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It was not uncommon for builders in the eighteenth century to paint facades in such a way as to give them an appearance other than what the building materials actually were.
Wooden surfaces were sometimes painted to look like marble. Inexpensive wood, like pine, was sometimes painted in such a way as to make it look like mahogany. In the Shaw Mansion the interior walls on the east and west sides appear to be made of millwork paneling. In actuality, they are made of molded cement — something very unusual, indeed.
When the mansion was built in the 1750's its architecture was, of course, quintessential eighteenth century architecture. When Dr. Nathaniel Shaw Perkins inherited the mansion from his father (Judge Elias Perkins) in 1845, he undertook a substantial renovation effort to give the house a Victorian appearance, including elevating the ceilings and lowering the floors, in order to give the first floor rooms more height.
Though much
of the Victorian renovation has been removed, the result of these renovations
is that we do not have a clear idea of what the mansion looked like during
colonial times. Today, the architecture and interior style of the mansion
is a blend of both eighteenth and nineteenth century elements.
Shaw
Mansion
Home
of The New London County Historical Society
Shaw
Mansion
View
from the back gardens
NLCHS, 11 Blinman St., New London, CT 06320 email
