The house at 7 County Street dates to two periods. Shoreborne Wilson, a cooper, built a house and a cooper’s shop on this site about 1660 (3:133). Thomas Dennis bought the property in 1663 (8:69) and added an adjoining parcel in 1671 (3:201). The rear ell of the present house dates from that period, with wide chamfers on the summer beam and unusual unpainted horizontal feather-edged sheathing. The early house appears to have been a typical one-over-one room floorplan 17th century half-house, facing due south with an end chimney
The 5-bay front section of the house dates to the 1750s. and has a more balanced Georgian floor plan typical of the mid 1700’s.
This House is protected by a Preservation Agreement between the owners, the town of Ipswich and the Historical Commission. Protected elements include:
- Front and side facades of the four room building facing County St.
- Central Frame including primary and secondary members
- Feather-edged paneling in the rear first-floor room
Thomas Dennis (1638–1706), came from Devonshire, England, where he learned from a tradition of flourished carving. Dennis himself was a master carver, and his work is found at other nearby homes, including the Dennis – Dodge House at the corner of Summer and County Street. His work is shown in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Concord Antiquarian Society and the Robert Hull Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont.
Read:
- Thomas Dennis, Master Jointer by John Fiske
- Descendants of Thomas Dennis, by Frank G. Dennis Jr.
- MACRIS
