Gardens and Grounds

The very first leaves of spring on the Fern Leaf Beech.

Surrounding Redwood Library's building are the lovely gardens and grounds. Originally, the land for the grounds was donated by Henry Collins in 1748. After the recovery from the Revolutionary period, the early 19th-century brought renewed interest in the landscape of the building and in the 1830s walks were laid out and numerous botanical gifts were bestowed: bulbs, shrubbery, and the handsome Fernleaf Beech in the northwest corner - now a cherished local landmark.

The focal point on the grounds is the Abraham Redwood Summer House. A National Historic Landmark in its own right, this small pleasure pavilion was built ca. 1766 by Peter Harrison for Library founder Abraham Redwood's country estate in Portsmouth, RI.

The exterior is built in the same style as the Library - in rusticated pine wood and is a beautiful example of Colonial-period design. It has undergone two restorations since its donation to the Redwood in 1916 and appears today much as it was seen, when it originally stood on Abraham Redwood's Farm.

Summer House viewed underneath the European Beech

Dwarf Japanese Maple after a spring shower (detail)

Henry Collins' donation was significantly expanded upon in 1934 by a bequest from Mary Tompkins of the neighboring property. Almost immediately, John Russell Pope, one of the most highly regarded classical architects of the 20th-century, very generously offered to draw up a plan for the improvement of the grounds. The existing landscape design was enlarged to incorporate the addition of land, the Summer House was moved to its present southeast location, flagstone paths and an allée were created and the Houdon sculpture of George Washington was placed at the entrance to the Library.

Thanks to John Russell Pope, by 1935, the Summer House had been painstakingly restored to its original appearance and the gardens surrounding the Library were laid out by the Newport Garden Club according to his design. Included were andromeda, rhododendron, juniper, arbor vitae, and mountain laurels, most of which have survived.

Since then, the Library has continued to receive botanical gifts, among which is the splendid red dwarf Japanese maple (pictured above) located in the southwest corner of the grounds.

View from the garden allée

Mountain Laurels in bloom

Another highlight of the grounds are the gates for the Redwood Street entrance which, like the Summer House, are artifacts of the Redwood family and are believed to be the oldest surviving ironwork from Colonial Newport.

In 1731, Abraham Redwood ordered these formal wrought iron gates from London for his town house on Thames Street in Newport. They were rescued from demolition in the 1850s, and in a highly appropriate gesture, presented to the Redwood Library. Presently, they have been taken down for restoration.

photos: Jennifer K. Caswell