Bryant-Cushing House

The Bryant-Cushing House is situated facing north on a large expanse of lawn, which extends 200 feet in front of and behind the house. The front of the house is partially shielded from Route 123 by a large yew bush, and the lawn is surrounded by woods. The property extends 2,000 feet behind the house to the North River. The house, a two story, center chimney, full colonial, was built in 1698, and has hardly been altered since that time. The north facade, five bays wide, has nine 12/12 windows with plain surrounds. The elaborate center doorway is topped by a triangular pediment and flanked by pilasters. Over the door and beneath the pediment is a transom with five bull's eye lights. The facade, as well as the other elevations, are shingled, with many hand split shakes still extant.

The large central chimney vents six fireplaces, and is decorated with pilasters, string courses, and a stepped cornice. A smaller chimney is located on the south side of the house. There are two shingled ells to the south west at the rear of the house which have been modernized on the interior. The interior of the house has been remarkably preserved throughout the years. The floor plan remains the same, with two rooms in the front and a kitchen and borning room in the rear and four rooms corresponding to these on the second floor. The staircase rises steeply in a double return, and retains its original Jacobean banisters. The wide planked floors are original, and all of the fireplaces still have their original mantels.

A rectangular clear leaded glass window from a monastery in Canterbury, England was installed in the south wall of the old kitchen in the 1920's by Prof. Arthur E.

/ARCHITECT Thomas Bryant The Bryant-Cushing House is significant as one of the best examples of late seventeenth century architecture left in New England, and has been essentially unaltered since it was constructed in 1698. The house was built by Thomas Bryant, on land that his father John Bryant had acquired in 1643. Thomas was one of the group of prosperous artisans associated with the well-known North River ship building community, and owned a sawmill in addition to plying his trade as a house carpenter. At the time Thomas built the house he was only 23, and single. The size and scale of the house are surprising considering the fact that Thomas was a bachelor, but the records clearly indicate that he did build the house, and lived there alone until he married in 1707.

His wife, Mary Ewell, was the daughter of another artisan associated with the ship building community. After his marriage, Thomas served as a magistrate, and was a member of the General Court. It is important to note that the Bryant-Cushing House bears a significant resemblance to the Winslow House (1699) in nearby Marshfield. The Winslow House was built for the politically important Winslow family and was occupied by them for many generations. Both houses are built on a large scale not usually associated with early colonial buildings; they both contain identical mouldings and paneling; and they both have the same floor plan and large central pilastered chimney. It appears that the same tools were used to make the mouldings in both houses.

The fact that there are so many other similar features gives rise to the possibility that the Winslow House was built by Thomas Bryant a year after he built his own house.