Rundlet-May House


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Rundlet-May House in Portsmouth New Hampshire

Merchant James Rundlet and his wife Jane built their home on a terraced rise and filled it with the finest furnishings available. The complex of connected outbuildings, including carriage barn and privies, borders the elaborate gardens and orchard in what was both an urban showplace and home for the Rundlets' large family.

Rundlet equipped his home with the latest technologies. The kitchen boasts both a Rumford roaster and a Rumford range, as well as a set kettle and an elaborate venting system that services a smoke room on the third floor. There is an early coal-fired central heating system and an indoor well.

The Parlor of Rundlet-May House Portsmouth NH

Rundlet-May House shows four generations of family possessions, ranging from original 1807 wallcoverings and furniture to twentieth-century additions by the Rundlets' great-grandchildren. The gardens retain their original layout with plantings that were popular during the Colonial Revival period.

Open
First and third Saturdays, June 1 – October 15
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Tours on the hour. Last tour at 4:00 p.m.
Closed July 4

The Rundlet-May House is a Historic New England property.

 


Top photo: Rundlet-May House exterior - Rundlet-May House shows four generations of family possessions, ranging from original 1807 wallcoverings and furniture to twentieth-century additions by the Rundlets' great-grandchildren. The gardens retain their original layout with plantings that were popular during the Colonial Revival period.

Bottom photo: Parlor - For their front parlor, James and Jane Rundlet chose an imported peach damask wallpaper that remains on the wall today. In the early nineteenth century, the room would have boasted two red sofas, 12 red painted chairs, and the Girandole mirrors that remain on the wall. Visitors today will see these pieces of furniture, as well as the wedding presents of James May, the Rundlets' grandson. The last owner and James’s great-grandson, Ralph May, creates a room, indeed a house, filled with the items and images of his ancestors.