"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.