Elm Court is an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

style mansion located at 315

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 as summer retreats aroun ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. Part of 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 as summer retreats aroun ...

, it was built in 1853 and designed in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ita ...

by George Champlin Mason Sr. In 1882,

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

renovated the remodeled and enlarged the house after it was bought in by Adele L. S. Stevens, who also had the interiors redone by Ogden Codman Jr. Since 1896, Elm Court has been owned by the same family and remains a private residence.

History

The Cedars, as it was originally known, was built in 1853 for Boston merchant Andrew Robeson Jr., and his wife, Mary Arnold ( Allen) Robeson. The Italianate house is on

across from Bowery Street was designed by George Champlin Mason Sr. Across Bowery, also on Bellevue, was Kingscote, one of the first summer "cottages" constructed in Newport for George Noble Jones by

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

and built in 1839.

Stevens / Talleyrand-Périgord years

Following Robeson's death in 1874, the house was sold to Adele Livingston Stevens (

Sampson Sampson may refer to: Military * , several Royal Navy ships * , several US Navy ships * Sampson-class destroyer, a World War I US Navy class * Sampson Air Force Base, near Seneca Lake, New York, closed in 1956 * SAMPSON, a multi-function radar ...

) and her then husband, Frederic W. Stevens. In 1882, Adele hired

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect and a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms at the turn of the 20th century. White designed many houses ...

to remodel and enlarge the residence at a cost of $16,591 and had the interiors redone by Ogden Codman Jr. Between 1881 and 1883,

Isaac Bell Jr. Isaac Bell Jr. (November 6, 1846 – January 20, 1889) was an American businessman and diplomat. Early life Bell was born in New York City, the son of steamboat owner Isaac Bell (1814–1897) and Adelaide (née Mott) Bell (1828–1901). Bell wa ...

had

McKim, Mead and White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

build a

Shingle style The shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture. In the shingle style, Engli ...

home next door at 70 Perry Street, today known as the Isaac Bell House. Shortly after the renovations were completed, Adele began a relationship with the Marquis de Talleyrand, who was himself married to another American heiress,

Elizabeth Beers-Curtis Elizabeth Beers-Curtis de Talleyrand-Périgord, Marquise de Talleyrand (November 12, 1847 March 30, 1933) was an American heiress who married into the French aristocracy. Early life Elizabeth "Bessie" was born on November 12, 1847, in Paris. Sh ...

, then left her husband and moved to Paris. After each obtaining a divorce from their spouses, they wed in 1887, after which, she rented out her Newport house. In 1893, Adele sold the house for $87,500 to Christopher R. Robert and his wife, Julia, of New York.

Work / Roche / Cary / Van Pelt years

In 1896, Julia Robert sold the house, then called "The Elms", and its contents to Frank Work for $115,000. Work passed the estate to his daughter,

Frances Ellen Work Frances Ellen Work (October 27 or 28, 1857 – January 26, 1947) was an American heiress and socialite. Early life Frances was born in New York City on October 27 or 28, 1857. She was a daughter of Franklin H. Work, a well-known stockbroker an ...

, who'd recently divorced her first husband (

James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (28 July 1851 – 30 October 1920), was a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons, and he held a title in the Peerage of Ireland during the final two months of his life. Early life and ...

), and moved back to America with her daughter,

Cynthia Roche Cynthia Burke Cary (née Roche, previously Burden; 10 April 1884 – 18 December 1966) was a British-American socialite and art collector from Newport, Rhode Island. Life and work She was born on 10 April 1884 in London to James Roche, 3rd Bar ...

, who had her debut in 1902 at a ball at Elm Court. The house passed to Cynthia, who married her second husband, Guy Fairfax Cary, in the house in 1922. Following Cary's death in 1950, it became Cynthia's year-round home instead of a summer home. Since 2008, it has been the home of Mary ( Adickes) and Guy Van Pelt (a son of

Cynthia Cary Van Pelt Russell Cynthia Cary Van Pelt Russell (October 16, 1924 – November 24, 2019) was an American socialite, who was part of American 'High Society' in New York and Newport, Rhode Island, and is a first cousin once removed of Diana, Princess of Wales. Early ...

), following the death of Guy's uncle, Guy Fairfax Cary Jr.

Notes

References

External links

ELM COURT
as HouseHistree {{DEFAULTSORT:Elm Court (Newport, Rhode Island) Houses in Newport, Rhode Island Residential buildings completed in 1853 Italianate architecture in Rhode Island Gilded Age mansions Gilded Age