.III 2051
^[11] Wielki Lubień 7. Compare: Łęga W., Okolice Świecia, Gdańsk 1965, illustration 14; Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol..XI, Dawne województwo bydgoskie..., op. cit., p 13.
^[12] Wielkie Zajączkowo 8 (38). Compare: Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol. XI, Dawne województwo bydgoskie..., op. cit., p. 60; Photo of a house in Zajączkowo 38, Ethnographical Museum in Toruń, ref.no. I 271 83, I 270 83, I 269 83.
^[13] Photography of a house in Sartowice Dolne, Ethnographical Museum in Toruń, ref.no. I 605 59, I 604 59, I 603 59.
^[14] Mątawy with barn gable arcades. Compare: W. Łęga, illustration 15.
^[15] E. Okoń, op. cit., p. 114.
^[16] Dragacz 56, 117, Wielki Komórsk, ul Grudziądzka 17, ul. Nowska 5, Krusze 4, Mątawy 52, 35, Michale 9, Osiek 2, 11, Wielki Lubień 47, Wielkie Zajączkowo 33.
^[17] Only Osiek 2 has a monopitch roof.
^[18] E. Okoń, op. cit., p. 114.
^[19] Compare: H. Ratajczak, Drewniane ganki w dzielnicy Toruń-Mokre, zanikający klimat i piękno, [in:] Conservatio est eterna creatio, Księga dedykowana prof. J Tajchmanowi, eds. J. Krawczyk, Toruń 1999, p. 301-325.
^[20] Bratwin 21, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, eds. I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, branch in Bydgoszcz; Bratwin 38, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Dolna Grupa 12, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Dragacz 10, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Dragacz 117, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Krusze 6, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Mątawy 28, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Mątawy 35, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Mątawy 52, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Mątawy 54, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Michale 65, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Nowe ul. Kwiatowa 6, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Nowe ul. Wiślana 13, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Osiek 2, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Osiek 5, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Wąskie Piaski 68, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Wielki Komórsk, ul. Grudziądzka 17, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Wielki Komórsk, ul. Nowska 16, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Wielki Lubień 45, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Wielki Lubień 47, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Wielkie Stwolno 11, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz; Zajączkowo 33, Historic Monuments of Architecture and Construction registry Card, elaborated by I. Jastrzębska-Puzowska, E. Sekuła-Tauer, K. Bartowski, typescript, Bydgoszcz, Voivodeship Office for Protection of Monuments, Branch in Bydgoszcz.
^[21] All ground floor views are included in the catalogue of sites.
^[22] The basic type is a hallway with a kitchen, a chamber and a representative room in the front wall. Compare: M. Warchoł, op. cit., p. 65.
^[23] The fire system is a very important element of the spatial layout. The majority of sites possess a bottle-shaped chimney. Such building can have additional rooms - the so-called 'black kitchens'. In this area 16 have been localised. At present they are used as closets or pantries. It is characteristic for the entire 19th century.
^[24] It can be found also in buildings having their hallways partitioned with a crosswise wall.
^[25] According to the information obtained from the inhabitants, it was a house of the manor workers in which two families lived.
^[26] The best-preserved examples are Wąskie Piaski 68 and Nowe nad Wisłą, ul. Wiślana 13.
^[27] As on the photos of two houses in Mątawy and one in Wielkie Stwolno, dating from the forties of the 20th century.
^[28] Z. Ludkiewicz, op. cit., p. 39.
^[29] Ibidem.
^[30] Such layout was characteristic for Nizina Sartowicko-Nowska and Żuławy. Compare: Ibidem; O. Kloeppel, op. cit., p. 185. It is also confirmed by the statements of the inhabitants.
^[31] These were pine or poplar beams; sometimes willow.