Kingscote is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

mansion and house museum at Bowery Street and

Bellevue Avenue 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 vaca ...

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, ...

, designed by

Richard Upjohn Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-born American architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to su ...

and built in 1839. It was one of the first summer "cottages" constructed in Newport, and is now 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 ...

. It was remodeled and extended by George Champlin Mason and later 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 was owned by the King family from 1864 until 1972, when it was given to the

Preservation Society of Newport County The Preservation Society of Newport County is a private, non-profit organization based in Newport, Rhode Island. It is Rhode Island's largest and most-visited cultural organization. The organization protects the architectural heritage of Newpor ...

History

George Noble Jones owned the El Destino and Chemonie cotton plantations in Florida. He constructed this house along a farm path known as

. It was designed by

and is an early example of the

style, with an irregular and busy roofline, with many gables and chimneys, and elaborate Gothic detailing. It is built of wood, although it was originally painted beige with sand mixed into the paint, giving it a textured appearance of sandstone. The Jones family permanently left Newport at the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and the house was sold to William Henry King in 1864, an

Old China Trade The Old China Trade () refers to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844. The Old C ...

merchant. King's nephew David leased the house in 1876 and embarked on a series of alterations. He hired Newport architect George Champlin Mason to build a larger dining room and to build a new service wing, and he had the interior redecorated by the New York firm of Leon Marcotte. He also introduced gas lighting to the premises. In December 1880, David King hired

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 ...

to design a new addition to the house, including new master bedrooms, a nursery, and a new dining room with opalescent glass bricks purchased from

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

. These alterations greatly enlarged upon Upjohn's original design yet retained the fundamental Gothic Revival character of the building. The King family owned the house until 1972, when the last descendant bequeathed it to the Preservation Society. The bequest included all of the furnishings as of about 1880. Today, Kingscote is a

(NHL) and a contributing property 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 vaca ...

, also an NHL.The Preservation Society of Newport County – Online Ticket Center
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Gallery

Image:Kingscote 01.jpg, Richard Upjohn's original 1839 watercolor of Kingscote, as seen from the southwest. Image:Kingscote 02.jpg, HABS photo of the front (southern) elevation. Image:Kingscote 03.jpg, The eastern elevation. Image:Kingscote 05.jpg, A detail of the front entrance. Image:Kingscote 04.jpg, The entrance hall.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingscote (Mansion) Historic house museums in Rhode Island Museums in Newport, Rhode Island Houses in Newport, Rhode Island Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island Houses completed in 1839 Historic American Buildings Survey in Rhode Island Richard Upjohn buildings McKim, Mead & White buildings Gothic Revival architecture in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Rhode Island Gilded Age mansions

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links