No. 621
The early farmhouses of the eastern Midlands are little known. Houses of similar design and construction can also be seen beyond the frontiers of present-day Switzerland in the Baden area and to the north of Lake Constance.

The large multi-purpose house from Uesslingen is mentioned in an estate register of the abbey of Ittingen of 1743. At least two phases of construction can be identified in the building as it now stands. The original farmhouse comprised a stable, threshing floor and living quarters. In the 17th century, when the building was lengthened to add a press room, the old rafters were left in place and a new roof construction was built on top of them. Planked bays alternate with infills of wattle and daub.
The door at the rear of the house opens into the kitchen. The parlour has a beam and plank ceiling characteristic of eastern Switzerland. The beams in the adjoining room are thicker at the ends than in the middle, thus giving the impression of an arched ceiling.
The former inhabitants were probably wine-growers. Only this can explain why the stable, the threshing floor, and the hayloft are so small. The oil press from Walter Boeschi from Unterstammheim ZH stands today in the former wine-press. As late as the Second World War, the selling of walnut, beechnut, rapeseed and poppy-seed oil was an important source of income. Around 700 kilograms of seeds and kernels were processed in one 24-hour period at that time.

The grain storehouse from Wellhausen TG (No. 622) standing next to the house from Uesslingen was converted into a workshop and fitted with large windows in the 19th century.

Farmhouse from Uesslingen TG (1568/1605)
Longitudinal section
Ground floor plan