To celebrate the brisk New England winter air and bright sunshine, we took a drive down to Gillette Castle in East Haddam, Connecticut to explore Christmas At The Castle. The castle is just about an hours ride south of Hartford and is a fun and inexpensive way to spend time with family or friends. Parents, you should definitely put this on your fun things to do with kids list.
Each holiday season, local residence come together to decorate an excessively massive, live tree with antique-like ornaments donated from the townsfolk. This years tree was 18feet tall. Can you imagine stringing the lights on this thing? The entire castle is truly a wonder to see and is beautifully decorated in a traditional Victorian theme of evergreen swags, poinsettias, swirling ribbons and bows. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming as you are greeted by volunteers eager to share bits of Gillette history with you. Holidays hymns are sung and performed by local choirs and instrumentalist that can be heard echoing down corridors and hallways as the castle seemingly comes alive in the spirit of Christmas.
Gillette Castle is a 24 room medieval style mansion built in 1919 by Connecticut native, William Gillette, an actor/playwright best known for his portrayal of Conan Doyle's, Detective Sherlock Holmes. Gillette was an interesting man, to say the least, and was often noted for his ingenuity and eccentricity. His decision to design and supervise the makings of a medieval style, steel frame, field stone fortress modeled after the ruins of a German castle on the Rhine came as no surprise to friends and associates. After all, he needed something to busy himself with while in semi-retirement.
The million dollar project started in 1914 and took a team of twenty, five years to complete. Gillette would pay local Connecticut farmers a dollar a cartload to haul field stone up the hill to be used in the construction. Gillette spent another five years filling his home with unique and unusual furnishings such as a movable table on tracks. Instead of pulling your chair to and from the table, you can pull the table in and away from you...without scratching the floor! There is also a 4ft locking bar that became the source of Gillette's personal entertainment. Gillette would open the bar, pour his guest a drink, and then make some excuse to leave the room. He would tell his guest to help themselves to the liquor cabinet should they want another drink while he was gone. He would then lock the bottom half of the bar by engaging a hidden locking mechanism that he designed. A mirror in the opposing room hung in such a way that Gillette could see the ongoings in the bar area from the second floor corridor. He would watch as his thirsty guest fumbled and failed to re-open the bar. Once he felt they had struggled enough, he would then saunter back into the room and nonchalantly open the bar without letting on about the locking mechanism. The look of confussion on the faces of his guests was even more amusing than watching them try to break into the thing in the first place!
The castle's interior is a maze of twists, turns, and hidden passage ways making it a child's paradise with lots of places to hide and explore. Depending on what room you are in, there are several breathtaking views of the Connecticut River and hillside foliage.There are numerous built-in couches and shelves filled with over 1000 original books and novels owned and read by Gillette. Walls are covered with hand-woven squares of Prairie and Japanese grasses and their are many colorful light fixtures made of crushed and stained glass. In addition, there all sorts of hand hewn wood carvings made from Southern White Oak. Of the mansion's 47 doors, no two are alike. The intricately carved door latches and light switches are amazing and a incredible display of some spectacular craftsmanship. There is a room filled with paintings from Gillette's art collection. The collection is as unusual and diverse as he was including velvet paintings, embroidery on silk, and works from local New England artists. Gillette's love for Japanese and Asian culture can also be seen in his unique collection of salt and paper shakers, candle holders, and other antiques and collectibles throughout the castle.
Prior to coming to the castle I had read up a bit about Gillette. I knew he was a fanatic about cats and took a liking to frogs as well. He kept, what I thought to be, two amphibian statues in his conservatory named Mike and Lena. So, of course I was on the look out for them when we arrived at the castle. When we entered the conservatory, I, coincidentally, saw a single frog sitting alone by the fountain. I proceeded to asked one of the volunteers where the other frog was. Smiling, she kindly explained to me that after Gillette "passed" so did the cats, and eventually the frogs. How stupid did I feel ? I had no idea that the frogs were real ! She explained that Gillette always kept two, live frogs in the conservatory named Mike and Lena. Every so often, a frog would mysteriously go missing...The usual suspects: the cats, of course. Throughout Gillette's lifetime he always maintained two frogs in the conservatory and they were always named Mike and Lena.
This 184 acre estate overlooks the East bank of the Connecticut River from atop the Seventh Sister, the southernmost hill in a chain of seven hills lining the Connecticut landscape called the Seven Sisters. The state of Connecticut purchased the property in 1943 and it is currently managed by the Connecticut DEP. Gillette Castle is a Connecticut state landmark and host for the Impressionist Art Trail, which is a consortium of fifteen museums and historic sites throughout Connecticut. The grounds are well maintained and a popular destination for hikers and picnickers. Over 10 miles of footpaths gracefully weave their way through a woodland wonder of gorgeous Hemlocks, White Oaks, and Maple tress. Vertical stairways, stone arches and tunnels, and a 40 foot wooden trestle nestle themselves into the landscaping. There's even a goldfish pond and the remnants of a three mile railroad and station that once toted guest including Albert Einstein and Calvin Coolridge about the property. You can see the electric locomotive on display in the visitor's center. It was too cold to go exploring about the grounds, however we plan to come back in the warmer weather for some hiking and picnicking.
Special thanks to Kathy Guidi for sharing her insight about her experience at the Castle and encouraging us to make the visit. Gillette shines new meaning to the old adage...."home is my castle"!
Hours and Fees:
The Castle is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Memorial Day Weekend through Columbus Day. Staff are available to assist with questions about the Castle interior and its history. The grounds are open year round and ADMISSION IS FREE!!!!! Rates to tour the Castle are as follows:
$10 Admission
$4 Admission for Children 6-12yrs
$free for Children 5yrs and under
Directions:
From I-95S or N: Take Exit 22. Route 9S, Exit 7, for a bridge crossing of the Connecticut River. Follow route 82E and park signs
From I-95N or S: Take Exit 69. Route 9N to Exit 6 or 7. For the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry, use Exit 6. Follow Route 148 and park signs. The ferry operates spring through fall.
Christmas at the Castle 2009:
Open Saturday & Sundays 10-4pm until December 20th
Open Friday's from 4pm-8pm December 4th, 11th, & 18th
Closed December 25th, 26th, & 27th, but will re-open December 28th thru December 30th from 10am-4pm
