"The MacPhaedris-Warner House may very well be the finest of all early-Georgian brick houses in New England. Erected 1718-1723 (the oldest brick house in Portsmouth) the Warner House (as it is commonly known) is one of the earliest Wren-type houses in New England, and while perhaps not an elegant house in its elevation, is nevertheless an early use of a plantation house-type plan and an unusual material in a most unexpected setting, directly on the street of a Yankee seaport town.
The MacPhaedris-Warner House is a two-and-a-half storey brick house with 15- inch-thick brick walls laid in Flemish bond. A brick belt course separates the two floors visually, while a modillion cornice adorns the slightly over- hanging eaves line. The main doorway features a segmental pediment in two separate planes, and Corinthian pilasters to either side of the door.
The brick chimneys and the roof are particularly interesting. The former, at the West end, are a pair joined by a parapet wall right up above the roofline. A single stack is at the East end.
The roof of the Warner House was originally a pair of parallel gable roofs with a deep valley between them. This structure, which may yet be seen in the attic of the house, was replaced by the low-pitched gambrel we see today. At the break of the gambrel, the ballustrade was added, and it is thought, at the same time, the cupola.
The plan is the four-room or center-hall type, with three end chimneys and a scullery wing at the North, adjoining the kitchen. The parlor and a small downstairs chamber, located to the right of the central hall, have diagonal corner fireplaces, sharing the single end chimney, which is carried up forth- right ly despite its off-center position and lack of symmetry with the two west end chimneys. The parlor, nearly twenty feet square and with a height of eleven feet, is panelled from floor to ceiling with huge pine boards. Round bolection moldings project the panels out in front of the surface of the stiles and rails, and the fireplace is faced with Dutch tiles.
The center hall is divided by an elliptical arch resting on projecting pilasters, The stairway displays an early-Georgian simplicity, with square newels and plain block step-ends. , The contour of the ballustrade is echoed by the panelled dado on the wall.
The six murals in the hall and stair landing are quite unusual. The life-sized Indians flanking the arched window at the landing have always been exposed to view, but the other four paintings were only uncovered about 1850 under layers of wallpaper.
Throughout the house the original brass hardware remains in place. Maintained in excellent condition and open regularly to visitors, many of the colonial furnishings of the house are on loan from a number of first-rate collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City." - National Register Nomination Form
The house is now operated as a museum open to the public from mid-June to mid-October. More information about tour is available at the home's website.