The Bristol Historical Society had a fundraiser - which allowed us to tour 12 historical homes in Bristol. Great idea!
And what do you know - beautiful weather too! We met our friend, Bob, and started the tour at the south end of town. This beauty called Seven Oaks was built in 1873. It was built for the founder of the National India Rubber Company and designed by the architect who designed St Patrick's Cathedral in NYC. The current owners bought the home in 2004 and are in the process of restoring it as prior owners had stripped it of it's beautiful woodwork, lights, moldings... in the hopes of converting it to condos.
A true castle in town!
and they have a nice view of the harbor. No pictures were allowed inside the homes. Too bad, because they were all beautiful
Our next house was right next door. It sits on the site of the Seven Oaks carriage house that burned in 1980. It was designed by a local architect - Lombard Pozzi. It was built in 1994 but it's designed was inspired by other homes in Bristol that dated to the early to mid 1800's. It had lovely hand painted ceilings.
And of course - another lovely view of the harbor.
We walked along Hope St, past the Herreshoff museum to the next home. There were a lot of people on the house tour, but the homes were never too crowded which was nice.
This home was built in 1912 - based on the Dutch Colonial Revival Style. Our friends Bill & Judy currently own the home and added this beautiful porch. We've watched a few Independence parades from this porch :) The inside was nice - with a quaint pantry and beautiful window seats.
There are so many historical homes in Bristol - every street you walk down...
This next home was also designed by Lombard Pozzi - using Queen Anne, Cottage, and Shingle Style architecture. It was built in 2001. It was built on land from the Codman estate which was built in 1870.
Our friends used to own the next home - which was the carriage house for the Codman place. It was built in 1872. I couldn't get a good picture - so here's the one from the historical society handbook. Love love love the large windows. This home has a beautiful rod iron staircase and more rooms than you would think.
I did take a picture of the trolley that was roaming around town giving lifts to those on the tour :)
And then we were off to a home built in 1840. It's a Greek Revival house owned originally by a Revolutionary War hero - Jonathan Fales. It was acquired by St Michaels church for quite a few years but is now back in the hands of a single family.
The Van Doorn house built in 1807 in a classic Federal Style design. All of these older homes have multiple fireplaces which really add to the charm - one in every room!
This house has a large area for a nice garden.
This next home was built in 1848 as a school house. It was built with granite that was gathered from the waterfront docks. It was named for Nathaniel Oliver, one of the four Bristol Proprietors who founded the town in 1680. The American Legion leased it for many years, and it is now a single family home. Loved the interior - high ceilings and a very long home!
And a long lot too!
We moved further north of town to the next home built in 1808 for William Reynolds. It used to sit on more than 4 acres! The keeping room on the first floor had a huge fireplace as well as the dining room.
The oldest home on the tour dates to 1698!! It is the oldest 3 story wood house in New England. And it looked it :) Old wooden beams inside; crooked doorways... very cool This used to be a 10 acre lot owned by Joseph Reynolds. In 1778 the Marquis de Lafayette made this house his headquarters during the American Revolutionary war
so they had a little reenactment camp set up
Another Reynolds house! This one built in 1851, but recently gutted and renovated by it's current owners. Not much is left of the original home except the framework, but the renovations are beautiful - lovely kitchen and master suite
and lovely views
The last home! This tour took over 4 hours and we went pretty quickly!! This home was built in 1793 and owned by Levi DeWolf. A lot of staircases - I couldn't find my way around :)
Another nice garden. Levi DeWolf owned many acres of land with this hoe and one of his favorite spots on his property is now a cemetery where most of the well known Bristolians are laid to rest.
What a day!!
My favorite homes were the Stone school house, the home built in 1698, and the carriage house that our friends used to own :)
