Walking through Portsmouth it is easy to see living history from the birth of this country. This historic home is located at the corner of Daniel and Chapel streets in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Built from 1716 to 1718 for Captain Archibald Macpheadris, a native of Scotland, a member of the King's Council in 1722 and a prominent merchant. The Warner House is the earliest brick urban mansion in New England. Captain Macpheadris built the home with his bride to be Sarah Wentworth. Miss Sarah Wentworth was one of sixteen children of John Wentworth, New Hampshire's Lieutenant Governor. Captain Macpheadris lived in the house until his death in 1729.
The Warner House is named for merchant Jonathan Warner. Johnathan Warner was a King's Councilor until the Revolution annulled his commission. He married Mary Macpheadris, the only child of Captain Macpheadris and Sarah, in 1754 and lived in the home until his death in 1814. His wife and daughter had already passed on so the house was inherited by the Sherburne's and the Penhallow's. The diverse members of the family occupied the house until 1930. The last resident of the home was Evelyn Sherburne (d. 1929 at age 90). The uniqueness of the Warner House is that it was lived in continuously for 300 years by members of the same family covering 6 generations.
It cost 6,000 pounds to build the mansion which was unsurpassed in grandeur by any other structure of the day. The brick was brought in from Holland to construct the eighteen inch walls. The home is three stories high with the third story consisting of a gambrel roof and Lutheran windows. The walls are finished with paneled wood walls and old Dutch tiles still decorate the fireplaces.
The oldest colonial wall paintings in the United States are found in this home. It is uncertain who painted the dramatic wall murals. They represent various scenes such as a Dutch woman spinning, a scene from the bible of Abraham offering up Isaac and two Indian Iroquois Sachems visiting the Queen of England. These frescos were discovered in 1850 by accident when removing a small piece of wallpaper revealed a painted horse's hoof.
It is said that in 1762 Benjamin Franklin supervised the installation of the lightening rod on the west end. It was probably the first lightening rod in New Hampshire. Many original family pieces tell the long family history with each room being dedicated to different times and different owners.
The home is also listed on Portsmouth's Black Heritage Trail. It was home to at least 8 slaves, which would have been common practice of the times. Captain Macpheadris had a slave girl and three slave men. The name of the girl has been lost but the men were named Prince, Nero and Quamino. Jonathan Warner also had slaves and they were said to have lived in a small wooden building behind the brick mansion. One of his slaves, John Jack married a woman named Phyllis. Phyllis purchased land in nearby Greenland in 1792. By 1796 she and John Jack were living there together. There they harbored the fugitive Ona Judge Staines who had escaped from the household of George and Martha Washington in Philadelphia. Two of Jonathan Warner's other slaves were among the 20 African men who signed a petition to the legislature to abolish slavery in 1779. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution finally abolished slavery in 1865. Portsmouth's Black Heritage Trail is a self guided walking tour and information can be found at http://seacoastnh.com/Black_History/Black_Heritage_Trail/Portsmouth_Black_Heritage_Trail/
In 1931 Mrs. Edith Wendell and a group of friends established the Warner House Association to save the house from being demolished and a gas station being put in its place. Their efforts saved this historic home for future generations to enjoy and learn from.
Located at 150 Daniel Street in Portsmouth, NH it is registered as a National Historic Landmark and an official project of Save America's Treasures http://www.warnerhouse.org/ Open June through October and staffed by volunteers in period dress. Check web site for times and admission fees.
(c) 2007 Shannon Aldrich
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