Bray House (Kittery Point, Maine)

Bray House
Location Pepperell Rd., Kittery Point, Maine
Coordinates 43°4′58″N 70°42′10″W / 43.08278°N 70.70278°W / 43.08278; -70.70278Coordinates: 43°4′58″N 70°42′10″W / 43.08278°N 70.70278°W / 43.08278; -70.70278
Area less than one acre
Built ca. 1720–1740
Architect Bray, John
NRHP reference # 79000271[1]
Added to NRHP October 09, 1979

The Bray House is a historic house at 100 Pepperell Road in Kittery Point, Maine, United States. It is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the state. Long thought to be a 17th-century structure, the architectural evidence indicates the home was probably not built before 1720.[2] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[2]

History

The Bray House is set on the south side of Pepperell Road (Maine State Route 103), on a site overlooking the mouth of the Piscataqua River. It is a 2-1/2 story wood frame residential structure, whose main block is five bays wide, with a side gable roof, large central chimney, clapboard siding, and granite foundation. The entrance, centered on the river-facing south facade, is flanked by sidelight windows and pilasters and topped by an entablature. A former two-story extension to the east added two bays, and a narrow connecting segment joined the main house to a second 2-1/2 story house, oriented perpendicular to the main block, that was moved to this property in the early 20th century.[2] All but the original central structure were demolished in 2017.

While this location is known to be the place where John Bray built a house in about 1662, the construction methods and styling of the house are consistent with a mid-18th century construction date.

Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates fame purchased the house at auction in 2008 and undertook a partial restoration.[3] He sold the restored property for $2.0 million; the new owners have demolished all but the original structure, which is now flanked by modernist angular new construction.

Original Bray home on far left (c. 2014)

See also

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 "NRHP nomination for Bray House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  3. ↑ Forrest, Rachel (2008-02-27). "Rocker restores historic Kittery, Maine home". The Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
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