History of
ELMHYRST

Russell Warren, an English architect best known for his work in the Greek Revival style, built the home for the wealthy Newport merchant William Vernon (1787-1867). Commissioned in 1833, Elmhyrst was completed in 1836. Peter Turner Elder, a successful publisher, acquired the property in 1910 and it has been in the same family ever since.

Elmhyrst was purchased as a family country retreat. And so it’s remained for generation after generation of eccentrics and enfant terribles, as well as a host of tempest-tossed—and truly, long suffering,—supporting actors. When I inherited the house in 2017, I also inherited the kaleidoscope of lives that passed through these rooms. The faces I’d only known in photos began to emerge beyond the frames. Drawing from correspondence, journals, and first-hand accounts, I began to piece together the constellation of lives, uncover secret bogies, and revisit personal dramas 100 years past. These incredible characters became my guide through both the extraordinary and mundane moments of their lives. And yet, these glimpses are only part of the story of people I will never truly know. In the words of L.P Hartley, “the past is a foreign country,” but I got to travel through and be an extension of theirs, and for that, I am forever grateful.