| Originally called "Vinland" in romantic reference
to legendary Vikings who may have first come ashore near
here, this rambling red sandstone seaside estate was
the summer home of tobacco heiress Catherine Lorillard
Wolfe. Longfellow's poem about Newport Vikings,"The
Skeleton in Armor," inspired the architecture and
decor. Built in the Romanesque Revival style and characterized
by heavy rustication and rounded arches, the building
features carved belt courses and window casings with
decorative motifs derived from 1,000-year-old Celtic
manuscripts. The founding members of the British Arts
and Crafts Exhibition Society, including poet and designer
William Morris, supplied the interior dÎcor. Other
decorative elements included a suite of stained-glass
windows depicting Norse Gods and Goddesses designed by
Edward Burne-Jones, and a mural frieze representing Longfellow's
story created by painter and designer Walter Crane. While
the university no longer owns these items, their significance
to the history and study of the building is duly noted
through archival literature. Ernest Bowditch of Boston
landscaped Vinland's inviting grounds. A pair of 90 foot,
century-old Fernleaf Beech trees (Fagus sylvatica asplenifolia)
were shipped to Newport from the Lorillard estate in
Yonkers, N.Y., and transported by oxen to Ochre Point.
Located in front of the main house, these splendid trees,
a variety of European Beech, have narrow, often oblong
leaves which are deeply lobed and incised. The Roman
Dolium (200 B.C.) near the main entrance was excavated
from a rectory garden in Rome and presented to Miss Wolfe
in 1884. Similar to storage vessels unearthed at Pompeii,
this precious artifact probably once held olives, grain
or wine. For generations of students, the relic, affectionately
called "the Bean Pot," has served as a beloved
campus landmark. The rose garden near the southern wing
was planted by the university to serve as a place for
quiet reflection.
In 1896, Vinland was sold to railroad tycoon Hamilton
McKnown Twombly and his wife, Florence Vanderbilt Twombly,
whose brother Cornelius Vanderbilt II, owned The Breakers
next door. Grand dame Florence became the reigning hostess
of Vinland, a lavish and elegant center of social aspiration
during the late Gilded Age and first half of the 20th
century. As an extended member of Newport's prominent
Vanderbilt family, Mrs. Twombly's highly formal, aristocratic
entertainments were as well known as the maroon-liveried
servants and entourage of Rolls Royces. The Twomblys
enlarged the house considerably between 1907 and 1910.
The interior at this time was recreated by Ogden Codman.
In 1955, Mrs. Twombly's daughter, Florence Burden, donated
the estate to Salve Regina College. The main house was
renamed in memory of the founder of the Sisters of Mercy,
Catherine McAuley. |
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