Beechwood

I was built by Charles T. Brown, son of Thomas, who served as a town treasurer starting in 1876. In the 1930’s, I was owned by Hervey Kent, said to have been the richest man in New Hampshire. Mr. Kent was the owner of the Exeter Bank and the Exeter Mills, and had high standards for the maintenance of both my exterior and interior. In fact, it is said that whenever the gardener walked across the driveway, he had to drag his rake to cover over his footprints.  
I didn’t always look the way you see me now. I started out as a New England A frame with an attached ell and a summer room. Alongside of me, you can see the original barn of peg and beam construction that was filled with horses from 1930 to the late 1970’s.
In the early 1940’s, a local architect was consulted to transform me into a larger, more elegant home. That’s when the Georgian façade of white brick was added, as well as a formal reflecting pool, and pool house of English tea house design. Horse paddocks, a glass-enclosed garden room, an eight-car garage, swimming pool, two ponds and a waterfall have also been added over the years.