Lyndhurst Mansion

It was a beautiful day today and so we decided to head down to Tarrytown to visit The Lyndhurst Castle.  Lyndhurst was designed in 1838 by Alexander Jackson Davis for New York City Mayor William Paulding Jr.  Then in 1864 to 1865 the same architect, Alexander Jackson Davis, increased the size of the mansion for the second owner, George Merritt who renamed the estate Lyndhurst.  Then in 1880, the estate was purchased by Jay Gould who used it as a retreat until he passed away in 1892.  Lyndhurst stayed in the Gould family for 80 years. 

Lyndhurst Castle

The Old Carriage House, now the Visitor Center

Statue in the yard near the castle

We walked up with our guide from the Visitor Center to the Mansion and went in through the carriage entry.

The Entry Way

These windows/doors are on three sides of the entry and allowed the people coming in from their carriages or cars to get out of the weather before they rang the doorbell.

Our Guide for the tour through the Castle

Ceiling in the Entryway

The Entry Door

You will notice that the entryway looks like it is made of marble, however, it is actual faux marble and at the time it was put in, it was more expensive than real marble.  It was all the rage.

The Reception Area

Once we left the entry way, we were guided, as Jay Gould's visitors  would have been, into the Reception Room.  This room was decorated to the hilt with marble and a ceiling painted as it might have been during the Renaissance period in Europe. 

Ceiling in the Reception Room

The Entry Door

The Library

Windows in the Library

Dining Room

Dining Room Windows

Dining Room

The Dining Room Table and Chairs was designed 

by the architect for the home.

The 2nd Floor - Art Gallery

Our Guide showing us the intricacies of the 

Tiffany Stained Glass Windows

Gorgeous is all one can say!

Some of the original Art Work

We loved this room because of the enormous window.  It was so much more light and airy than the other rooms in the castle.

Jay Gould's Bedroom

Jay Gould's Bathroom

Some of Anna Gould's French Influences in the Castle

The estate passed first to Jay Gould's daughter, Helen, and finally to his daughter, Anna.  After Anna died in 1961, she willed the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Louis Vuitton Travel Case Belonging to Anna Gould

One of Anna's outfits

Jay Gould's Portable Desk that Went With Him When He Traveled 

Yesteryear's Laptop

One of two Matching Fireplaces in the Parlor

Some of the furniture like this piece was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis.  The house and storage facilities here have the most complete collection of his furniture anywhere.

Panorama of the Parlor

When we left the castle, we headed back to the Visitor Center where our guide took us into a room where we could see some of the furniture from the prior owners.  There are five levels to the castle and we only saw two of them.  Two other levels have loads of furniture stored in them.  It seems that the previous owners didn't part with anything.  They just left things for the next owner and so the caretakers have a lot of extra furniture.  They decided to exhibit some of it.

Children's Playhouse

The Carriage House - Now Visitor Center

The Lyndhurst Castle Parlor When George Merritt 

Lived in the Home - 1865 or so

Furniture from the Merritt Years

This statue was in the parlors during the 

Merritts and the Gould's times.

Furniture from the Parlor from the Gould's time at Lyndhurst

This part of the Carriage House was the original stables

When we were roaming around the Gift Shop we found this area dedicated to the movies that used the Lyndhurst Castle.  It was used for several movies and the castle was the home of Barnabus Collins in the television series "Dark Shadows" that I watched for several years a long, long time ago.

We also watched a movie about the castle and the families that lived here. One of things that we missed was seeing the Rose Garden because, of course, the roses just are not at their best at this time of year.  Here is a picture of how it looks when everything is in bloom.