A Passion Fulfilled for All to Enjoy

A view to the top of Higgins House

The front of Higgins House

The Higgins House can be appreciated on two levels-the overall, wide-angled view and the close-up. Upon visiting the estate fro the first time, one is impressed with the grand scope of the buildings and grounds.

On the exterior, the heavy stonework of the octagonal tower, and the vertical lines of the five chimneys and exposed beams give the feeling of great size. Shielding the house from the outside world, massive oaks-older than the house-and tall pines add to the magnitude.,

Inside, beginning with the Great Hall, the number (29) and dimensions of the rooms continue the impression of size. The great Hall alone measures 36 by 22 feet, with a 36-foot-high pitched wooden board and beam ceiling. At one end, a three-story arched window overlooks large expanses of lawn and magnificent formal gardens. Opposite it, the balcony and organ loft rise high over the main floor. The fireplace, with its mantel carved from a roof section of an Italian monastery, is large enough to burn a six-foot length of timber.

However, it is the attention to detail, the personal touches, added by Aldus and May Higgins, that give the house its appeal-that make you notice something new each time you visit the estate.

On the outside, the five chimneys, all different, exhibit this detail. Their brickwork is in spiral, octagonal and diamond patterns. The central chimney, made of three sections, is protected with a peaked copper hood supported by ornamental ironwork.

On the east side, the brick is laid up between exposed beams in a diagonal pattern, with only the ends exposed in the form of flowers. About ten kinds of brick were used in the construction, but care was taken that they be laid fiver or six of a kind together before shifting to another type.

A recurring design throughout the house, inside and out, is the anchor with a porpoise intertwined around the shaft. This anchor and porpoise, with the name "Aldus," was the imprint of the 16th-century Venitian printer Aldus Manutius, revered even today for the quality of his work. The anchor symbolizes strength and stability; the porpoise speed and activity. Although Higgins may have chosen this symbol because it bore his name, certainly its meaning is appropriate to his creation-his house.

The anchor and porpoise motif can be seen on approaching the house in a large crest on the outside of the tower wall. Inside the entrance hall, the bricks in the wall and flagstone on the floor are interspersed with decorative tiles, flowers, ships, birds and, again, the anchor and porpoise. The stucco gables on the exterior of the East Wing are imprinted with anchors, porpoises, and May Higgins' symbol, the rose.

Higgins brought iron hinges from England, and designed ornamental ironwork which a Swedish craftsman took two years to complete. On the face of the Great Hall balcony, Higgins installed hand-carved and painted panels representing the coats of arms of all owners of the land, from the Indians to the Higginses. No detail, it would seem, went unattended.

In contrast to the dark and heavy atmosphere of the main rooms is Mrs. Higgins' suite (now used for visiting VIPs), consisting of a boudoir (sitting room), dressing room and bedroom. This area was redecorated in 1931. The walls of the boudoir are of light wood in panels topped with elegant arches and carved flowers. The floor is parquet. The brown and white marble fireplace and mantel have the same graceful curves as the paneling.

The panel to the right of the fireplace is a concealed closet door. Inside is a window overlooking the great hall, through which Mrs. Higgins could view her guests before joining them.

The Aeolian organ in the Great Hall, with its three-tiered console, was a source of enjoyment to Aldus Higgins, although he did not play the organ. (It was played with rolls.) The pipes were installed behind the uppermost balcony, the front of which is decorated with an ironwork pattern of a musical score with the words "Pastime with good company I love and shall until I die, grudge wh will but none deny, so God be pleased this life will I." After Aldus' death in 1948, May Higgins felt no need for the organ and donated it to Saint Joseph's Abbey in Spencer. It was removed from Higgins House and installed at the Abbey by the same craftsmen who had originally installed it.

Higgins was an admirer and collector of paintings and stained glass. He traveled in Europe with Henry Taylor, director of the Worcester Art Museum. Higgins was an artist himself, painting mostly landscapes. The house was hung with paintings by Picasso, Braque, Cezanne and Roualt, which Higgins bought in Europe before their value escalated.

The House was a wonderful place for entertaining, and the Higginses would often host parties for their Worcester friends. At one of these parties, guests were not allowed to enter without an original painting done themselves; these paintings were hung in the garage for viewing and a prize was awarded for the best.