Captain William Read House   -   circa 1740

     The Captain William Read House is a sizable, two-and-a-half story, gambrel-roofed house placed end-to-the street. One large interior central chimney dominates the roof.  Three peak-roofed dormers on each side add light to the third floor interior and lend visual interest to the exterior.  The house does not specifically appear on the Stiles Map of 1758, but the design and style of the building strongly suggests a build date between 1740 and 1760.

     The Read house is an excellent example of an end-to-the street version of the Newport gambrel.  On the exterior, the scale and detail are in particular harmony and balance.  The end-to-the street plan places the entry and stair hall in one corner and the living or main room utilizes the rest of the street façade.  

     In the case of the Read house, the hall and stairway are particularly well executed with turned and fluted balusters and carved devices as part of the stair end scrolls.  It has been felt by some that the stairway may have been executed by a member of the Townsend family of cabinetmakers although   there is no substantive evidence for this beyond similarities to known works.

The first-to-second floor staircase has a twisting run to a landing, then two short runs – one to the front of the house, one to the rear.  This is a feature often seen in houses of this period, a design utilized to eliminate hallway space leading to rooms in the back of the second floor and thus better utilizing the chimney to heat the most number of chambers.

     The Newport Restoration Foundation purchased the Read House in 1971.  At that time, the house had a Victorian mansard roof and a Victorian style doorway.  The chimney had been removed and replaced with a small unit that serviced heating stoves and none of the house’s original mantles remained.  NRF constructed an 18th century style chimney and over mantles and paneling appropriate to the period was also installed.  The 18th century stairway was still intact, however, as were a number of doors, moldings, and some distinct wainscoting.

     When NRF purchased the Read House, a one story furniture store filled what is now the cobblestone parking area and the yard to the rear was crammed with a cinder block garage along with an assortment of sheds well into the process of deterioration. Needless to say all of these were removed.

     Very little information has been uncovered regarding Captain Read except that he apparently gave to the town the “Liberty Tree” in Liberty Park at Thames and Farewell Streets.  There is no information that tells us whether Captain Read was a sea captain or of military rank, although it is interesting to remember that when this house was built, both Thames Street and Bridge Street were waterfront streets. Many houses and buildings on the west side of Thames Street and the south side of Bridge Street had docks and wharves jutting out into the Basin. The Basin, also known as “the Cove”, reached west from Thames Street to what is now Washington Street.   The north-south limits of “the Cove” were defined by Long Wharf and Bridge Street – the latter known in the 18th century as Shipwrights Street.

     The Read House is on its original site.  The Newport Restoration Foundation purchased the house in 1971 and restored it in 1975-76.