Photos taken on 16 December 2021. Taken from the NRHP nomination form, "Dairy (800011 32), Photos 48, 49
The Dairy, also sometimes known as the Spring House, was built c.1800. Cooled by a natural spring, the stuccoed masonry building with an unusual gable and hip roof is set into a sloping site and surrounded by stone retaining walls with brick coping. The combination of the design, large physical size and siting of the dairy are unknown at any other American estate at this time period.
At the south west corner of the Dairy are seven stone steps leading from grade level down to a 54'-9" by 37'-5" area paved with brick laid in a herringbone pattern. At the northeast corner three steps lead from grade to the brick terrace. On the north side the retaining wall extends out beyond the terrace in both directions. On the east side (in the northeast corner) is a sterilizing oven: an outside brick fireplace with a pointed vault over a corbelled firebox. The brick chimney has a cap of three corbelled courses.
In the center of the south side of the terrace is a basin containing the spring. The basin is 2'-5" wide, 2'-4" deep, and is about 4'-0" from one end that extends into the retaining wall (which is supported above the basin by a pointed arch with marble voussoirs) into the brick terrace with a brick edging. The Dairy is set roughly in the center of the brick terrace. It is 28'-0" by 16'-3", two bays long and one bay wide, and one and a half stories high. The walls are rubble stone masonry covered in stucco. On the north wall is a central double-thick door, with vertical boards outside and six panels in rail and stile construction inside.
On the south wall ghost traces of a door are visible. On the east and west walls are pairs of long horizontal
windows with three-light sash; on the west wall, the windows have shutters with vertical battens that are hinged at the top. The hip roof has an approximately 4'-6" deep overhang on all sides and is covered with wood shingles. Gables above the hip overhang are formed by extensions of the north and south walls and are stuccoed. In the center of the roof is a brick chimney that originally extended from the first story to the ridge; no it only extends from the attic story. On the east side, a gable dormer extending up from the eave has a board and batten door that provides access to the attic space.
Inside, the first story of the Dairy is a single space surrounded by a cooling trough for the spring water; the trough is set about one brick width away from the walls and is 2'-0" wide by 2'-4" deep. The floor is paved with brick set in a herringbone pattern with edge paving. Three wood boards serve as a Abridge" across the trough. The walls and ceiling are finished with plaster. In the attic the floor is randomly sized wood board and the walls and ceiling are unfinished. This space served as a hayloft.
The Dairy is currently vacant. Vegetation threatens the stability of the brick terrace walls and flooring."
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The plaque says, "The ingenious design of this building enabled the Ridgelys to produce fine dairy products here for 150 years. Built into the ground to maintain coolness, the structure is also shaded by low-hanging eaves. Inside you will see a natural refrigeration system. Cool water from a nearby spring bubbles to the ground and runs through a tap into a trough that surrounds the dairy floor. Workers set urns of milk and tubs of butter into the cold water to keep them from spoiling. In the early years fresh milk, cream, and butter were luxuries mainly supplied for the master's table. Hampton's dairy products were sold commercially and helped support the estate.
[Caption:]
The Ridgelys' famous Alderney and Jersey cows were kept in a large stone barn, which once stood beyond the Long Barn in front of you. Fences circled the area to keep the animals from straying. If you visited the dairy in the 19th century, you would have seen women hauling heavy milk pails on yokes and churning cream into butter. In the 20th century, mainly men were hired to run the dairy."