On the Market: A Modern-Meets-Medieval Marblehead Manor

Reign over this manse, which features an observation tower and indoor pool.


Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

425 Ocean Ave., Marblehead
Price: $3,750,000
Size: 4,530 square feet
Bedrooms: 4
Baths: 4

If you’ve ever had a hankering to live in a medieval fortress—sans the nonexistent plumbing, the drafty windows, and the Bubonic Plague—then this grand Marblehead manor is for you. There’s even an observation tower for you to spy potential warships before your enemies slink ashore under the cover of night.

Perched on the Marblehead Neck peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic, the home’s defensible position also affords dramatic views of Marblehead Rock and other surrounding tiny islands. The four bed and four bath manor floats in a moat of a lush green lawn, with its copper roof and stone-accented exterior harkening to the rugged coastline.

If a feudal noble hopped a time machine, made a brief pit-stop in the ’60s to soak up some midcentury modern vibes, and then teleported into today, they might dream up something like this home’s interior. Stone showpieces sing in the wide-open rooms, like the “Sticks and Stones” gas fireplaces designed by Lew French, which feature natural stones and weathered wood. An enormous first-floor fireplace casts a glow into the sleek living room with its barrel vaulted ceiling. The fireplace’s rear wall doubles as an accent wall in the kitchen, where the granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and gray tones harmonize with the rough-hewn beauty. While dinner parties in the low dining room spill out into the window-wrapped living room, you can lord over it all from the second-floor balcony that’s just off the office.

Let your subjects take to the three guest rooms—each with the same handsome cherry floors found throughout the rest of the home—and three full bathrooms. You, meanwhile, can retire to a main suite that’s fit for royalty: soaring, vaulted ceilings bedecked with wood slats, a separate seating area, and a gleaming bathroom with a spa-worthy steam shower. Laps in the 40-foot heated indoor swimming pool, by another stone fireplace and beneath a paneled ceiling, keep your frame in fighting shape. And in the quiet of the adjacent yoga room with its glass barrel ceiling, you can hash out the battle plans for the eventual conquest of your neighbors.

For information, contact Sean Gildea or Traci Howe, Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty, saganharborside.com.

Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

Photo by Lightshed Photography Studio

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