Beckett's Castle | |
Location | Singles Road, Cape Elizabeth, Maine |
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Coordinates | 43°36′55″N70°12′42″W / 43.61528°N 70.21167°W Coordinates: 43°36′55″N70°12′42″W / 43.61528°N 70.21167°W |
Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
Built | 1871 |
Architectural style | Gothic |
NRHP reference No. | 74000156 [1] |
Added to NRHP | December 31, 1974 |
Beckett's Castle is a historic summer house on Singles Road in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. A picturesque two-story stone building with a three-story tower, it was built in 1871-74 by Sylvester Beckett, a Portland lawyer and a major figure in the city's literary scene. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, for its association with Beckett, and for its distinctive Gothic architecture. [2]
Beckett's Castle is set facing Casco Bay on the east side of Cape Elizabeth, at the end of Singles Road, a private lane off Shore Road. It is a two-story masonry structure, built of local gray fieldstone laid in irregular courses, and with a three-story square tower projecting south from its southeast corner. The roof is gabled, with steeply pitched gables at the ends and on the south (front) facade. The main entrance is on the south side of the tower, with a three-part window on the main facade to its left. The tower has three stages, each slightly smaller than the one below, with a projecting beltcourse at the top of each stage. At the top is a modillioned cornice with a short observation area above, topped by a hip roof. The building interior has restrained period woodwork. [2]
The castle was constructed by the labor of Sylvester Beckett, a Portland-born son of English immigrants who trained and worked as a lawyer, but also worked as a journalist and writer, and had an amateur interest in ornithology. Beckett was a major social force in Portland's literary community, hosting social gatherings here that included expansive dinners cooked in a rustic fireplace. [2]
The First Congregational Church and Parsonage is a historic church complex at 23 Pepperrell Road in the Kittery Point section of Kittery, Maine. Built in 1730 for a congregation first organized in 1653, the church is the oldest in Kittery, and one of the oldest in the state of Maine. It is accompanied by a parsonage house, built in 1729, and a small cemetery, established in 1733. The buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978; the cemetery was added to the listing in 1997.
Somerset Academy, also known as Athens Academy, is an historic building on Academy Street in Athens, Maine. Built in 1846, it is a remarkably sophisticated treatment of Greek Revival architecture in rural setting. The building is home to the River of Life Church. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The East Raymond Union Chapel is a historic chapel at 394 Webbs Mills Road in East Raymond, Maine. Built in 1890, it is a modest wood-frame building with Queen Anne and Gothic Revival styling. It has served as a non-denominational religious meeting place for much of its time; it is now affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Casco Village Church in Casco. It has scheduled services during the summer. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
South Bridgton Congregational Church is a historic church on Fosterville Road in South Bridgton, Maine. Built in 1870 to a design by Francis H. Fassett, it is a remarkably sophisticated example of Italianate and Gothic Revival architecture for a comparatively rural setting. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
Spurwink Congregational Church is a historic church at 533 Spurwink Avenue in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Built in 1802 and significantly renovated in 1830, it is the town's oldest public building. Home to an active congregation until 1957, it is now owned by the town, serving as a community function space. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
The Old Pittston Congregational Church is a historic church building on Pittston School Road in Pittston, Maine. Built in 1836, it is an architecturally distinctive blend of Federal, Greek Revival, and Gothic Revival architecture, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The congregation, organized in 1812 by Major Reuben Colburn, now meets at 21 Arnold Road. It is affiliated with the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.
The Readfield Union Meeting House is a historic brick meeting house at 22 Church Road in Readfield, Maine. Built in 1828, it is a particularly fine example of Federal period architecture for a rural context. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
St. Denis Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church at 298 Grand Army Road in North Whitefield, Maine. Built 1833–38, it is the third oldest Catholic church in New England. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It remains in use as an active community of the Parish of St. Michael in the Diocese of Portland.
The Milford Congregational Church is a historic church on Main and Ferry Streets in Milford, Maine. Built 1883–85, this Queen Anne Victorian structure is one of the most architecturally sophisticated buildings in the small town. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The Proprietors Meeting House and Parish House, known for many years as the Universalist Church of Scarborough and South Buxton, is a historic church complex at the junction of Maine State Route 22 and Old County Road in the village of South Buxton, on the Scarborough side of the town line with Buxton, Maine. The church, built about 1839, is a fine local example of transitional Federal-Gothic Revival architecture, and the adjacent parish house, built in 1914, is a good local example of the Bungalow style. The property, purchased for use of the Maine Hindu Temple in 2012, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The South Tunbridge Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic church on Vermont Route 110, about one-third of a mile north of the Royalton town line in Tunbridge, Vermont. Built in 1833, it is one of the finest examples of late Federal period architecture in Orange County, and was a mainstay of social and civic life in southern Tunbridge for many years. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Nathaniel Dyer House is an historic house at 168 York Street in Portland, Maine. Built in 1803, it is one of the city's oldest surviving brick houses, rare for the building material and for its scale, which is for a middle-class family of the period. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
The Tarr–Eaton House, also known as Tarr–Eaton–Hackett House, is an historic house at 906 Harpswell Neck Road in Harpswell, Maine. Built before 1783 and enlarged about 1840, it is a well-preserved 18th-century Cape with added Greek Revival features, and one of Harpswell's few surviving pre-Revolutionary War buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Caleb R. Ayer House is an historic house at 7 Main Street in Cornish, Maine, United States. The house is architecturally distinctive, with a high-style Greek Revival main block, built c. 1855, attached to an older heavily altered Cape, which connects it to a period barn. The house is also historically significant as the home of Caleb Ayer, a Maine politician who served in the Maine Senate from 1847 to 1848 and as Secretary of State of Maine in 1856. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 12, 2002.
The Gould House is a historic house at 31 Elm Street in Skowhegan, Maine. Built in 1887 by a prominent local lawyer and businessman, it is one of the finest examples of Queen Anne architecture in the interior of Maine. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
St. John Catholic Church is a historic church building on St. John Street in St. John Plantation, Maine. Built between 1909 and 1911, it is a finely-detailed and handsome example of religious Colonial Revival architecture in a remote rural setting. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Harmony Hall is a historic religious and civic building at 24 Kennebec Road in Hampden, Maine. Built in 1829 as a Universalist church and restyled in 1896, it is a fine example of Greek Revival and Gothic Revival architecture, with a long history as a site for community events. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
The Dyer–Hutchinson Farm is a historic farm property at 1148 Sawyer Road in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Established about 1790, it is one of the few surviving 18th-century farms in the town, and was in the hands of two families for about 200 years. It is now operated as the Old Farm Christmas Place, with some of its land devoted to the cultivation of Christmas trees. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
The Nathaniel Hawthorne Boyhood Home is a historic house at Raymond Cape Road and Hawthorne Road in Raymond, Maine. Built about 1812, the house was the childhood home of author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Its interior, now much altered, serves as a function space for a community organization dedicated to its preservation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
The Norumbega Carriage House is a historic house on High Street in Camden, Maine. Built in 1886 as the carriage house for the adjacent Norumbega Castle of Joseph B. Stearns, it is now a private residence. It was designed by Norumbega's architect, Arthur B. Jennings, and is one of Camden's finest and most unusual examples of Queen Anne architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.