The Heard House

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Between the years 1795 and 1800, John Heard (1744-1834) built a mansion that served as a testimony to his wealth and stature. It is thought that he personally oversaw its construction while living in another house just down the hill. As a young man, Heard worked as a “housewright,” or house builder, before making his fortune as the owner of a distillery, as the financer of privateering vessels during the Revolutionary War, as a land owner, and in trade with the West Indies. His own house would have to be exceptional - and it is.

Featuring a magnificently carved staircase, elegant Palladian windows, hand-carved interior finishings and dentil moldings, marble fireplaces, original pocket shutters and grain-painted doors, John Heard’s house is grand but refined. Nothing is overdone. The architectural style is variously called Early Republic, Federal, or Greek Revival.

The original floor plan comprised four rooms on the first floor (best parlor, common parlor, library, dining room), four rooms on the second floor, all bed chambers, and four on the third, all chambers as well. Areas for storage were installed throughout the house-an unusual feature for this time period. A kitchen ell was built at the rear of the house, with a kitchen chamber above.

The exact composition of the Heard household is somewhat in doubt. John Heard’s second wife, Sally Staniford, had recently died, leaving him for the second time a widower with a number of young children. As Edward W. Hanson wrote in his 1978 master’s thesis for Tufts University, “At the time of the 1790 census, there were fifteen people living in John Heard’s home (two males over sixteen; four males under sixteen; eight females; and one other free person). Assuming that Martha Staniford (John’s unmarried sister-in-law who cared for him until the end of his life) was already in residence, all these people can be accounted for among the immediate family, except for one male above sixteen and a female, who were perhaps servants along with the one ‘other free person,’ a black servant.”

Expansion

As the family prospered, the house expanded. A kitchen was added on to the first floor, off the library. Later, in 1856, George Washington Heard (1793-1863), one of John’s sons, moved the kitchen back to where the “ell” had been, and added a billiard room and more upstairs bed chambers beyond.Another addition extended the building, including a servant’s privy, storage rooms, and stable; upstairs servants’ chambers and a laundry chamber. A fourth addition comprised a one-story carriage house which was later extended even further. A final addition ca. 1860 was a music room, which later became a new billiard room, built on the first floor off the library where the old kitchen had been. (This room was rebuilt in the 1970s, after trees damaged the roof in a terrible storm.) Outbuildings included multiple sheds, including those for storing wood, and a stable.

The make-up of the 19th-century Heard households is not precisely documented. Later generations of Heards divided their time between their townhouse in Boston* and the family home in Ipswich. During these decades, George Washington Heard (1793-1863), his wife, Elizabeth Ann Farley (1802-65) and their children lived in the house, along with George’s sister, Mary (1796-1869), and their brother Augustine (1785-1868), who eventually retired to Ipswich after making a fortune trading in China and teaching his four nephews, George’s sons, the family business. Interestingly, the 1856 building plans list Augustine Heard as the owner, even though George oversaw the project. George’s son John (1824-94) inherited the house; he was a founder of the Ipswich Historical Society. His son, also named John, was the subsequent owner. The 1900 census lists two domestics, Bridget Duneau and Margaret Woods, and a footman, John Gregory, along with John Heard.

John’s mother, Alice Leeds Heard (1846-1917), and his unmarried sister, also named Alice but called “Elsie,” spent most of their time in Boston but visited the house in Ipswich probably during the summertime.

Final Chapter

Elsie Heard (1868-1953) outlived her brother and inherited the family home, selling it to the Ipswich Historical Society in 1936 with the stipulation that she be allowed to reside there as long as she chose. The Society named it the “Waters Memorial” as a tribute to their founder, Rev. Thomas Franklin Waters. The name was later changed.

Today, the Heard House is the only example in Ipswich of the kind of grand, merchant class mansion that is more normally seen in nearby Salem, Newburyport, and Marblehead. The house is open to the public seasonally, where visitors may enjoy its largely untouched architectural features and a wonderful collection of Chinese artifacts, portraits, porcelain, textiles, toys, and 19th century works of art by the “Ipswich Painters.” The Heard House also houses the offices of the Ipswich Historical Society.

It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

*The Heards’ townhouse was located at 3 Park Street. The house no longer stands, but a dollhouse replica of the building is displayed in the Heard House Museum.

Sources: A Plan of the House and Buildings Belonging to Mr. Augustine Heard, 1856; National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, prepared by Susan Nelson, 1995.