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About Appleyard
My father, Henry Gordon Sweet and my mother, Joy Greene Sweet purchased 60 acres in North Haven in 1932. The original house, in which I grew up, is at the bottom of the hill.
In the 1940s my father built Appleyard for his mother so that she would be near by as she aged. The architect was Bansil LaFarge. At that time the hill was open fields and an apple orchard. A few of the original apple trees still surround the house. They are by now over a hundred years old and fragile, their trunks hollow. However, alternate years they still bear Baldwin, now a rarity, and a fine kind of Pippin.
The addition of a second bedroom with a separate entrance and laundry occurred in the late 1950s after my grandmother’s death to make the house a more attractive rental. Recent alterations my mother made in 1994 when she lived there include refenestration, including new windows in the master bedroom that provide a view to the lawns and trees to the south, and remodeling and redesign of the master bathroom. The kitchen cabinets, windows, and counters were also renovated. The detached garage was also built in 1994 and the driveway approach to the house redrawn.
Appleyard is sited on the top of a hill; to the north one sees the Sleeping Giant Mountain and State Park and to the south a long lawn, trees. The 10 acres are bordered by woods on three sides so as to insure privacy. While one is 15 minutes from downtown New Haven and close to shopping in North Haven and Hamden, when one is on the place it still feels like country, not suburbs. Wildlife includes wild turkeys, deer, numerous song birds and of course small critters such as rabbits and woodchucks.
The house is small and efficient but feels spacious. This is in part due to its design, the high-coffered ceiling in the spacious living room, and the very beautiful views. The brick terrace off the living room is protected on three sides, faces south and is protected from full sun in summer but is warm and pleasant in winter. There are finished fir floors, two fireplaces - one in the living room and one in the master bedroom. The second bedroom has it’s own bath, and separate entrance. The house is fully furnished and has cable TV - a dish hook up is available. There is no microwave. There is ample bookshelf space.
Our family continues to love and care for the place. It is a refuge that has always been loved.
Gay Sweet Scott -- September 2004
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