diff --git a/src/ConnectionPool.jl b/src/ConnectionPool.jl
index 9a7a649f6..e7ef04619 100644
--- a/src/ConnectionPool.jl
+++ b/src/ConnectionPool.jl
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ Fields:
 - `host::String`
 - `port::String`, exactly as specified in the URI (i.e. may be empty).
 - `pipeline_limit`, number of requests to send before waiting for responses.
+- `idle_timeout`, No. of sconds to maintain connection after last transaction.
 - `peerport`, remote TCP port number (used for debug messages).
 - `localport`, local TCP port number (used for debug messages).
 - `io::T`, the `TCPSocket` or `SSLContext.
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ mutable struct Connection{T <: IO}
     host::String
     port::String
     pipeline_limit::Int
+    idle_timeout::Int
     peerport::UInt16
     localport::UInt16
     io::T
@@ -95,8 +97,9 @@ struct Transaction{T <: IO} <: IO
 end
 
 Connection(host::AbstractString, port::AbstractString,
-           pipeline_limit::Int, io::T) where T <: IO =
-    Connection{T}(host, port, pipeline_limit,
+           pipeline_limit::Int, idle_timeout::Int, io::T) where T <: IO =
+    Connection{T}(host, port,
+                  pipeline_limit, idle_timeout,
                   peerport(io), localport(io),
                   io, nobytes,
                   -1,
@@ -104,7 +107,7 @@ Connection(host::AbstractString, port::AbstractString,
                   0, false, Condition(),
                   0)
 
-Connection(io) = Connection("", "", default_pipeline_limit, io)
+Connection(io) = Connection("", "", default_pipeline_limit, 0, io)
 
 Transaction(c::Connection{T}) where T <: IO =
     Transaction{T}(c, (c.sequence += 1))
@@ -139,7 +142,7 @@ function Base.eof(t::Transaction)
     @require isreadable(t) || !isopen(t)
     if bytesavailable(t) > 0
         return false
-    end               ;@debug 4 "eof(::Transaction) -> eof($(typeof(c.io))): $t"
+    end             ;@debug 4 "eof(::Transaction) -> eof($(typeof(t.c.io))): $t"
     return eof(t.c.io)
 end
 
@@ -392,6 +395,17 @@ end
 Remove closed connections from `pool`.
 """
 function purge()
+
+    for c in pool
+        if c.idle_timeout > 0 &&
+          !c.readbusy &&
+          !c.writebusy &&
+           time() - c.timestamp > c.idle_timeout
+
+            close(c.io)                       ;@debug 1 "⌛️  Timeout:        $c"
+        end
+    end
+
     isdeletable(c) = !isopen(c.io) && (@debug 1 "🗑  Deleted:        $c"; true)
     deleteat!(pool, map(isdeletable, pool))
 end
@@ -407,6 +421,7 @@ function getconnection(::Type{Transaction{T}},
                        port::AbstractString;
                        connection_limit::Int=default_connection_limit,
                        pipeline_limit::Int=default_pipeline_limit,
+                       idle_timeout::Int=0,
                        reuse_limit::Int=nolimit,
                        kw...)::Transaction{T} where T <: IO
 
@@ -438,7 +453,9 @@ function getconnection(::Type{Transaction{T}},
             busy = findall(T, host, port, pipeline_limit)
             if length(busy) < connection_limit
                 io = getconnection(T, host, port; kw...)
-                c = Connection(host, port, pipeline_limit, io)
+                c = Connection(host, port,
+                               pipeline_limit, idle_timeout,
+                               io)
                 push!(pool, c)                ;@debug 1 "🔗  New:            $c"
                 return client_transaction(c)
             end
@@ -466,14 +483,50 @@ function keepalive!(tcp)
     return
 end
 
+struct ConnectTimeout <: Exception
+    host
+    port
+end
+
 function getconnection(::Type{TCPSocket},
                        host::AbstractString,
                        port::AbstractString;
                        keepalive::Bool=false,
-                       kw...)::TCPSocket
+                       connect_timeout::Int=0,
+                       kw...)::Sockets.TCP
+
     p::UInt = isempty(port) ? UInt(80) : parse(UInt, port)
+
     @debug 2 "TCP connect: $host:$p..."
-    tcp = Sockets.connect(Sockets.getaddrinfo(host), p)
+
+    if connect_timeout == 0
+        tcp = Sockets.connect(Sockets.getaddrinfo(host), p)
+        keepalive && keepalive!(tcp)
+        return tcp
+    end
+
+    tcp = Sockets.TCPSocket()
+    Base.connect!(tcp, Sockets.getaddrinfo(host), p)
+
+    timeout = Ref{Bool}(false)
+    @schedule begin
+        sleep(connect_timeout)
+        if tcp.status == Base.StatusConnecting
+            timeout[] = true
+            tcp.status = Base.StatusClosing
+            ccall(:jl_forceclose_uv, Void, (Ptr{Void},), tcp.handle)
+            #close(tcp)
+        end
+    end
+    try
+        Base.wait_connected(tcp)
+    catch e
+        if timeout[]
+            throw(ConnectTimeout(host, port))
+        end
+        rethrow(e)
+    end
+
     keepalive && keepalive!(tcp)
     return tcp
 end
diff --git a/src/Servers.jl b/src/Servers.jl
index 174b3aea6..ceaec717c 100644
--- a/src/Servers.jl
+++ b/src/Servers.jl
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ function listen(f::Function,
                 continue
             end
             io = ssl ? getsslcontext(io, sslconfig) : io
-            let io = Connection(host, string(port), pipeline_limit, io)
+            let io = Connection(host, string(port), pipeline_limit, 0, io)
                 @info "Accept:  $io"
                 @async try
                     handle_connection(f, io; kw...)