Tenney Castle Gatehouse

Tenney Castle Gatehouse
Location Methuen, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°43′46″N 71°11′4″W / 42.72944°N 71.18444°WCoordinates: 42°43′46″N 71°11′4″W / 42.72944°N 71.18444°W
Built 1840
Architect C. Willis Damon
Architectural style Queen Anne
Governing body Private
MPS Methuen MRA
NRHP Reference #

84002438

[1]
Added to NRHP January 20, 1984

The Tenney Castle Gatehouse is a historic gatehouse at 37 Pleasant Street in Methuen, Massachusetts, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1984. It is the only surviving element of the large estate of Charles H. Tenney, a leading local industrialist.

History

The gatehouse was originally a two-story rough stone farm house built by Richard Whittier between August and November 1830. In April 1882, it was purchased by Charles H. Tenney. It was redesigned in 1883 by architect C. Willis Damon into a gatehouse for the 76-acre (310,000 m2) Tenney estate known as Grey Court.[2]

When first built, it was a two story stone structure with five bays on its front facade and a central entry. The modifications by Damon gave the building a distinctive Queen Anne Victorian character, changing the roof to be hipped, and adding an ornately decorated tower with weathervane on one corner. A porch was added to shelter the entry, whose gable has rows of decorative shingles.[3]

In 1951, the Tenney family gave 26 acres (110,000 m2) to the town for Tenney High School (now Tenney Grammar School) and sold the rest to the Basilian Salvatorian Order. From 1977-1978 a series of fires eventually destroyed the mansion. The Gatehouse and the Stock House or Stables are all that remain standing; the estate has since been converted to a state park.

The gatehouse is currently home to the Methuen Historical Society.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15.
  2. ↑ Gagnon, Dan (2001). "Methuen Historical Sites (P thru R)". Retrieved 2014-01-06.
  3. ↑ "NRHP nomination for Tenney Castle Gatehouse". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-01-06.