Tory Row
Encyclopedia
Tory Row is the nickname historically given by some to the part of Brattle Street
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
where many Loyalists had mansions at the time of the American Revolutionary War
, and given by others to seven Colonial mansions along Brattle Street. Its historic buildings from the 18th century include the William Brattle House (42 Brattle Street) and the Longfellow National Historic Site
(105 Brattle Street). Samuel Atkins Eliot
, writing in 1913 of the seven Colonial mansions making up Tory Row, called the area "not only one of the most beautiful but also one of the most historic streets in America."
Two other Tory Row houses, according to the same source, were not confiscated. Judge Lee (#159) returned from Boston after the war and lived in his house "unmolested until his death." Captain Ruggles (#175), before leaving the neighborhood, had sold his estate in 1774 to Thomas Fayerweather.
Brattle Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, called the "King's Highway" or "Tory Row" before the American Revolutionary War, is the site of many buildings of historic interest, including the modernist glass-and-concrete building that housed the Design Research store,and a Georgian mansion where...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
where many Loyalists had mansions at the time of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, and given by others to seven Colonial mansions along Brattle Street. Its historic buildings from the 18th century include the William Brattle House (42 Brattle Street) and the Longfellow National Historic Site
Longfellow National Historic Site
The Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, also known as the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House and, until December 2010, Longfellow National Historic Site, is a historic site located at 105 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For almost fifty years, it was the...
(105 Brattle Street). Samuel Atkins Eliot
Samuel Atkins Eliot
Samuel Atkins Eliot, A.M., D.D. was an American Unitarian clergyman, son of Charles W. Eliot and grandson of Samuel Atkins Eliot, the politician. For more on his lineage see the Eliot family....
, writing in 1913 of the seven Colonial mansions making up Tory Row, called the area "not only one of the most beautiful but also one of the most historic streets in America."
Seven historic houses of Tory Row
The seven houses described by Eliot as making up Tory Row are as follows:- The Brattle estate (42 Brattle Street) also known as the William Brattle HouseWilliam Brattle HouseThe William Brattle House is an historic house at 42 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of the seven Colonial mansions described by historian Samuel Atkins Eliot as making up Tory Row.-History:...
, now the home of the Cambridge Center for Adult EducationCambridge Center for Adult EducationThe Cambridge Center for Adult Education , a non-profit corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been teaching adult education courses at 42 Brattle Street since taking over the building from the Cambridge Social Union in 1938... - Estate of Mrs. Henry Vassal (94 Brattle Street) also known as the Henry Vassall House
- Estate of Mr. John Vassal (105 Brattle Street) also known as the "Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House," now the Longfellow National Historic SiteLongfellow National Historic SiteThe Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, also known as the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House and, until December 2010, Longfellow National Historic Site, is a historic site located at 105 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For almost fifty years, it was the...
) - Lechmere-Sewall house (149 Brattle Street) also known as the "Lechmere-Riedesel House" or the "Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesel House"
- Judge Joseph Lee's house (159 Brattle Street) now the Hooper-Lee-Nichols HouseHooper-Lee-Nichols HouseThe Hooper-Lee-Nichols House is a historic Colonial American house in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Initially constructed 1685 and enlarged and remodeled many times thereafter, it is located at 159 Brattle Street in Cambridge. It is the second-oldest house in the city...
- Fayerweather House (175 Brattle Street), built by George Ruggles, also called the Ruggles-Fayerweather House
- Thomas Oliver house (33 Elmwood Avenue), also known as the Oliver-Gerry-Lowell House or as Elmwood. This house, although considered a part of Brattle Street's Tory Row, has its address on nearby Elmwood Avenue.
Fate of the Tory Row houses after the American Revolution
According to Edward Abbott, writing in 1859,Five of these estates were subsequently confiscated and sold by the commonwealth: the estates of Lechmere (144 acres) and Oliver (96 acres) to Andrew Cabot, Esq., of Salem, November 24, 1779; the estate of Sewall (44 acres) to Thomas Lee of Pomfret, Conn., December 7, 1779; .. and the estate of Vassall (116 acres) to Nathaniel Tracy, Esq., of Newburyport, June 28, 1781. ... The heirs of Borland and the Widow Vassall succeeded to the ownership of their estates in Cambridge... General Brattle conveyed all his real estate in Cambridge, December 13, 1774, to his only surviving son, Major Thomas Brattle...By the persevering efforts of Mrs. Katherine Wendell, the only surviving daughter of General Brattle, the estate was preserved from confiscation, and was recovered by Major Brattle after his return from Europe,—having been proscribed in 1778, and having subsequently exhibited satisfactory evidence of his friendship to his country and its political independence.
Two other Tory Row houses, according to the same source, were not confiscated. Judge Lee (#159) returned from Boston after the war and lived in his house "unmolested until his death." Captain Ruggles (#175), before leaving the neighborhood, had sold his estate in 1774 to Thomas Fayerweather.