House Lust: Inside Normandie, a Storybook Mansion in the City by the Sea
The extraordinary country house was built for an equally extraordinary woman.
Houses are vessels for stories: of people, of places, of snapshots in time. And Normandie, a wistful Norman-style mansion on Newport’s craggy coast, is no different.
The 1914 estate, which hit the market last week with Gustave White Sotheby’s, was designed by architectural firm Delano and Aldrich in collaboration with its owner, philanthropist Lucy Wortham James. But there’s more to the story here; our heroine wasn’t always a beautiful, witty, poor-of-health divorcee with a big inheritance and a charitable streak.
Lucy’s story begins a few years before she was born, when her family’s Missouri iron works business went bust and, wholly fallen from grace, they filed for bankruptcy. In an effort to make ends meet, her father turned to the fur trade and opened a shop in South Dakota. Lucy spent her childhood in Sioux country but, when her mother died when she was a young teen, the fur trader’s daughter was whisked into New York high society under the wing of a wealthy great uncle. There, she studied art and literature and music and, eventually, she traveled to Vienna to further her education in piano.
Her musical dreams were dashed by a bad bout of tuberculosis, the same disease that took her mother, and so she married a diplomat — an unhappy pairing, so it seems, but not without purpose — and moved to Japan for a time, where she charmed a revolving door of dignitaries on her husband’s behalf. In 1912, the childless couple returned to the U.S., where Lucy won a promotion for her husband simply by asking for it; she was that good.
But, on a trip to South America, she suffered extreme altitude sickness and never fully recovered. Before long, the marriage was over and, like many society couples at that time, they headed to Reno for a speedy, under-the-radar divorce. There, her ex-husband met a new woman, whom he married almost immediately. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t last. Notwithstanding, I invite you to join me in my resentment.)
At this point, Lucy was probably ready to stare out at the sea, alone, for a good long while. With an inheritance from her late uncle, she commissioned a windswept summer house with sturdy whitewashed brick and orange tile roofs and a charming, but uncompromising, gatehouse and a private pebbly beach all her own — or, Lucy’s version of peace on Earth.
Here’s your (and Lucy’s) House Lust:
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Normandie 1
Normandie, completed in 1915 for the philanthropist Lucy Wortham James, is on the market with Gustave White Sotheby's for $15 million. It has seven bedrooms and seven full baths over 8,000 square feet. (Photography by Michael Osean)
Normandie, completed in 1915 for the philanthropist Lucy Wortham James, is on the market with Gustave White Sotheby's for $15 million. It has seven bedrooms and seven full baths over 8,000 square feet. (Photography by Michael Osean)
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Normandie 2
The mansion sits on the water's edge on Ocean Avenue in Newport, a bit further afield from Bellevue Avenue society life. The house was designed by New York-based firm, Delano and Aldrich, in close partnership with Lucy Wortham James, according to an account from the New York Community Trust. (Photography by Michael Osean)
The mansion sits on the water's edge on Ocean Avenue in Newport, a bit further afield from Bellevue Avenue society life. The house was designed by New York-based firm, Delano and Aldrich, in close partnership with Lucy Wortham James, according to an account from the New York Community Trust. (Photography by Michael Osean)
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Normandie 3
The estate is 4.4 acres with several water access points, including two private beaches. In addition to the main quarters, the property has two apartments and, in the gatehouse, another set of auxiliary guest quarters. (Photography by Michael Osean)
The estate is 4.4 acres with several water access points, including two private beaches. In addition to the main quarters, the property has two apartments and, in the gatehouse, another set of auxiliary guest quarters. (Photography by Michael Osean)
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Normandie 4
This is the first time since 1972 that Normandie, also known as Cherry Neck Bungalow, has been offered on the market. (Photography by Michael Osean)
This is the first time since 1972 that Normandie, also known as Cherry Neck Bungalow, has been offered on the market. (Photography by Michael Osean)
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Normandie 5
A view of a living space looking out onto an enclosed terrace. The house was published in Architectural Record in 1923, House Beautiful in 1924 and the New York Herald Tribune in 1929. The walls are paneled in beechwood. (Photography by Michael Ocean)
A view of a living space looking out onto an enclosed terrace. The house was published in Architectural Record in 1923, House Beautiful in 1924 and the New York Herald Tribune in 1929. The walls are paneled in beechwood. (Photography by Michael Ocean)
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Normandie 7
A closer look at the enclosed terrace. (Photography by Michael Osean)
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Normandie 6
The dining room has one of ten fireplaces. The red-quarry tiled flooring is original. (Photography by Michael Osean)
The dining room has one of ten fireplaces. The red-quarry tiled flooring is original. (Photography by Michael Osean)
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Normandie 11
One of seven ensuite bedrooms. (Photography by Michael Osean)
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Normandie 9
A view of the deck and pebble beach at Normandie. (Photography via Michael Osean)
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Normandie 10
Another private beach at Normandie. (Photography by Michael Osean)
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Normandie 8
A postcard of Normandie, then known as Cherry Neck, is in the collection of the Newport Historical Society, which also boasts one of Lucy Wortham James's parasols. According to NHS reference librarian and genealogist, Bert Lippincott, Lucy Wortham James "does not appear in the published social histories of Newport, but her obituary noted a memorial service at the Seamen’s Church Institute in Newport, where she was 'a generous friend.' " The New York Community Trust writes that, after her divorce, the onetime hostess "shunned ostentatious parties."
A postcard of Normandie, then known as Cherry Neck, is in the collection of the Newport Historical Society, which also boasts one of Lucy Wortham James's parasols. According to NHS reference librarian and genealogist, Bert Lippincott, Lucy Wortham James "does not appear in the published social histories of Newport, but her obituary noted a memorial service at the Seamen’s Church Institute in Newport, where she was 'a generous friend.' " The New York Community Trust writes that, after her divorce, the onetime hostess "shunned ostentatious parties."
For more information on Normandie, contact Gustave White Sotheby’s Paul Leys at 401-849-3000 or visit gustavewhite.com.
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