The Deane Winthrop House is an historic house at 34 Shirley Street in

Winthrop, Massachusetts Winthrop is a town in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at ...

. Deane Winthrop (1623–1704) was the sixth son of the second colonial Governor of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...

. The oldest part of the house was built about 1675 with an addition made in 1696. It is currently owned by the Winthrop Improvement and Historical Association and is open to visitors by appointment. This building is one of the oldest

wood frame Framing, in construction, is the fitting together of pieces to give a structure support and shape. Framing materials are usually wood, engineered wood, or structural steel. The alternative to framed construction is generally called ''mass wal ...

houses in the country and is the oldest continuously lived in home in the United States. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. In 2009, an addition was made to the barn to store Winthrop Improvement and Historical Association artifacts and documents. Originally thought to have been constructed earlier, a

dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

survey of the

tree rings Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

in 2002 confirmed that the earliest part of the house was built in 1675.

Coat of arms

The

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

displayed on the Deane Winthrop House are the arms of Deane's father, Governor John Winthrop, and thus it was also used by his sons. The Winthrop coat of arms is additionally used by

Winthrop House John Winthrop House (commonly Winthrop House) is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. It is home to approximately 400 upperclass undergraduates. Winthrop house consists of two buildings, Standish Hall and Gore ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. The arms were reportedly confirmed by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

, London, to Governor Winthrop's paternal uncle in 1592. The heraldic

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

of arms is: ''Argent three chevronels Gules overall a lion rampant Sable.''

References

External links

Winthrop, Massachusetts Houses in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Houses completed in 1675 National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts 1675 establishments in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts {{SuffolkCountyMA-NRHP-stub

Coat of arms

See also

References

External links