Grasmere Estate, Rhinebeck New York

History of Grasmere

Grasmere is a distinguished example of estate architecture in the town of Rhinebeck and associated with several of the area's most prominent families including the Montgomerys and Livingstons during the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth centuries, the Crosbys during the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries and the Timpsons during the mid-twentieth century. Originating as a Federal period country seat, the original section of the present manor house was built by Peter R. Livingston on the ruins of Janet Livingston and General Richard Montgomery's country seat, a Georgian-inspired mansion erected ca. 1775 and destroyed by fire in 1823. Livingston's 1824 mansion, a formal and elegant two-story, five-bay center-hall Federal style brick building with restrained, classically inspired detailing, not only recalled Montgomery's Palladian-inspired manor house but looked forward to contemporary Federal style building traditions and established the preference for classical motifs that would dominate the building's evolution during the subsequent century. In its final three-story, seven-bay form and with its full complement of estate support structures (including English-inspired staff cottages and an extensive collection of stone barns), all sited on a largely intact farm-like setting, Grasmere reflects the transition of the property from a landed gentleman's country seat in the Federal period through the more monumental architecture of the industrial era to its final phase as a full-scale commercial farm during the early twentieth century. Landscape design around the manor house evolved as well, marking a transition from the formal eighteenth-century arrangement of the Georgian period through the mid-nineteenth century picturesque phase of landscape architecture to the renewed formality characteristic of the English country house movement. The property is associated with a long line of Livingstons who were active in local and state government. Most notable were the progenitors of the estate, General Richard Montgomery (a Revolutionary War hero) and his wife, Janet Livingston Montgomery (the daughter of Robert R. Livingston, Lord of Clermont Manor in Columbia County) and, subsequently, Peter R. Livingston (Janet Livingston Montgomery's brother-in-law).

The extensive acreage originally associated with Grasmere was formerly a part of the tract inherited by Henry Beekman, son of the original patentee, upon the death of his father in 1716. The succession of owners and/or occupants of the Grasmere property during the second and third quarters of the eighteenth century is not known. The first reliable record of the land indicates that by 1773, General Richard Montgomery, a descendant of Henry Beekman's by marriage to a Livingston, was in possession of the property and had erected mills upon it. Montgomery was married to Janet Livingston, the first daughter of Robert R. Livingston, grandson of Robert, Lord of the Livingston Manor, and Margaret Beekman. Margaret Beekman was the second child of Henry Beekman, son of the original patentee, also named Henry Beekman - and Janet Livingston, grandmother of the Janet who married General Montgomery.

Janet and Richard Montgomery were married in July 1773, soon after which they moved to Rhinebeck Flats (subsequently renamed Rhinebeck Village). Their house, located at 77 Livingston Street, survives substantially intact. They also owned land in the country just south of the village, upon which Richard Montgomery had erected mills and the foundation of an elegant manor house. Montgomery died in battle on December 31^st, 1775 during the assault on Quebec. The country seat, a Georgian manor house replete with extensive formal gardens spreading southward from the building's garden facade, was completed after Montgomery's death. His widow remained at Grasmere until 1805 when she moved into the newly constructed Montgomery Place, an elegant mansion on the Hudson River in the town of Red Hook, Dutchess County.

Grasmere, upon Janet's departure, was rented for a short time to Lady Kitty Duer (Lord Sterling's daughter) and her family. Shortly thereafter it was rented to Janet's brother-in-law, General Morgan Lewis, who occupied it for nine years. After the expiration of his lease in the early 1820s, Janet sold the property to her sister, Joanna, and brother-in-law, Peter R. Livingston. In 1823, during their occupancy, the manor house was destroyed by fire. The subsequent Grasmere mansion, an elegant two-story, five-bay Federal style country seat, was rebuilt by Peter R. Livingston. (Joanna died before the completion of the mansion.)

Although harkening back to the formal Georgian manor house of the Montgomerys and designed to take full advantage of the eighteenth-century landscape design, the 1824 mansion is, in essence, a typical Federal period building, resembling other estate homes of the period in the region in the severity of its exterior and the refinements of its interior ornament. As exemplified in the 1824 portion of Grasmere and comparable examples of the type, period and style, including the Grove (ca. 1790s), the Robert Sands Estate (ca. 1796) and Wildercliff (ca. 1790s), the Federal style in the area was interpreted in a restrained, but sophisticated, manner by the community's elite. However, although it was designed on a greater scale and executed with more pretentious material, the early estate architecture in the town was rooted in the vernacular of the area. The changes to Grasmere in the later years reflect the shifting of the sources for design from the local architectural context to more cosmopolitan prototypes.

Peter R. Livingston lived on the estate until his death in 1847. Livingston achieved statewide notoriety during his lifetime. He served as state senator from Dutchess County in 1820 - 1822 and again in 1826 - 1829. Records indicate that he was a member of the state assembly in 1823. He was president of the Whig National Convention that nominated General Harrison for president in 1840. He died childless, bequeathing all his property, including Grasmere, to his brother Maturin, who died in 1848. Maturin left the estate to his wife, Margaret Lewis Livingston, who gave the property to her son, Lewis H. Livingston, in 1850. It is not clear exactly when the formal landscape design was reworked into picturesque, informal gardens; the transition presumably occurred at mid-century, inspired, perhaps, by Calvert Vaux's landscaping of Wilderstein, the Sounery, seat of the Suckley family.

In 1861-2, Lewis rebuilt and enlarged the mansion, adding a third story. The addition of the west wing and interior alterations presumably also occurred shortly thereafter during the occupancy of Lewis and his brother James B. Livingston. Like several other estates associated with Rhinebeck's long-established families, including the Grove and Glenburn, Grasmere was renovated in an antiquarian idiom rather than modernized and/or reconstructed in contemporary Victorian modes. Thus, Grasmere provides a dramatic contrast to the conspicuously stylish estates of newly arrived tycoons and nouveau riche (many of whom married into subsequent generations of Rhinebeck's founding families). Grasmere and the others are notable for their antiquarian qualities relating to sources in established English traditions.

The renovations to the interior as well as to the exterior of the manor house during the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries also reflect the evolution of the lifestyle on the estate. New trends motivated the Livingstons to demolish interior partitions, creating a spacious front entrance hall for receiving and entertaining guests. Contemporary Neoclassical ornament was added in principal spaces, consistent in design with the Federal period origin of the building.

Lewis H. and his brother James B. Livingston occupied the mansion until 1893 when the property was sold to Honorable Ernest H. Crosby, an eminent citizen of international fame whose wife was a descendant of the Livingston family. Their son, Maunsel Crosby, inherited Grasmere at the death of his father in 1907. The Crosby family, of English descent, was responsible for several aspects of the estate's evolution during the early twentieth century, in particular the construction of the extensive stone barn and stable complex and the pair of stuccoed tenant houses and the return of the landscape design to a more formal arrangement in the tradition of early twentieth century English country houses. The stone barns and stables are outstanding examples of estate/farm architecture and are important reflections of the persistence of the local vernacular building traditions that were introduced in Rhinebeck's eighteenth-century Dutch and Palatine farmhouses. The outbuildings also reflect the influence of medieval building traditions in rural England and they are distinguished by a high level of integrity of design, use of materials and fine craftsmanship. The group composes one of Rhinebeck's finest collections of estate-related farm architecture, comparable to those found on the Ferncliff and Leacote estatest. The small stuccoed and half-timbered tenant houses, inspired by rural English cottage architecture, survive substantially intact; they are architecturally significant examples of domestic architecture and important illustrations of the continued evolution, expansion and vitality of the estate.

Grasmere remained in the Crosby family until 1938. In 1954 the property was acquired by Louise Clews Timpson, former Dutchess of Argyll and daughter of sculptor Henry Clews. The handsome oak library was installed in the 1950s during her occupancy.

Description of the Grasmere Manor and Estate

Grasmere, a large estate composed of a nineteenth-century manor house, two tenant houses and a large, stone barn complex, occupies approximately sixty acres of land in the southwest quadrant of the town of Rhinebeck just south of the village of Rhinebeck. The estate originally occupied hundreds of acres in the vicinity of Mill Road and Route 9 on the west and east, respectively, but a series of subdivisions throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has greatly reduced the acreage immediately associated with the manor house and related outbuildings. The four sets of buildings (mansion, two tenant houses and barn complex) are currently under separate ownership.

The two stuccoed tenant houses, oriented southeastward on Mill Road, mark the north end of the estate. A shed is located behind the eastern house (bldg. 1) and a garage and shed are located behind the western house (bldg. 2). Across the road, two brick gateposts (structure 3A) flank the entrance to the long, private drive which winds southeastward towards the manor house (bldg. 3A). The mansion is oriented northward in the geographic center of its lot, a relatively flat parcel of land characterized by broad open meadows, grassy lawns and thickly wooded areas. The remains of the early twentieth century formal gardens, marked by brick walls with stone ornamentation, stretch southward from the main house (structure 3B). Two frame garages (bldgs. 3B and 3C) and two natural ponds are located southwest of the main house.

Thick woods separate the main house from the barn complex, a group of seven farm-related support structures (erected during the first quarter of the twentieth century), two silos and a shed (modern). The complex, at the west end of a long, heavily wooded private road off of Route 9, is surrounded by patches of thick woods and flat, cultivated fields. The focal point of the group is the large stone barn (bldg. 4A). The stone stable (bldg. 4B) is located immediately northwest of the barn. A small frame corn crib (structure 4A) and the remains of stone walls and a pair of stone gate posts, formerly associated with the formal gardens, are located north of the barn (structure 3B).

The two modern silos and modern shed are clustered between the barn and stable. A long frame shed (bldg. 4C) is located on the north side of the driveway east of the gate posts. A small shed (bldg. 4D) and a large corn crib (structure 4D) are located further east along the private road toward Route 9. A third historic shed (bldg. 4E) is located southeast of the stone barn.

Detailed Description

The manor house faces northward overlooking the broad front yard and circular driveway. The three-story brick building with restrained, classically inspired design features rests on a raised stone foundation and is surmounted by a low-pitched hipped roof pierced by asymmetrically placed, corbelled brick chimneys. The mansion, begun ca. 1824, evolved in at least three stages between ca. 1824 and ca. 1910. The original section, rebuilt by Peter R. Livingston on the ruins of Janet Livingston and General Richard Montgomery's ca. 1775 manor house, was a traditional two-story, five-bay, center-hall building with Georgian style features. The classically inspired form, massing and detailing of the original mansion survive intact; later alterations and enlargements, complementary in design, were simply added to the 1824 main block, thus retaining the overall character of the Montgomery-era mansion.

The first phase of expansion occurred in 1861-2, during the occupancy of Lewis H. Livingston, when a third story with a low-pitched hipped roof was added to the five-bay main block. The Federal period entablature with modillions and denticular cornice above the second story was retained and a plain, unembellished entablature was added above the third story.

The two-bay, three-story west wing appears to have been added during the first decade of the twentieth century, probably during the occupancy of Maunsel Crosby after 1907. The wing is similar to the main block in scale, proportion and window treatment and complements the main block by replicating the original entablatures above the second and third stories. The lack of a balanced wing on the east end creates an asymmetrical, seven-bay composition on the north facade.

Fenestration on side and rear elevations is generally asymmetrical. The west elevation is two rooms deep and features several irregularly placed six-over-six and two-over-two double-hung sash windows with stone sills and flat-arched lintels. The east elevation, overlooking a section of the circular driveway, features a projecting, pentagonal pavilion accentuated with pilasters and surmounted by an ornamental balustrade.

The three-story, seven-bay, asymmetrical rear facade reflects Grasmere's several stages of growth. The fenestration appears to have been altered during the late nineteenth century. The first story features four, irregularly placed floor-length windows which open onto the hip-roofed verandah with bracketed cornice and paneled columns. Six-over-six and two-over-two double-hung sash windows flank the porch. Six-over-six and paired one-over-one double-hung sash windows are featured at the second story. Attic windows contain paired, eight-paned casement windows.

The interior features generally date from the late nineteenth/early twentieth century and survive substantially intact. Room configurations were altered at this time; most notable was the creation of an enormous entrance hall in the front of the central portion of the house. A curving stair and elegant mantelpiece distinguish the room. Columns flank the entry and provide support in lieu of walls. Sitting rooms are aligned across the rear of the house overlooking the gardens. Decorative detailing is intact and consists of robust trim and European mantelpieces or chimney breasts. An oak library was added by Louise Clews Timpson, former Dutchess of Argyll, in the 1950s. The faux-marble treatment of woodwork in the front foyer and sitting room is a late-twentieth century addition. Rooms on the second and third stories remain unaltered from the mid- nineteenth century renovations.

The south elevation overlooks the remains of the formal garden. The landscape design evolved from a formal arrangement in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries during Janet (Livingston) Montgomery's and Peter R. Livingston's occupancy, to a picturesque arrangement designed during Lewis H. Livingston's occupancy, and finally to the renewed formality characteristic of the English country house movement. The original garden was arranged on a north-south axis oriented along the center-hall of the ca. 1775 manor house; the alignment of the ca. 1824 mansion was determined by the plan of the garden. Surviving fabric associated with the early twentieth century formal garden includes the brick balustrade enframing the south end of the garden plot and a shallow stone pond with a cherub fountain, formerly the focal point of the garden. A broad allee lined with chestnut trees originally extended southward along the main axis of the garden and descended in a series of terraces through what is now a heavily overgrown area on the north edge of the barn complex. Several sets of stone steps survive in the woods and, marking the southern terminus of the terraces, a stone wall and pair of gate posts survive intact (structure 3B, behind corn crib, structure 4A). (The allee no longer survives; a broad, grassy lawn presently spreads southward from the brick balustrade of the formal garden.)

The stone barn and stable complex is located at the south end of the former allee and terraces. The seven farm-related support structures (barn, stable, three sheds and two corn cribs - five buildings, two structures) are reached via a heavily wooded private road off Route 9. The focal point of the group is the large, cross-gabled stone barn with medieval-inspired construction and design features (Bldg. 4A). The barn is a large one and one-half to two and one-half story, roughly hewn stone building set into a slightly sloping hillside on the south side of the circular end of the driveway. The gable-roofed, rectangular building, constructed of massive, pegged beams, features regular fenestration. Rectangular window openings with smooth stone lintels and sills and large, rounded-arch door openings with stone voussoirs are found throughout the busing. Two long, one-story stone sheds are attached to the south side of the barn.

The stone stable, a picturesque, hip-roofed rectangular building, is located at the west end of the farm complex (bldg. 4B). It is a one and one-half story building flanked on the north by a one-story carriage wing. A decorative cupola, embellished with scallop shingles, surmounts the peak of the hipped roof. A broad, central cross gable with decorative scallop shingles and exposed rafters marks the east (front) facade of the stable. Wide, rounded-arch door openings with roughly hewn stone voussoirs are symmetrically placed across the front facade of both the main block and carriage wing.

A small, gable-roofed corn crib (structure 4A) is located on the north edge of the circular driveway, adjacent to the stone walls and gateposts (structure 3B). A long, one-story frame shed (bldg. 4C) is located east of the corn crib. The rectangular, gable-roofed shed is sheathed with novelty siding and embellished with exposed rafters.

A large, rectangular, gable-roofed shed (bldg. 4E) is located southeast of the stone barn, adjacent to the driveway which provides access to the rear wings of the barn. The one-story frame shed is sheathed with novelty siding. The front (west) gable end is decorated with diagonal siding and an oculus.

A third shed (bldg. 4D) and a second corn crib (structure 4B) are located further east along the dirt road. The shed, sited on a slight knoll on the south side of the road, is a small, rectangular frame building with a gable roof and novelty siding. The corn crib is a long, rectangular structure with a gable roof.

Photographs of Grasmere