Elm Court (Newport, Rhode Island)

For other uses, see Elm Court.
Elm Court
Map
Former namesThe Cedars, The Elms
General information
TypeResidence
Architectural styleItalianate
LocationNewport, Rhode Island, US
Address315 Bellevue Avenue
Coordinates41°28′49″N 71°18′33″W / 41.48032°N 71.30911°W / 41.48032; -71.30911
Completed1853
Renovated1882
ClientAndrew Robeson Jr.
OwnerGuy Van Pelt
Design and construction
Architect(s)George Champlin Mason Sr.
Renovating team
Architect(s)McKim, Mead & White
Other designersOgden Codman Jr.

Elm Court is an Italianate style mansion located at 315 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Part of the Bellevue Avenue Historic District, it was built in 1853 and designed in the Italianate style by George Champlin Mason Sr. In 1882, McKim, Mead & White renovated the remodeled and enlarged the house after it was bought in c. 1875 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

Undated photo

The Cedars, as it was originally known, was built in 1853 for Boston merchant Andrew Robeson Jr., and his wife, Mary Arnold (née Allen) Robeson.[a] The Italianate house is on Bellevue Avenue 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 and built in 1839.

Stevens / Talleyrand-Périgord years

Following Robeson's death in 1874, the house was sold to Adele Livingston Stevens (née Sampson) and her then husband, Frederic W. Stevens. In 1882, Adele hired Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White 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. had McKim, Mead and White build a Shingle style 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, 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,[1] Adele sold the house for $87,500 to Christopher R. Robert and his wife, Julia, of New York.[2][3]

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.[4][3] Work passed the estate to his daughter, Frances Ellen Work, who'd recently divorced her first husband (James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy),[5] and moved back to America with her daughter, Cynthia Roche, who had her debut in 1902 at a ball at Elm Court.[6][b] The house passed to Cynthia,[8] who married her second husband, Guy Fairfax Cary, in the house in 1922.[9] Following Cary's death in 1950, it became Cynthia's year-round home instead of a summer home.[10] Since 2008, it has been the home of Mary (née Adickes) and Guy Van Pelt (a son of Cynthia Cary Van Pelt Russell),[11] following the death of Guy's uncle, Guy Fairfax Cary Jr.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ The Robeson's granddaughter (through their daughter, Mary Allen Robeson, the wife of botanist Charles Sprague Sargent), Henrietta Sargent, married the architect Guy Lowell.
  2. ^ In 1910, Berkeley Villa (today known as Bellevue House) was built across the street on the other side of Bellevue. It was built for Martha Codman and designed by her cousin, Ogden Codman Jr., as his last project in Newport.[7]

References

  1. ^ "NEWPORT COTTAGE RENTS; THEY INDICATE A PROSPEROUS SEASON THIS YEAR. FEWER PERSONS OF MODERATE MEANS AMONG PROSPECTIVE SUMMER RESIDENTS -- A TENDENCY TO HOME LIFE -- THE CASINO STILL THE SOCIAL CENTRE". The New York Times. 12 February 1893. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  2. ^ "NEWPORT COTTAGES OPEN FOR THE SEASON; Servants Arrive to Prepare the Goelet Place for Occupancy". The New York Times. 6 June 1895. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Frank Work Buys a Newport Villa". The New York Times. 8 May 1896. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  4. ^ "FRANK WORK BUYS A COTTAGE.; He Purchases One of the Best Known of the Villas of Newport". The New York Times. 3 May 1896. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  5. ^ Times, Special to The New York (10 June 1916). "NEWPORT COLONISTS ARRIVING; Mrs. Burke Roche and Her Son Are at Elm Court". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  6. ^ Times, Special To The New York (2 September 1902). "BALL AT "ELM COURT."; Miss Cynthia Roche Has a Brilliant Introduction to Newport Society". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Martha Codman House". Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  8. ^ Times, Special to The New York (18 March 1911). "FRANK WORK'S BENEFICIARIES; Reported in Newport That His Daughters Are the Principal Ones". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  9. ^ Times, Special to The New York (24 July 1922). "MRS. BURDEN TO WED GUY F. CARY TODAY; Widow of Arthur Scott Burden Will Marry New York Lawyer at Newport.ANNOUNCEMENT A SURPRISEBride Is the Only Daughter of Mrs.Burke-Roche and a Sisterof Baron Fermoy". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  10. ^ Green, Penelope (2 August 2007). "Updating Newport, Ever So Gently". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  11. ^ "WEDDINGS; Mary Adickes, Guy Van Pelt". The New York Times. 26 March 2000. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  12. ^ Pardee, Bettie Bearden (October 18, 2016). "A Newport Story: The Twin Pleasures of Elm Court". Private Newport. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
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