| One of the oldest and best-preserved suburban mansions in the Natchez region and considered one of the best examples of Neoclassical/Federal domestic architecture in the state. In addition, Gloucester is the only structure in Mississippi associated with its first territorial governor, Winthrop Sargent. The Gloucester Cemetery is the only remaining site associated with Sargent S. Prentiss, an important figure in the early political history of the state and one of its most celebrated orators. The following was compiled by Mimi Miller, Historic Natchez Foundation, c.1985: Gloucester was probably built by Samuel Young shortly after he acquired the property in 1803 (Deed Book B:220) and was described for sale in the Mississippi Messenger, November 25, 1806, p.3 as a "most beautiful modern built Dwelling House, too well known to need description. Winthrop Sargent acquired the house, then known as Bellevue, in 1807 (Deed Book D:497) and changed the name to Gloster Place in honor of his native Gloucester, Massachusetts. The house is documented to have achieved its present form during the territorial period with the possible exception of the front colossal portico, the rear gallery flanked by cabinet rooms, and the half-octagon ends. The dates of the half-octagon ends of the house are unknown--the western end could have been original or both could have been added when the house was enlarged about 1807. Weathered wood shingles protected by the front portico and rear colonnade prove that both the portico and the colonnade are additions. They were probably added after 1824, when the house was sold by Sargent's widow to James and Catherine Wilkins (Adams County Deed Book N, p. 359), most likely in the 1830s, when the arched openings and cross hall were added to the interior. The Chinese Chippendale lattice work beneath the Gloucester portico is also found beneath the rear portico added to Arlington in the 1830s. The matching entrance doorways are set beneath well-executed fanlights, the brickwork is laid in Flemish bond, and the doorway features the detached sidelights that appear in several Adams and Wilkinson County as well as West Feliciana Parish residences during the territorial period. The interior features gouged-carved cornices, well-detailed millwork, and two staircases with the earlier western staircase the finer of the two. The small sienna-colored marble mantel piece of the eastern original parlor is probably the oldest marble mantel piece in the Mississippi Territory. All other mantels were updated later in the 19th century. The front cross hall with its beautiful arches was not installed until the mid-1830s or early 1840s, since all elements of the treatment feature the Grecian ovulo and filet molding typical of that period in Natchez. This house was proposed for National Historic Landmark designation in 1974, and was declared eligible by the Secretary of the Interior on May 30, 1974, but was never designated. (The possibility of NHL designation was confirmed by Carol Shull, Keeper of the National Register, in a letter dated 5 November 2004.) It was listed on the National Register on 7 November 1976, with 7.5 acres of surrounding land. It is included in "White Pillars" (1941) (pp. 114-115),"Shrines to Yesterday" (1968), "The Majesty of Natchez" (1969/1981/1986) (p. 72), "Historic Architecture in Mississippi" (1973) (pp. 17-19), "Old Homes of Mississippi, Volume I: Natchez and the South" (1977) (pp. 44-45), "The Great Houses of Natchez" (1986) (pp. 43-45), "Architecture of the Old South: Mississippi – Alabama" (1989), "Classic Natchez" (1996) (pp. 58-59), "Natchez: Houses and History …" (2003) (pp. 58, 60-65), "Louisiana Architecture 1714-1820" (2004) (pp. 174-175), and "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (p.53, ND58). [HABS: MS-17-5 (six pages of measured drawings drawn in 1934; two exterior photos made by Ralph Clynne on 29 March 1934, and two interior photos made by James Butters on 8 April 1936)] |