Gov. John Wentworth (1671-1730) and his wife, Sarah Hunking Wentworth (ca. 1673–1741) lived in a luxurious mansion in the South End of Portsmouth, NH. You can still peek inside their well furnished bedchamber–but not in Portsmouth. Thanks to Charles “Cappy” Stewart, a local bordello owner turned antiques dealer, viewing the governor’s mansion requires a road trip. You’ll have to visit the Metropolitan Museum (Met) in New York City.
-A dozen years after Stewart’s “fancy house” was closed by mayoral decree in 1912, he began selling off bits of historic Portsmouth to the highest bidders. The ancient Wentworth mansion, built from 1695-1700, had been adapted into a Puddle Dock boarding house before Stewart bought it for $3,500. The Met “rescued” some of the interior “components” including a wood-paneled second-floor bedchamber and a small ornate staircase. The dismantled and numbered pieces were stored for years in a New Hampshire barn, then transported to the museum and reconstructed in 1937, as seen here. The room was decorated with period furniture, including a cane couch, an oval drop leaf table, a high chest of drawers, and an upholstered easy chair.
John Wentworth, a sea captain and merchant, was appointed lieutenant governor of the province, ushering in the economic boom as the city became a world trade center. John and Sarah raised 14 children — Benning, Hunking, Hannah, Sarah, John Jr, William, Mary, Samuel, Mark, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Ebenezer, Daniel, and George. Their eldest, Benning Wentworth, served as governor from 1741-67. His nephew, Sir John Wentworth was the last of the rich and powerful family dynasty that ended with the American Revolution.
You’ll find “The Wentworth Room” (Gallery 711) in the American Wing of the museum. But there’s more. Since the museum had limited space, in 1929 the Met sold some of the panelling and architectural beams to antiques collector Henry Francis du Pont. The collector’s Delaware mansion, opened as the Winterthur Museum in 1951, now houses 175 period room displays–including more pieces of the old Wentworth home– plus 85,000 American decorative artifacts.
If New York and Delaware seem too far, you’ll find a reconstructed parlor from another Portsmouth house at the Museum of Fine Arts in nearby Boston. The grand George Jaffrey House (circa 1730) once stood on Daniel Street, site of the McIntyre Building today. The MFA purchased the deteriorating mansion in 1919, removed some of the interior components, then sold it to a developer who demolished the historic building the following year.
Copyright J Dennis Robinson
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