A wonderful historic home with a rare history.
A truly historic home, the original building dates back to 1770, with many original features such as pumpkin pine floors and exposed beams. Some of the pine planks on the second floor measure almost 2 feet wide, and for historians this is significant.
“King William III enacted a new charter in October 1691 governing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, reserving for the King all Trees of the Diameter of Twenty-Four Inches and upwards and violation by the colonists of this rule would be assessed a fine of £100.” This portion of the charter quickly became known as the King’s Broad Arrow.
To minimize the chance of being caught violating the charter, which became impossible to enforce, the owners would only use the large planks on the second floor of homes. Stay in one of our upstairs bedrooms and you experience these original pine planks.
The Parsonage was originally owned by prominent Cape families like the Cummings and Sparrows and was a Parsonage to the Federated Church for 50 years in the 1800’s. The original building derives its name by being the minister’s residence owned by the Congregational Church, now known as the Federated Church. The Church owned the property from 1858 to 1881, however prior to 1858 many of the Church’s ministers lived there.
In 1881 Jonathan Higgins and George Cummings, Deacons of the Church sold the house to Thomas Higgins and his wife Deborah. Thomas was a cobbler and used the house for his business until 1923 when he sold the property to Eliza Kilburn of Somerville. It was resold to Ethel Shaw also of Somerville in the same year who lived there until 1931 when she sold it to Grace Leighton of Needham.
Spring forward to the 1970’s and for the past forty five years The Parsonage Inn operated as a successful eight-bedroom Inn and more recently a beautiful Boutique Bed and Breakfast.
In 2020 there was a significant change in the hospitality sector, COVID witnessed the introduction of strict service protocols, strict social distancing, and as a result changing trends in our industry. Guests now wanted more privacy and less social interaction. We introduced contactless check-in and a lighter breakfast delivered directly to their rooms. We have continued to evolve to meet those changes and introduced a three-bedroom Cottage for summer rentals.
New for 2023 we introduced exciting changes to the business. For the summer season we transformed the B&B into a seven bedroom House rental complete with designer kitchen and landscaped garden with a large hot tub. The first year saw both the Cottage and House fully booked for the season.
During the shoulder months the Inn offers a classic Bed and Breakfast service. Wake up to a freshly prepared breakfast basket delivered directly to your room in the morning. The basket includes fresh juices, organic fruits and natural yogurt as well as a freshly prepared homemade breakfast sandwich. In addition, savory and sweet snacks, tea and coffee are provided in the main lounge at any time.
