Building Description Hyde Manor - Hyde's Hotel, Sudbury Vermont
Located in the lake region of Vermont on Vermont 30 one mile south of Sudbury Village, Hyde Manor commands a dramatic view of the Champlain Valley and Adirondack Mountains to the west. The location is complemented in grandeur by the complex of buildings which compose Hyde Manor.
As a complex, Hyde Manor illustrates the self-sufficiency of a resort hotel which could provide its own maintenance and recreational facilities as well as lodging for guests and staff. The large main building is the oldest structure; it was built in 1865 to replace an earlier hotel which burned in 1861. An addition to the main building and the other structures were erected towards the end of the 19th century and two buildings in particular, the Casino (#3) and the Round House (#2) exhibit a decorative, almost whimsical, style often found in Victorian resort architecture.
The present complex, though somewhat deteriorated, continues to suggest the former elegance of Hyde Manor. All of the buildings remain intact except the large Annex (1898) which was connected to the main building on the left (north) side by a piazza; the Annex burned in 1946.
The buildings included in the complex are as follows (numbers refer to sketch map below):
1. Main Building: The main building is a large, imposing four-story gable-roofed Italianate structure with a projecting five-story, hip-roofed tower in the center of the front (west) elevation. Measuring 80' x 150' and T-shape in plan, the building has clapboard siding, windows with shutters and 6/6 lights, and slate-sheathed roof. The building's presence is magnified by a wide veranda extending along the front and left (north) sides of the main block, and by the porte-cochere projecting westwardly from the tower. The detailing, such as the windows, is of an unusually large scale and the Italianate motif is accentuated by the tower, the extraordinarily wide, plain entablature, and large scroll brackets supporting the molded cornice.
Inside, the first floor contains public rooms. The entry is dominated by the wide central stairway; to the right (south) is a large parlor which was used for small chamber concerts at one time. On the left side are smaller gathering rooms and a large dining room capable of seating 200 people.
The rear ell has several gabled roof dormers near the main block; the back half of the ell was added c. 1890. The ell accommodates a large kitchen on the first floor and additional guest rooms on the upper floors.
2. Round House: The Round House, c. 1900, is a small frame building with clapboard siding. It is an entertaining design because of the octagonal plan and steeply pitched polygonal roof which seems to rest on top of the building like a large hat. Six of the sides have one window each with 6/6 lights; one side contains the entrance door with transom; and the eighth side has a brick chimney which is partially supported by a gable extension from the spired roof. Three sides of the roof have louvred roof dormers. The Round House was used as a gentlemen's retreat for card games and smoking.
3. Casino: The Casino was built c. 1885 and is a small, one-story frame structure with German siding and a T-shape plan. The main block is 3 x 2 bays with tall 9/9 windows and a central doorway with a transom. The applied stick frieze and shaped rafter tails are fine decorative details, as is the cupola surmounting the hipped roof. The cupola has paired round-headed louvred vents and a center cross gable.
Inside, a bar extends the length of the left (north) side and a stage is situated in the ell portion of the building. Now used for storage, the building was originally used for theatrical performances and dancing.
4. Utility Shop: The Utility Shop, located behind (east of) the Casino, is a small utilitarian frame structure. One-and-one-half stories with a gable roof and cupola, the building was constructed c. 1885 and originally was the ice house.
5. Bowling Alley: The Bowling Alley is a large, two-story recreation hall now used for bottling spring water. Built in the 1880's, the building measures approximately 60' x 30' and is utilitarian in design with German board siding and a hip roof sheathed in asbestos shingles.
The second floor has two original bowling lanes in excellent condition and several large, ornate Brunswick billiard tables, c. 1890. The interior is spartan with exposed framing, typical of a summer recreational outbuilding. The first floor has been converted into a bottling plant.
6. Bird House: The Bird House was constructed c. 1875 to serve as lodging quarters for the guests' servants. It is a small one-and-one-half story frame building with clapboard siding, gable roof, corner boards, and plain fascia. The center entrance has a decorative porch with bracketed posts and the "cupola" is actually a large bird house, used at one time for raising squab.
7. Spring House: The Spring House is a small, one-story frame structure with weather-board siding and a hip roof sheathed with asbestos shingles. It is a purely functional building shielding the spring from debris.
8 & 9. Two buildings located behind the main building on the left (north) side are plain in character befitting service outbuildings. The laundry building (#8) was built c. 1885 and the annex (#9) was erected several years later, probably c. 1900.
Each is two-and-one-half stories with German board siding and a gable roof. The annex was originally used as quarters for female staff; after the larger annex burned in 1946, this building was converted for use by guests.
10 & 11. Two cottages situated near the north side of the property were built c.1895 and were used by guest families. Both are similar in design, though #11 has been extensively altered while #10 has retained its original design.
Number 10 is a two-story, frame cottage with German board siding. The design is enhanced by jerkinhead gable ends, a jerkinhead roof dormer, a balustraded porch with scroll bracketed posts, and windows with decorative, stick-like surrounds. The main entrance has a transom window; a side porch on the north side shelters another entrance. There is a central brick chimney in the front projecting ell.
Number 11 is similar, with German board siding but alterations have included enclosure of the porch, a modern double-dormer on the front projecting ell, and elimination of most of the decorative trim. A one-story ell was added to the southwest corner of the house. A small, one-bay garage (#11A) with German board siding and an asphalt shingled, gabled roof is situated to the north of this house.
Numbers 12A through 12E is a group of buildings all of the same design. Each has a corrugated metal roof and sides; the roofs are hipped with central vents shielded by hipped caps. These buildings were probably constructed c. 1900, perhaps earlier.
A house, #13, was constructed c. 1900 and has been radically altered.
The golf pro shop, #14, is a small, 5 x 1 bay, one-story gabled structure with German board siding and a porch extending the length of the north side. It was probably built around 1909-10 when the new golf course was laid out.
