William Watt Sherman's estate
The William Watts Sherman House, designed by H.H. Richardson in 1874, is considered to be a 19th-century American architectural landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Watts Sherman House was one of the first true Shavian Queen Anne buildings in America, those elements evident in its steep central gable, a top-heavy appearance, wide-carved eaves, overhangs and massive chimneys. Stanford White, then a young architect, played a role in designing interior and exterior surfaces.
The house was built for New York financier William Watts Sherman and his first wife Annie Wetmore. Salve Regina University purchased the property in 1982.
The President's house served as the carriage house and stables for the William Watt Sherman's estate. Designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson, this Queen Anne-style structure combines English, German and American Colonial influences, and features a rose garden that was moved to the property from the Fairholme estate.
Archival photos for the following properties:
Sources: "A Walking Tour of Salve Regina University: From Gilded Age estates to inspired education" (Salve Regina University) and "Newport through its architecture" by James L. Yarnall.
William Watts Sherman House
The William Watts Sherman house is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Books
H. H. Richardson, Complete Architectural Works by Call Number: NA737.R5 A4 1988ISBN: 9780262150231Publication Date: 1988Information, descriptions, and photographs of all buildings designed by H.H. Richardson, the architect of the Watts House.
H. H. Richardson: The Architect, His Peers, and Their Era by Call Number: e-bookISBN: 9780262279635Publication Date: 1999Background information on H.H. Richardson, the architect of the Williams Watts Sherman House. Provides additional information on the architect and other architects of the time.
Newport Shingle Style by Call Number: NA7238.N67 H33 2010ISBN: 9780711229372Publication Date: 2010Description of the shingle style architecture developed in the design of the William Watts Sherman House, and has been used in many other prominent Newport buildings.
Stanford White: Decorator in Opulence and Dealer in Antiquities by Call Number: e-bookISBN: 9780231508247Publication Date: 2005Information on Stanford White, who remodeled the inside of the house in 1881. Examines his work and the social and cultural climate during his time.
Additional resources
- Jean Brown papers on the William Watts Sherman HouseHoused in the university's Special Collections, this collection contains research materials and notes on the William Watts Sherman House, the Sherman family, architecture, and interior design collected or generated by Jean Margaret Young Brown as part of the Circle of Scholars at Salve Regina University.
- Architectural style of Watts Sherman houseSociety of Architectural Historian's Archipedia website focuses on the architectural heritage of Henry Hobson Richardson's design.
- The influence of Richard Norman ShawAn article in the "Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians" reveals a previously unknown photograph of the east side (rear elevation) of Henry Hobson Richardson's Sherman House in Newport, Rhode Island, provides additional evidence for the influence of Richard Norman Shaw on the initial design of the house.
- Stained glass "Morning Glories"Stained glass window, now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, but created for the William Watts Sherman house in 1877-78 by Daniel Cottier.
- Supernatural occurrences in historic campus buildingsThe campus newspaper "Mosaic" takes on the tales of ghosts and other strange occurrences in Wakehurst, the William Watts Sherman house and Sea View Terrace/Carey Mansion in 2005. The university leased Sea View Terrace for several years.
- A touch of Nash: the William Watts Sherman House and the Aesthetic MovementThe William Watts Sherman house—built in Newport, Rhode Island, 1874–76, anticipated the Aesthetic Movement that characterized Newport domestic work for the next decade. Designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, the house contains features that exemplify what has come to be called “eye candy.” Within and around the main elevation is a visual confection of varying textures, colors, and forms: rosy granite ashlar set in red mortar with sandstone trim, faux half-timbering, banded casements, red brick chimneys, patterned roof shingles, and carved ornamental details.
- H. H. Richardson: The Design of the William Watts Sherman HouseHenry Hobson Richardson's design for the William Watts Sherman house in Newport, Rhode Island, has long been considered an anomaly among his projects.
- Eileen Slocum, "Memories of Bellevue Avenue: The Story of a Newport Family," Newport History 67:1, #230, Summer 1995Recollections by Eileen Slocum of her family's time in the William Watts Sherman House.
- William Watts Sherman House, Historic American Buildings SurveyDocumentation and photographs of the William Watts Sherman House from the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), available via the Library of Congress.
Decorative features
Decorative black-and-gold fanlight above a doorway in the William Watts Sherman house. (Photo by Kindra Clineff)