Historic Homes of New England

by Mary Harrod Northend

An unusually picturesque location has the Spencer-Pierce house at Newbury, Massachusetts, which stands at the end of a long, grassy lane, leading off from the main road not far above the old town church. The house itself is unique and forms a fascinating study for architects in its fine state of preservation, its beauty enhanced by overhanging vines. Old houses are like open books, disclosing by their type to what period they belong, and it is interesting to find one that stands out so distinctly from other houses of long ago as does the Spencer-Pierce mansion. At first glance of its foreground of open lawn and its background of trees, one readily perceives that it was intended for a gentleman's residence. It has been falsely called a garrison house from the fact that its walls are of stone and brick, but a knowledge of the first owners and their time shows this to be a fallacy. Later it might have been used for some such purpose, but if so there is no record.

Plate XXXVIII.—The Spencer-Pierce House, Newburyport, Mass.

Whoever built the house had an eye for the beautiful. It stands in the midst of a large farm surrounded by grass land and trees, with the ocean stretching beyond. In construction it is different from others of the period, being shaped like a cross.

The northern projection, the kitchen end of the house, shows a large brick chimney built on the outside with a stone foundation. It is so high and big that it reaches far above the roof, and possibly is the first one of its kind ever shown in colonial architecture. The self-evident age of both the brick and the plaster, broken here and there, leaves no reasonable doubt to the student of the antique as to the period of its building.

On the opposite side is the porch. This is familiarly known as the great porch of the house. Architects come from all over the country to copy the lines of this particular bit of architecture, for it is one of the most beautiful specimens in New England. Much of its beauty, however, lies in the mellow, many-toned coloring of the exterior produced by its two hundred years' exposure to wind and weather. A settled air of old age surrounds it, and without doubt it will last as it is for centuries. The arches of this mansion are interesting, showing bevelled brick and most carefully introduced casements, while the wonderful ornamentation has helped to establish the fact that it is not in reality a genuine garrison house.

Much doubt is expressed as to the exact year of its building, the erection of the house being generally credited to John Spencer, the younger, while others assert it is the elder who was the first owner and occupant of the house. This leads to a confusion of dates, placing the time of building anywhere from 1635 to 1651, at which time it fell into the hands of one Daniel Pierce.

One of the first settlers was John Spencer, the reputed builder of the house. He came to this country in the Mary and John and settled on the banks of the river Parker in 1635, his name showing on the first page of the proprietors' records, where it appears that he was the grantee of the houselot which was next the great river. He was a man of means and took an important part in the formation of the little settlement which was established by his influence. Searching through the records of the time, we find his name constantly mentioned in the list of proprietors, and the statement that he built a mill at the falls of Newbury, where he had a mill lot of fifty acres, and rose to such prominence that the following year he was chosen magistrate in Newbury in the General Court.

In other ways, too, he was a prominent man, being very much interested in military affairs. In April, 1637, we find him captain of a battalion that had been sent out under Captain Stoughton against the Pequod Indians. His religious opinions, however, did not agree with those of the settlers, and he was discharged from his command and returned to England after having been disarmed and condemned, being one of three under sentence; the other two were Richard Dummer and Nicholas Eaton, but he was the only one who went to England, where he remained until his death, which took place about 1647.