Bykenhulle House

the bykenhulle house bed and breakfast (originally called ivy hall) is a 15 room greek revival style manor house. it was built in the early 19th century in the town of east fishkill by peter adriance, a prominent silversmith. peter was the grandson of isaac adriance, who emigrated from holland and purchased the first adriance land grant in dutchess county from madam brett in 1743. john bicknell was the vice president, and later the chairman of the board of the united states rubber company. around the time he acquired ownership of the estate, rural electricity was being made available in the area. bicknell renovated the house with electricity, and restored the property with up-to-date modifications of the time. he renamed the property “bykenhulle” which is the original spelling for bicknell. the anglo saxon name “bykenhulle” dates back to 1004 meaning “beacon hill.” beacon hill guarded the manor of bykenhulle in somersetshire, england in the 11th century. though beacon hill would be a l