The William Watts Sherman House is a notable house designed by American architect

H. H. Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

, with later interiors by

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...

. It is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

, generally acknowledged as one of Richardson's masterpieces and the prototype for what became known as the Shingle Style in American architecture. It is located at 2 Shepard Avenue,

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

and is now owned by

Salve Regina University Salve Regina University is a private Roman Catholic university in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It was founded in 1934 by the Sisters of Mercy and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. The university enrolls mo ...

. It is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

to the

Bellevue Avenue Historic District The Bellevue Avenue Historic District is located along and around Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Its property is almost exclusively residential, including many of the Gilded Age mansions built by affluent summer va ...

History

The house was built in 1875–1876 by

William Watts Sherman William Watts Sherman (August 4, 1842 – January 22, 1912) was a New York City businessman and the treasurer of the Newport Casino. In 1875–1876 he had the William Watts Sherman House constructed in Newport, Rhode Island. Early life ...

, of the banking firm Duncan Sherman & Co. of New York, and his first wife Annie Derby Rodgers Wetmore (daughter of

William Shepard Wetmore William Shepard Wetmore (January 26, 1801 – June 16, 1862) was an Americans, American Businessperson, businessman and Philanthropy, philanthropist who was an Old China Trade merchant. Early life He was born on January 26, 1801 to Nancy Shepar ...

of the nearby

Chateau-sur-Mer Chateau-sur-Mer is one of the first grand Bellevue Avenue mansions of the Gilded Age in Newport, Rhode Island. Located at 474 Bellevue Avenue, it is now owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County and is open to the public as a museum. C ...

). It was designed by the architectural firm of Gambrill and Richardson, though there is no evidence of Gambrill's involvement in the design, and built by the

Norcross Brothers Norcross Brothers Contractors and Builders was a nineteenth-century American construction company, especially noted for their work, mostly in stone, for the architectural firms of H.H. Richardson and McKim, Mead & White. The company was founded by J ...

. According to an article in the ''Newport Mercury'' (January 9, 1875), its frame was constructed in New Jersey and shipped to Newport for assembly. The original house was stories in height and basically rectangular, about in dimensions, with porte-cochere on the east facade, and two principal entrances on the west. Its first story was faced in pink granite ashlar, with higher stories of brick, shingle, and half-timbered stucco, diamond-panel windows grouped in long, horizontal bands, and five massive red brick chimneys. Trim materials included reddish sandstone and brownstone. The roof was steeply gabled, with a broad single gable in front and multiple sharp gables to the rear, all originally shingled in wood. Its interior organizes clusters of rooms about a spacious central stair hall. Circa 1877 unusual stained-glass windows by Daniel Cottier (but often credited to

John LaFarge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge is best known for ...

) were added; these have subsequently been sold.

Alterations

This original design was extended and altered, 1879–1881, by

McKim, Mead and White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

in a style consonant with earlier work; the parlor and library were designed by

. A second addition by Newport architect Dudley Newton (1845–1907), circa 1890, added a ballroom and service wing. The house remained in private hands until 1951 when it was willed to the Baptist Home of Rhode Island as a home for the aged. In 1963 a hospital wing was added, and in 1982 it was acquired by Salve Regina. The house combines elements from medieval European, Renaissance English and Colonial American styles, and appears to have been inspired by British architect

Norman Shaw Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...

's houses in Surrey (published in 1874). According to the ''Newport Mercury'', its builders had been "unable to find a name" for the house's architectural style, although the family termed it Queen Anne style. On December 30, 1970, the house was designated a

by the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

Gallery

File:Wattsshermanhouse.jpg, Watts Sherman House, before 1879 alterations. Image:William Watts Sherman House (Newport, RI) - from southeast.jpg, From the southeast. Image:William Watts Sherman House (Newport, RI) - library.jpg, Library, by Stanford White. Image:William Watts Sherman House (Newport, RI) - from southwest.jpg , West facade

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, William Watts, House Houses in Newport, Rhode Island Salve Regina University Houses completed in 1876 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island Historic American Buildings Survey in Rhode Island Henry Hobson Richardson buildings Queen Anne architecture in Rhode Island Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Rhode Island Shingle Style houses National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Rhode Island Shingle Style architecture in Rhode Island Gilded Age mansions

History

Alterations

Gallery

See also

Notes

References