This was the first house of the HistoricNewEngland.org historic sites I visited this year. And the first visit I made without my husband with me. Another first is this is the first property purchased by the Historic New England in 1911.
Swett-Ilsley House
4 High Road
Newbury, Mass. 01951
About 12 of the visitors waited in the above room for the tour to begin. We learned about the history of the house additions and the families. This is one of the very few homes without furniture that HistoricNewEngland has. I visited on July 1, 2023.
From the HistoricNewEngland.org site,
"The original portion, built in 1670 by Stephen Swett, was one room deep, and later additions more than doubled the size of the house. Over the centuries the building served as a tavern, chocolate shop, chandlery, and tea room, in part due to its location on Newbury’s most traveled road."
Back of the fireplace, see the man looking in. This fireplace was Amazing.
The fireplace is so huge that we could all could fit inside.
So many doors.
Up on the second floor.
A modern skylight. (Not really.)
Backyard. I checked out this site almost a month before they gave the tours. Somebody lives in the back rooms, but I was able to walk around and enjoy the peonies on June 14th.
