Clemence–Irons House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Clemence–Irons House
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The non-stone ender side of the house.
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 Location in Rhode Island
Location in the United States
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| Location | 38 George Waterman Road, Johnston, Rhode Island |
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| Built | 1691 |
| Architectural style | Stone Ender |
| NRHP reference No. | 73000068 |
| Added to NRHP | July 2, 1973 |
The Clemence–Irons House is a really old and special house. It is located in Johnston, Rhode Island. It's also known as the Edward Manton House. A farmer named Richard Clemence built it in 1691. This house is a rare example of a "stone ender" house. This type of house was first built in western England. It was very common in early Rhode Island.
The Clemence–Irons House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical site. Today, it is a historic house museum. Historic New England owns and runs it. You can visit it on Saturdays from June to mid-October.
History of the Clemence–Irons House
Richard Clemence, a farmer, built the Clemence–Irons House in 1691. Over many years, different families owned the house. By 1938, it had grown to 13 rooms. Henry Sharpe and his sisters bought the house that year.
The Sharpe family knew the house was very old and special. They saw its unique "stone-ender" features. They hired Norman Isham to help. Isham was an expert in restoring old buildings. He had worked on the nearby Eleazer Arnold House before. His job was to make the Clemence–Irons House look like it did in the 1600s.
Isham found out that the original house had one and a half stories. It had a sloped roof at the back. He discovered that the first floor originally had four rooms. This was different from most early stone-enders, which usually had only one room.
To restore the house, later additions were removed. The main part of the house was stripped of newer materials. Then, the house was rebuilt to match Isham's findings. The main part of the house now has a large room and a bedroom. The back part has a kitchen and a smaller bedroom. Isham used old and new materials to make the house look original. He even had furniture made from old wood. This furniture matched the house's old style.
The Clemence–Irons House is one of the oldest houses in Rhode Island. It also shows how old buildings were restored in the mid-1900s. The house was given to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities in 1947. This group is now called Historic New England. In 2003, scientists studied the tree rings in the house's wood. They confirmed that it was built in 1691.
Together with the Eleazer Arnold House, the Clemence–Irons House helps us learn about "stone-ender" homes in New England.
See also
- List of the oldest buildings in Rhode Island
- Eleazer Arnold House, another nearby Rhode Island stone-ender owned by Historic New England
- National Register of Historic Places in Providence County, Rhode Island
