arts and crafts house new england

Renton Whidden House // 1912

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One of the finest Arts and Crafts style “cottages” in the Cottage Farm neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, can be found on Ivy Street as the Whidden House. The property here was developed by Renton Whidden (1859-1942), a real estate developer and politician elected into the Massachusetts House of Representatives, who purchased a house lot from Thomas B. Hall, who owned a house next door. Renton Whidden hired architect, Arthur Hunnewell Bowditch, to furnish plans for the large home, which was completed in 1912. The stucco house features a brick entrance with projecting roof off the front, a unique twin gabled facade, segmental arched dormers, and a Palladianesque window and balconette above the front door.

Harry W. Cotton House // 1905

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In 1905, George H. Cotton and his wife, Cora S. Cotton, purchased a house lot on Amory Street in Brookline and hired famed architect, William Gibbons Rantoul, to design this home for their son and daughter-in-law. George Cotton was a manufacturer of brass tubing and also the founder of the Belmont Springs Water Company and maintained homes in the Back Bay of Boston and in Belmont. His son, Harry W. Cotton, also worked for the American Tube Works and lived in this home with his family. The Cotton House is an architectural blending of Dutch Renaissance Revival and Arts & Crafts styles. The stucco siding and entry portico are in the Craftsman style, while the prominent Flemish gable on the central pavilion and round arched pediments for the dormers are in the Flemish mode.

Partridge House // c.1908

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Located on Amory Street in Brookline, this handsome Arts and Crafts style residence dates to about 1908 and while clearly Craftsman in style, does appear to follow the horizontality and form of the Prairie School of architecture, popularized by famed architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. While the architect of this house is unclear, we do know that the first owners were Mr. Frank T. Partridge and his wife, Edith Stevens Partridge. The stucco house features a horizontal belt course, shallow hip roof with broad eaves supported by brackets, and elaborate entry and porches. The colors enhance the architecture of the home perfectly. 

Moseley-Widger House // 1906

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One of the many houses in the Cottage Farm-adjacent neighborhoods of Brookline, Massachusetts, is this great blending of the Tudor Revival and Arts and Crafts styles of architecture, which dominated residential architecture in the Boston suburbs in the early 20th century. This residence was built in 1906 for Mr. Frank Moseley and his wife, Martha Hawes Moseley from plans by architect Robert C. Coit. Covered in stucco siding and half timbering, the charming house evokes the countryside of England, right here in Brookline. After WWI, the house was owned by Ms. Lizzie Widger, a water color artist and member of Copley Society of Boston, and her husband, Samuel Widger, a cotton broker. The Moseley-Widger House looks as it did 120 years ago and is in a great state of preservation, thanks to generations of loving stewards.

Harry Gregg House // c.1910

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Harry A. Gregg, was the son of David Gregg, a lumber dealer and wooden goods manufacturer who built a mansion in Wilton’s East Village. Harry followed in his father’s footsteps, running the day-to-day business out of their Nashua, NH offices. With a lot of spare money, Gregg purchased pastoral land in Wilton Center and built a summer residence which may have also served as a gentleman’s farm. The Arts and Crafts style home showcases the best in the style with rubblestone, shingles, organic forms and exposed rafters. The house is pretty perfect!