Fasnacloich

Fasnacloich is a historic country estate in Harrisville, New Hampshire. Built in 1911 and expanded in 1916–17, the estate is one of the most sophisticated and elaborate summer estates built in the Harrisville-Dublin area during its heyday as a summer resort area. The estate is located off MacVeagh Road, south of its junction with Mason Road. Its builders were Charles MacVeagh and Fanny Davenport Rogers MacVeagh. He is notable for being United States Ambassador to Japan, and they were the parents of diplomat Lincoln MacVeagh. The estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Description

The MacVeaghs became interested in the Harrisville-Dublin area after visiting his uncle Franklin's estate of Knollwood. With an interest in their Scottish heritage, the MacVeaghs named their estate after a place associated with Mrs. MacVeagh's family, and built a recreation of a medieval country estate on a hill side with views of Mount Monadnock. The design inspiration of the main house is said to be Kelmscott Manor in England, the Scottish Fasnacloich having burned in the 19th century. It is a two-story masonry construction, with clusters of chimneys typical of Jacobean houses, and a slate roof. The window frames and wooden trim of the house were made of wood cut on the property. The house is in an asymmetrical U shape, with the base of the U long, and arms of (south) and (north).

The house is approached by a long drive that ends in a circular are in front of the eastern facade, which has two entries sheltered by porches. The interior of the main wing includes an entry hall, three bedrooms, and a grand hall on the ground floor, whose walls are finished in half-timbering filled with stucco. The south wing houses a library and another large room, the two story "Terrace Room", which measures by , and was used as a performance space. It is three fireplaces and three monumentally large windows made of small leaded panes; these windows stand under steeply pitched gables. The south wing is connected to the north wing via a cloister-like walkway along the west side of the main wing.

The north wing houses the kitchen, servant work areas, a large dining room, and smoking room on the first floor. There is an Episcopal chapel on the second floor. To the north of this wing is the 1916-17 addition, with a greatly expanded library. Bookcases line the walls, separated by paired Tuscan columns in this room, which measures .

The most prominent feature of the estate's landscaping is the four-level terrace that extends down the hill from the south wing. The top level has a fieldstone retaining wall topped by a balustrade with Jacobean balusters. The garden descends to the fourth level, where there is an octagonal pool at whose center is fountain imported from Italy.

History

Plans for the house were drafted by A. S. Bell, although credit for most of its design and decoration go to Fanny MacVeagh. The MacVeaghs are known to have had as guests a wide variety of acquaintances from political, social, artistic, and literary circles.

See also

* Adams Farm (Harrisville, New Hampshire), a nearby MacVeagh property
*National Register of Historic Places listings in Cheshire County, New Hampshire

References

{{NRHP in Cheshire County, New Hampshire

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
Houses completed in 1911
Houses in Harrisville, New Hampshire
National Register of Historic Places in Cheshire County, New Hampshire