Castle in the Clouds (or ''Lucknow'') is a 16-room mansion and mountaintop estate in Moultonborough,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, opened seasonally to the public by the Castle Preservation Society. It overlooks

Lake Winnipesaukee Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering & ...

and the

Ossipee Mountains The Ossipee Mountains are a small mountain range in the New England state of New Hampshire, United States. The remains of an ancient volcanic ring dike,Hall, Anthony, ''Igneous Petrology,'' Longman, 1987 p.75 - 76 they lie north of Lake Winnipesa ...

from a rocky outcropping of Lee Mountain formerly known as "The Crow's Nest".

History

The home was built in 1913–1914 in the

Craftsman style American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its ...

by the millionaire shoe manufacturer

Thomas Gustave Plant Thomas Gustave Plant (1859–1941) was born in Bath, ME, the son of French-Canadian immigrants, who made his fortune manufacturing shoes under the Queen Quality Shoes label. His largest shoe factory, the Thomas G. Plant Shoe Factory (1896-1976) ...

(1859–1941) for his second wife, Olive Cornelia Dewey. He named the estate ''Lucknow'' for unknown reasons. He had no known connection to

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

in India. A poem by Olive reads "In the twilit hall, by the open fire / Each one agrees, 'I'm in Luck Now at last", suggesting that it was a play on words. The property was assembled from the private Ossipee Mountain Park, an observation area called the Crow's Nest, and a variety of other lodges and buildings. He razed the structures and built the mansion, a stable/garage, gatehouses, a greenhouse, farm buildings, and a golf course. The property eventually extended to . Crow's Nest, from the lawn, by L

John W. Beal John Woodbridge Beal (July 12, 1887 – December 3, 1971) was an American architect who was a partner of J. Williams Beal, Sons. Early life Beal was born on July 12, 1887, in Hanover, Massachusetts to J. Williams Beal and Mary Woodbridge (Howe ...

and Horatio Beal), the house included many innovations which were rare at the time, including a circular shower, interlocking kitchen tiles, and a central vacuum system. The interiors were designed by Irving & Casson-A.H. Davenport. Bronze and tile work were by William Jackson & Company; electric fixtures by Edward F. Caldwell & Co.; and glass by Tiffany. After Plant lost his money in a series of bad investments in the 1930s, the house was foreclosed upon, but his creditors allowed him to stay in the mansion until his death, and the furnishings remained with the house. Plant died in 1941, and the property was purchased by Fred C. Tobey to log its hardwoods and serve as a family summer home. The estate was sold to Richard and Donald Robie in 1956, who opened it as a tourist attraction. Castle in the Clouds is today owned and operated by the Castle Preservation Society, a private 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. The Castle, Carriage House, gift shop, art gallery and Cafe and Patio are open to the public from late May to early October.Castle Preservation Society

Announcement of restoration plan (PDF)
/ref> The property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2018.

Notes

References

* Ellen Albanese, "N.H. castle built on shoes, love, a grand vision", ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', August 3, 2008
full text
* Eric Jones, ''New Hampshire Curiosities'', Globe Pequot Press, 2006, p. 153. . * Larissa Mulkern, "A Home Ahead of Its Time", ''New Hampshire Home'', Fall 2007
full text
* Barry H. Rodrigue, ''A Castle in the Clouds: Tom Plant and the American Dream'', Bath: Archipelago, 2015. * Bryant Franklin Tolles, ''Summer Cottages in the White Mountains: The Architecture of Leisure and Recreation, 1870 to 1930'', University Press of New England, 2000. . * Bryant Franklin Tolles, Carolyn K. Tolles, New Hampshire Historical Society, ''New Hampshire Architecture'', University Press of New England, 1979, p. 270. .

External links

Official site

Site about Lucknow by the grandson of Fred C. Tobey
{{NRHP in Carroll County, New Hampshire Historic house museums in New Hampshire Houses completed in 1914 Museums in Carroll County, New Hampshire Protected areas of Carroll County, New Hampshire Houses in Carroll County, New Hampshire Moultonborough, New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Carroll County, New Hampshire Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire