Moving home can be an expensive, complicated and stressful process, so imagine the organisation and work it takes to physically move a house from one plot to another. From the restless former country estate of Alexander Hamilton to a rustic stone cottage that travelled almost 11,000 miles from England to Australia, all of these amazing abodes have been packed up and transported somewhere new. Click or scroll on to discover how – and why – these historic properties were given new homes.
While this quaint cottage looks like it belongs in the heart of the English Cotswolds, in reality it’s a long way from home, situated in the living history museum of Greenfield Village, Michigan. The 1619 cottage was transported across the Atlantic in 1929 by one of America’s richest men, Henry Ford, who had fallen deeply in love with the scenic Cotswolds during the course of several visits in the early 1920s.
Ford became so enamoured with the distinctive golden bricked cottages that he decided he simply had to had one for himself. He found one to his liking and paid to have it deconstructed and shipped all the way to his home and manufacturing centre in Greenfield, Michigan, where the house was then painstakingly reconstructed brick by brick - a total of 475 tonnes of stone, glass, and wood. He even took a couple of Cotswold sheep back with him, too!
The cottage became part of a larger project for Ford – Greenfield Village – in which Ford collected, transported, and reconstructed a series of historic homes from all over the United States to be turned into an immersive living history museum, where visitors could come and experience everyday 19th-century American village life.
Of course, the Cotswold cottage is both from the wrong country and the wrong century to fit with the rest of the museum, but it has at least been painstakingly restored to preserve its 17th-century architectural detail. The home includes traditional flagstone flooring, stone fireplaces, mullioned windows and beamed ceilings, and its external wall even boasts a dove coat typical of country cottages from the period.
Today, the cottage remains open to the public as part of the museum, and receives thousands of visitors every year. "It was without doubt the most expensive project at Greenfield Village," said Jim Johnson, the director of Greenfield Village. However, from Ford’s perspective, the project was well worth it. “Henry saw things going by the wayside that he wanted to preserve," Johnson told the BBC, and the cottage’s restoration certainly did exactly that.
Seaview Terrace can be found in the wealthy city of Newport, Rhode Island, on a stunning eight-acre plot overlooking scenic Sheep Point Cove. Also known as the Carey Mansion, the 43,700-square-foot waterfront property is the area's fifth-largest estate, after the likes of Belcourt Castle and The Breakers. But more impressive than its breathtaking scale is the fact that it was moved more than 400 miles in 1923.
The colossal mansion was constructed in the popular residential neighbourhood of Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C., in 1907, for wealthy whisky distiller, Edson Bradley, who later hired architect Howard Greenley to renovate and enlarge his new home. The property reportedly grew to 16,000 square feet and covered more than half a city block. Yet Bradley seemingly became dissatisfied with the location and in 1923 decided to disassemble the house and move it to Newport.
The process is said to have taken two years and brought notoriety to the ambitious project, even gaining a mention for the 60-room residence in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, an entertainment franchise dedicated to the world’s most unusual events and items. What makes the move even more astonishing are the parts of the house that were dissembled and reconstructed such as the estate's private chapel, art gallery, a 500-seat theatre and a ballroom, kitted out with ornate detailing.
All of the home's furnishings and interior fixtures, mostly imported from France, also made the trip, including highly decorative, hand-carved ceilings and stone staircases. Yet the building’s most prized asset is perhaps a stained glass window dating from the early Renaissance that was originally designed for the Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy. After moving the property, Bradley bought an Elizabethan Revival mansion known as Sea View and together the two homes formed Seaview Terrace.
Today, the estate is the largest privately-owned home in Newport. It straddles two addresses in one of the area's most sought-after zip codes, boasts 29 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, a whispering gallery and a two-storey entrance hall kitted out with Medieval-inspired fixtures. Even now Seaview Terrace remains one of the largest homes to ever be dismantled and reassembled elsewhere. How's that for remarkable?
Despite the fact that this chocolate box cottage was constructed in a quaint village in North Yorkshire, England, it can now be found more than 10,500 miles away in Melbourne, Australia. With a fascinating history and a remarkable journey under its belt, this charming property is one of the world's most interesting pieces of architecture. Cooks' Cottage, also known as Captain Cook's Cottage, was constructed in 1755 by the parents of British explorer, Captain James Cook.
The Cooks bought the land in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, for a mere "twenty-six lawfull shillings" and built two homes – one to live in and one to rent out, according to Great Ayton Parish Council. After his wife Grace passed away in 1772, James Cook senior moved to the town of Redcar on the Yorkshire Coast. In 1907, the Dixon Brothers, who owned a grocery store in Great Ayton, purchased the two properties and rented them both out. Sadly, almost all of the western cottage was demolished in 1928, when Easby Lane was widened.
By the 1930s the house had been abandoned. It was placed for auction with a condition of sale that stated the building must remain in England. The property received a single bid of £300 ($377), which equates to around £20,900 ($26.3k) in today’s money, before an Australian buyer stepped in and offered £800 ($1k), or £55,650 ($70k) today. Understandably, the condition of sale was dropped, leaving the home open to relocation.
In 1934 the new owner, Sir Russell Grimwade, dismantled the house and transported it by ship to Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne, donating it to the State of Victoria. According to the Captain Cook Society, the cottage was demolished brick by brick and packed into 253 cases and 40 barrels, along with the ivy from the building's external walls. Once rebuilt, the home was opened to the public and quickly became a popular attraction. It was restored in 1978, and remains a local landmark to this day.
If you ever find yourself in Great Ayton, you can visit the place where Cook's home once stood. In its place, you'll find The Cook Family Memorial Garden, which was created in 1934 after the house was relocated. At the centre of the garden, there's an obelisk that was constructed from stone taken from Point Hicks, Victoria, which was the first land sighted by Captain Cook when he approached Australia. Ironically, the great explorer never actually lived in the cottage.
Incredibly, this federal-style country home has been moved not once, but twice. It was designed by architect John McComb, Jr back in 1802 for Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The house was named The Grange, after the Hamilton family's ancestral home in Scotland, UK, and was positioned on what would then have been a country estate on the outskirts of Manhattan, but is now part of built-up Hamilton Heights in Harlem.
This historic image shows the stately home in its original position, on 237 West 141 Street, New York City. The property was the only one that Hamilton ever owned and he only lived there for two years, before he died in a tragic duel with Aaron Burr, who was then the Vice President of the United States, in July 1804.
By 1889 the property belonged to the National Park Service, who decided to move the house to Convent Avenue in Harlem (pictured), since new, towering buildings had begun to overwhelm the important historic monument. Then, in June 2008, the National Park Service decided to move the home once again. The structure was relocated two blocks over, to a leafy hillside lot in St. Nicholas Park, West Harlem, which was once part of Hamilton’s estate.
For the first time in 119 years, all four sides of the home were visible. Following the move, the missing original entranceway, front and back porches and architectural features were restored before the house was reopened to the public. According to the National Park Service, the process took 38 days, from the time the house was separated from its foundation to when it was delivered to its current plot. The house was sandwiched between a church and an apartment building, which made the job even harder.
Amazingly, there are images of the property mid-move. Wolfe House & Building Movers of Pennsylvania took on the task and had to lift the house 38 feet vertically, in order to roll it out onto a loggia and shift it through the streets. To achieve this, the movers used hydraulic jacks to elevate the property while reducing stress on the historic building. An estimated 7,000 pieces of cribbing and almost two miles of chain were used to support the property during the move.
This Romanesque Revival limestone mansion was built in 1888 on Prairie Avenue, which at the time was one of Chicago’s most prestigious residential neighbourhoods. It was one of the last family homes to be constructed on the block and was wedged into a narrow parcel that was just 24 feet wide. Yet by 2012 it was only one of seven historic homes still standing on the once affluent street, and the only one remaining on its block. So, what happened?
This image shows how Prairie Avenue looked during its heyday – it was a desirable place to live filled with large homes for affluent families. The property was designed by renowned architects Cobb & Frost for Harriet F. Rees, the widow of real estate pioneer and land surveyor, James H. Rees. Harriet resided at the property for four years, until her death at the age of 75 in 1892. Later, the building was used as a restaurant, until it was purchased by its current owners in 2001.
Harriet Rees spared no expense when she commissioned the property. It features an ornate limestone exterior and an interior decorated with rich woods, distinctive fireplaces, a unique staircase and other one-of-a-kind built-ins. The house also featured one of the first residential elevators in the city. In 2012, the property was given City of Chicago landmark status and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Then, more than 125 years after the building was completed, Harriet F. Rees House was threatened by the development of the McCormick Place entertainment district. In order to preserve the building, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks agreed to allow the property, and its adjoining carriage house, to be shifted to a new location. In 2014, the team at Wolfe House & Building Movers transported the buildings to their current location at 2017 S. Prairie Avenue, just across the street.
According to the Chicago Architecture Center, the project cost approximately $6 million (£4.8m). The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which was overseeing the development of the entertainment district, was forced to pay up and even had to fork out $1.9 million (£1.5m) for the home's new plot. This image was taken in 2015 and shows the historic home in its new position.
Remarkably, Cooks' Cottage isn't the only historic building that has been transported not a few streets away, but several thousand miles. Known as Agecroft Hall, this medieval manor house dates back as far as 1291 and was originally constructed in the idyllic town of Pendlebury, which at the time stood in the county of Lancashire, England. During the 13th century, the manor belonged to Adam de Prestwich and his wife, Cecily.
It was passed onto the couple’s granddaughter, Margaret, when Adam and Cecily fell victim to the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, in 1349. Tragically, Margaret also passed away from the plague shortly after. Centuries later, when the Irwell Valley coal mines were opened in the 19th century, railway tracks were constructed across the estate, which soon led to its abandonment. By the 20th century, the sprawling property had fallen into a state of disrepair. This photograph shows the original Agecroft Hall in Pendlebury, before it was left to decay.
Luckily, the impressive property was rescued in 1925 by wealthy entrepreneur, Thomas C. Williams Junior. Williams was keen to build an English-style country estate on his 23-acre plot overlooking the James River in Richmond, Virginia, but Agecroft Hall provided him with the chance to own a real-life English estate. The manor house was dismantled, crated and transported across the Atlantic Ocean, before being reconstructed in Richmond.
Architect Henry G. Morse took on the colossal reconstruction project, but changed the floorplan and added plenty of modern conveniences to render the house more suitable for 20th-century living. The reconstruction project took two years and was finished in 1928. It’s thought to have cost $250,000 (£199k), roughly $4 million (£3.1m) in today’s money. Tragically, Williams died the following year, and after his wife subsequently passed away, the property was turned into a museum.
Inside, the property boasts many of its original features, from panelled walls and leaded lattice windows to artwork, antique furnishings and grand four-poster beds. Agecroft's grounds were inspired by classic English gardens and were designed by iconic landscape architect, Charles Gillette, with Elizabethan themes in mind. The gatehouse, pictured here, is all that remains of the original Agecroft Estate in the United Kingdom.
From the outside, it's clear that Thomas Isaac Log Cabin in Ellicott City, Maryland, has a rich history. Yet you'd likely never guess that the property was originally built somewhere else entirely.
The rustic cabin was constructed in around 1780 on Merryman Street, according to the Ellicott City Partnership. Considered an important landmark from the stages of European development in the Patapsco River Valley, the property was bought by Thomas Isaac in 1858, to expand his land holdings in the area. It was also used as a meeting place and church by the city’s African American community during the 1870s.
The cabin remained in the Isaac family until 1933, when John Henry Stanton snapped it up. He willed it to his wife, Fannie Jackson Stanton, in 1963. By the 1970s, the building sat vacant and was boarded up to deter vandals. Seen as an important piece of architecture by Ellicott City, the property was dismantled and rebuilt at the intersection of Main Street and Ellicott Mills Drive in the 1980s. The house stood there for more than 30 years.
Then, in 2018, a water pipe failed close by, causing flash flooding and extreme damage to the property. So, the tumbledown shack was temporarily moved to a parking lot, while the infrastructure at Ellicott Mills Drive was reconstructed. Expert House Movers took on the job, lifting the cabin using manoeuvrable dollies and placing it on the back of a truck. The structure sat in its temporary location for 10 months, before it was returned to its former plot.
Today, Thomas Isaac Log Cabin is open to the public. Visitors can step inside the tiny home and take in its authentic historic interior, which reflects the style of most Maryland homes from the end of the 18th century, offering a glimpse into the state's colonial past.
What do you do if you find the home of your dreams, but it happens to be located somewhere you don't want to live? Well, 17 years ago Fiona Maloney decided this unique timber home was the place for her – only, she had other ideas about where she wanted to reside. An enchanting piece of original Queenslander architecture, the property was likely constructed in the 1840s, when the movement was taking off across the Australian state.
Distinct and spacious, it boasts a timber frame and a corrugated iron roof, as well as an interior overflowing with one-of-a-kind design details. Fiona spotted the property for sale in the neighbourhood of New Farm, Brisbane, and saw its potential straight away. But she already owned a plot of land in Brookfield, a picturesque residential suburb on the other side of the city, some 12 miles away.
The beautiful Australian building was dismantled and transported across Brisbane to Fiona's plot of land, before being put back together piece by piece. She then undertook an impressive renovation, while maintaining the original character and details of the historic home. From its polished timber floors to its authentic fireplaces, decorative timber elements and VJ walls, clad in tongue-and-groove boards, every internal room is a juxtaposition of old architectural gems and modern luxuries.
Spanning 1,646 square feet, the property is set over two levels. The first floor offers an open-plan living room with a dining area and chef’s kitchen, kitted out with sleek cabinetry, premium stainless steel appliances and stone countertops. There’s also a family room that opens out to a wraparound veranda overlooking the garden below. Upstairs, there are five bedrooms and two bathrooms. There’s even a powder room and a study with a private balcony – the ultimate WFH space.
Following the move, Fiona also transformed the backyard, which spans a generous 10,763 square feet. Outside, you'll find a resort-style in-ground swimming pool, a pavilion, alfresco dining spaces, a vegetable patch, a landscaped garden and lush views across the surrounding area. Despite its history, beauty and scale, the one-of-a-kind home sold in 2022 for AUD$1,325,000, or £692,260 ($840k).
As perhaps America's most iconic architect, Frank Lloyd Wright is responsible for creating some of the country's most remarkable buildings, including Fallingwater and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Mäntylä, also known as Lindholm House, was designed by Wright in 1952, and while it might not be his most impressive or famous creation, it has a remarkable story to tell.
The incredible home was originally positioned in the small town of Cloquet in Minnesota and was designed for businessman Ray Lindholm and his wife, Emmy. A fine example of one of Wright's late-period Usonian homes, it offered 2,300 square feet of inside space and a low, angular profile formed from concrete blocks and a Ludowici tile roof.
In 2016, the home’s owners, the McKinneys, turned to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy to establish how they could ensure the property would remain intact for years to come. It was placed on the market but failed to sell, so the McKinneys decided to donate the house to the Usonian Preservation, an organisation that owns a 130-acre estate in Acme, Pennsylvania, where another relocated Wright design, the Duncan House, can also be found.
The property was carefully dismantled in the spring of 2016 and though its concrete blocks, floor slabs and roof rafters were demolished, the rest of the iconic house was packed onto the back of a lorry and driven 1,000 miles to Polymath Park, Acme. Open to visitors and even overnight stays, keen architecture fans can visit the property to take in its glorious mid-century modern interior, which is filled with timber panelled walls, original built-ins and stylish furnishings.
Amazingly, Mäntylä and Duncan House aren't the only Wright buildings that have been moved. Wright designed Bachman-Wilson House in 1956, in Somerset County, New Jersey. In 1988 it was bought by the Tarantino family, who meticulously restored the property, but due to its location next to the Millstone River, it was prone to flooding. So, in 2013 the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art bought the house and relocated it 1,200 miles to Garland County, Arkansas, bringing it back from the brink.
New York City may once have been known as ‘New Amsterdam’, but this Gothic-style townhouse is a unique relic of old Amsterdam, and could be yours for $14 million (£17m). The remarkable property dates to the 17th century, and was deconstructed and transported by ship from the Netherlands to Manhattan in 1845, where it was then painstakingly reconstructed on the Upper West Side. Its journey didn’t end here, however. In 1910, the home migrated AGAIN to its current location in Gramercy Park.
Upon its arrival in the Big Apple, the townhouse was named the Joseph B. Thomas House in honour of its owner, a renowned sugar magnate. With its distinctive stepped roofline, stone inlays and spectacular mullioned windows, the home would certainly have served as a symbol of wealth and power in Gilded Age Manhattan. In the 1970s, the home came under the equally prestigious ownership of the celebrated fashion designer Oleg Cassini, the mastermind behind Jackie Kennedy’s signature style which spawned the iconic "Jackie Look".
Cassini was known for his opulent parties, and during his tenure at the property, its glamourous entertaining spaces were filled with starlets, socialites and sycophants. With its dark wood panelling, soaring coffered ceilings and intricate wrought iron details, the home would have made a spectacular backdrop suitable for impressing even the most blase of guests. With five floors and 6,789 square feet of space, there was certainly ample room for hosting large-scale soirees.
For an overnight guests, the home includes six bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. Other luxurious amenities include a solarium with a fountain, a chef’s kitchen and secondary prep kitchen, a dumbwaiter for transporting food up to the formal dining room, and a wine cellar which includes what has been described in the listing as a "bacchanal tasting room". Spectacular stained-glass windows glitter on every floor and the home’s five storeys can be traversed by means of not one but two grand staircases.
European architectural influence can be found throughout the home, from the carved oak front doors to the Flemish patterned stone floor in the entryway. However, the property’s particular showpiece is the main living room, referred to by the English architect Frederick J. Sterner, who was responsible for the house’s reconstruction, as the "Italian room". With its soaring barrel-vaulted ceilings, filigreed plasterwork, enormous stone fireplace, wood-panelled walls, and of course the wall of intricate stained-glass windows, the room is truly an architectural showstopper.
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