(Robert E. Klein for The Boston Globe)
HOME OF THE WEEK
MEDFIELD - A frenzied day in the life that ends with one sitting in the brown-toned kitchen of this centuries-old home would be bliss. Through the picture window is Jewells Pond, a 3-acre mill pond that yields trout, bass, mostly pickerel, and an occasional misplaced goldfish. The knotty kitchen cabinets are built with wood sawn from trees harvested on the property, known for the past century as Red Gate Farm. The site has been a town landmark since a grist and saw mill was built in the late 17th century. Some equipment and a coffer dam remain.
The house has expanded over time into a rambling L with the low ceilings, hewn beams, and the wide plank floors expected for a house dating to 1676. There are five brick fireplaces and spacious living, dining, and family rooms as well as a billiards room on the first floor. The second floor has five bedrooms of varying sizes off a meandering hallway. There is no master suite. The house needs exterior work and interior freshening. The property includes a "music" cottage built to distance the musician and the main house, and the "Grist Mill," which is actually a guesthouse. Both need extensive repairs. There is also a modern built-in pool, a barn with a new roof, a two-car garage, and a large screened-in porch next to a pond.
The owners hold 56 acres, but are selling the house and 10 acres of land, devised in such a way that Red Gate Farm cannot be subdivided for development purposes. Listing broker Marcia Karp of Karp, Liberman & Kern
John Richardson Ellement
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