The Captain John Mawdsley House is one of the oldest houses in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

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The earliest rear part of the house was built on Spring Street prior to 1680 probably by Jireh Bull. Bull married Godsgift Arnold, daughter of Gov. Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold (governor)

Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. Coming from Somerset, England, he was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, likely attending school in Limington, nearby...

. Captain John Mawdsley, a privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

, lived in the house in the eighteenth century and constructed the large front addition to the house. The Mawdsley House is located on 228 Spring Street and was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1983. The house was owned by Historic New England

Historic New England

Historic New England, previously known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities , is a charitable, non-profit, historic preservation organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is focused on New England and is the oldest and largest regional preservation...

(SPNEA) until it was sold in the late twentieth century.http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:QXzkce1U5PEJ:www.preservation.ri.gov/pdfs_zips/news_pdfs/headlines_pdfs/dating_house.pdf+John+Mawdsley+House+newport&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us