House Lust: Inside the $5 Million Mansion Owned by Roger Williams’s Descendants

It's the first time the property will be sold outside the family.

May 15, 2018

If little Rhode Island were a kingdom, our sovereigns would include the state’s founder, Roger Williams, and its most prominent family, the Browns. And this Bellevue Avenue mansion, on the market for $4.995 million, is as close to Rhody’s own Buckingham Palace as it gets.

The massive 13,962-square-foot home was built in 1895 by Harold Brown, son of John Carter Brown (the namesake of Brown University) and Sophia Augusta Brown, a descendant of Roger Williams. Harold and his wife, Georgette, lived there until their deaths.

In the mid-1950s, the estate was sold to Harold’s niece, Eileen Slocum, a prominent socialite who, perhaps most notably, left John Jacob Astor VI — the “Titanic Baby” whose father died on the Titanic and whose mother, who survived the sinking, was pregnant with him when the ship went down — at the altar. She later married diplomat, prominent Republican and noted bibliophile (see library photos below), John J. Slocum. Eileen also lived out her last days at the property, also known as the Harold Brown Villa.

In a story in Bloomberg, Eileen’s granddaughter, Sophie Girard, says of her grandmother and the Dudley Newton-designed manor: “When she moved in, she did virtually nothing — a minor update or two in the bathrooms, and she did redo the kitchen, which we think is tragic. It had been very dark wood, and they redid it in all white.”

Otherwise, the property — which occupies an entire block on Bellevue Avenue — is a bit of a time capsule. Girard tells Bloomberg that the interior is inspired by the Browns’ honeymoon to Paris. Designer Ogden Codman — a contemporary of Edith Wharton — used pieces the Browns purchased in France, including furniture once owned by Napoleon, as focal points in the design.

Here’s a look inside Rhode Island’s own royal manor:

The Harold Brown Villa, built in 1895, is on the market for $4.995 million. (Photos via Gustave White Sotheby's)

Show Caption Hide Caption
The mansion's exterior was constructed in a Norman hunting style, with locally quarried granite trimmed in brownstone with a slate roof.

Show Caption Hide Caption
A view from the mansion's foyer.

Show Caption Hide Caption
The entry hall is grand with marble floors, columns and other fine details.

Show Caption Hide Caption
Lush drapery adorns a sitting room on the first floor. The mansion hosted coming out parties for many members of the family.

Show Caption Hide Caption
The kitchen, according to Sophie Girard, was given a mid-century update.

Show Caption Hide Caption
An Empire-style dining room has been well-preserved over the last century.

Show Caption Hide Caption
The library, on the first floor, shows off the late John Slocum's impressive collection of books.

Show Caption Hide Caption
This tiny servant's quarters also serves as a small library. John Slocum was a noted bibliophile.

Show Caption Hide Caption
The home boasts twelve bedrooms in all, including servants' quarters. There are also eight baths and three half-baths over 13,962 square feet.

Show Caption Hide Caption
Most of the bedrooms remain decidedly Gilded in style.

Show Caption Hide Caption
Although some updating to the interior has been done, the period influences reign true.

Show Caption Hide Caption
Another bright bedroom in the Harold Brown Villa.

Show Caption Hide Caption
An enclosed patio looks over the curated grounds, which boast mature beech, oak, maple and butternut trees.

Show Caption Hide Caption
The grounds, designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, amount to about five acres. The grounds also feature a caretaker's cottage. For more information, call Kara Malkovich at 401-848-6728 or visit gustavewhite.com.

Show Caption Hide Caption