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Walsh House Charleston, Teneriffi, Buenos Aires, Vera Cruz, Havana and other far-flung ports of the Atlantic world were as familiar to Keyran Walsh as was Portsmouth. Keyran Walsh lived in Portsmouth for more than fifteen years before he purchased the house on Washington Street which now bears his name. Walsh captained ships and traded in New Hampshire lumber and West India goods. He was apparently quite successful. In 1796 he acquired a considerable amount of property in Portsmouth and the following year he bought his home. The house was new, but still in a relatively rough state when Walsh purchased it. This gave him the opportunity to put his own mark on it, which he immediately began to do. While the house was similar in size and basic style to other large houses built in the neighborhood at almost the same time, such as Winn and Aldrich Houses, Walsh House stood apart from the others because of the fine woodwork, unusual paint treatment, and striking wallpaper that distinguished its interior. One of the best examples of this is the painted "graining" on the pine doors of the lower hallway, meant to simulate mahogany veneer. Similarly, the stairs were painted in a convincing imitation of green and yellow marble. This elaborate interior work was carried out around 1800, a fact of particular interest because this was a period when architectural styles were evolving rapidly in Portsmouth. Walsh House reflects these changing styles in nearly every room, but especially in the hallway. The beautiful stairway was one of the first in Portsmouth to utilize a curved stairwell and delicate balusters and handrail. The great arched window at the head of the stairs replaced an earlier rectangular one. Yet, while the house exhibits many elements of the newer Federal style, these are always found in combination with details carried over from the earlier pre-revolutionary period. Some doors have the later flat panels, others are of the earlier raised style. Some of the moldings around the panels are the new S-shaped variety, some the more traditional quarter-round. This seems to indicate an acceptance of changing style tempered by a cautious conservatism. Captain Walsh had no doubt seen much evidence of the newer architectural style in his travels. The imagination and skill of the joiners who finished Keyran Walsh's house are impressive. No two rooms have woodwork exactly alike, yet each room is coherent within itself. Because the hallway has yet another kind of woodwork, some of the doors opening onto it are actually two doors sandwiched together, designed to produce a different effect on each side. There are no less than eight cornice types and seven door styles in the Walsh House. Captain Walsh's occupation was not without its risks. Much of his time was spent battling restrictive Spanish trade laws and trying to avoid the British Navy. He was not always successful. In 1799 he lost his ship, the America, and her Spanish cargo valued at more than $6,000 when a British man-of-war carried him into Jamaica. During this period Walsh was frequently employed by Thomas and Jonathan Amory, Boston merchants. This took him completely away from Portsmouth, but it is clear that he intended to return, for instead of selling his house, he rented it. On a voyage from the Rio de la Plata in southern South America to Charleston in 1807, Keyran Walsh died at sea. In 1969 Walsh House was moved about eighty feet north of its original location and placed on a new foundation. It was restored through a bequest of the late Dr. Frederick Sanborn of New York City, who also left a collection of appropriate Chippendale and Federal furniture to assist in furnishing the house. |
