Newbury, New Hampshire
This historic 105 year-old, luxuriously renovated stone barn accommodates at least 22 guests comfortably. On the main floor you will find a great room with a double-sided stone fireplace flanked by several couches, several comfortable chairs, a 100+ yr old card table for card games/checkers/chess, large kitchen and dining area complete with rustic pizza oven and dumb waiter, children's play area, library, powder room and two master suites. Climb the spiral stairs inside the silo to the observatory and do some spectacular star gazing or catch the weekly summer fireworks display over Lake Sunapee. On the lower level, enjoy the Rec room with large screen HDTV, foosball table, full wet bar and the remaining 5 bedrooms, including 2 bunk rooms with 10 beds. The property is over 3 acres of meadow, lawn, courtyard and woods. Note: Guests are required to bring sheets and towels unless they request linen service, which has an extra fee.
The kids love to pick flowers in the meadow, climb huge boulders, make forts along the stone walls, build fairy houses in the woods, search for wildlife - and we have plenty! Fox, porcupines, fishers, turkeys, deer, ground hogs, and a rare black bear if outside trash isn't closed! And then there is stargazing from the 360 degree look-out tower at the top of the silo, which also has a small walk-out balcony.
The Barn is less than a half mile from: (a) the John Hay Estate at the Fells (National Wildlife Refuge) with nature trails for hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing, as well as the historic house, gardens, art gallery; and (b) Sunset Hill Trail (moderate 2.4 mile hike). Public beach in Newbury is 3 min away. You can access Lake Sunapee at Newbury Harbor which is 1 mile down the road. There is a dock to jump off and small swimming area perfect for young kids with Bubba's Restaurant and ice cream shop across the street. Mt Sunapee is 6 min, for winter skiing or summer adventure park (mountain biking, zipline, disc golf). 5 min to Baker Hill Golf Club. 13 min to Sargent's Marina (motor boat rentals on Lake Sunapee). 8 min to Mt Sunapee State Park, which has a state beach, concession stand, and kids playground.
Seasonal Activities: During summer you will enjoy the property's views, decks and meadow. There are lots of fun family activities to enjoy in the area - from antique fairs to outdoor concerts, farmers markets to dinner cruises, amusement parks to sandy beaches - there is plenty to do in this pristine area of New England.
Autumn, of course, brings us some of the most beautiful scenery in the states. New England foliage in October is a must-see. We suggest riding the quad up Mount Sunapee and taking in a spectacular display of color and beauty. From there you can hike to peaceful Lake Solitude. Sunapee has opened an exciting adventure park with zip lines, ropes course and Segway tours.
History Buffs: Well Sweep farm was part of the original Estate of John Milton Hay, an American statesman whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. He began as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, later became Ambassador to Great Britain, and his highest office was United States Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. His son Clarence inherited the property in 1905 when John passed away. Clarence and Alice Hay used the farm with their children for the next 40 or so years, commissioning famed NY architect Prentice Sanger to design the fieldstone Barn and Milkhouse, which were built from 1912-1916. Although their farmhouse on the property is gone, some of its stone foundation still exists and frames a sunken, stone-walled courtyard that is perfect for picnics, small events, and lawn games. Cows, goats, oxen, and mules were housed here in the Barn, while orchards supplied fruit, and maple trees provided an annual harvest of syrup. The Barn and Milkhouse were converted to residences from 2005-2008, and from the stones to the soaring scissor trusses, the overwhelming majority of the 100+ year-old structures were retained.
We spent the week before Christmas at Well Sweep for the second year in a row. It was another wonderful visit to a charming part of the Northeast. We skied all over New Hampshire and Vermont and enjoyed the local restaurants and attractions. The barn is a beautiful property and very well equipped. The owner and caretaker were very communicative and helpful, making it a seamless stay. Highly recommended.
Our weeklong stay at “Well Sweep” was wonderful. We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary (and Thanksgiving) with family and friends and the historic property easily accommodated all our needs. It was nice to have such a grand space to spread out, relax and enjoy each other’s company. Plenty of room to get away if you needed that, too. Family gatherings for meals was made easy by a well appointed kitchen and pantry. Two ovens and two dishwashers helped a lot to keep the good times going. Rooms were spacious and comfortable. Overall, a truly wonderful and memorable time!
We hosted a five family (10 adults / 9 kids) friends reunion over six days at Well Sweep with the house and all its accommodations more than holding its own. Plenty of rooms, bathrooms, kitchen space, toys, space to run around and nearby lakes/activitiies for everyone to enjoy. Would highly recommend for anyone looking to appreciate an interesting old home in a quaint corner of NH.
Nice large property. Ruth was very attentive and attempted to resolve issue with hot water and only 1 shower at a time. (needed a bigger fix than could be done during our stay) We got 26 inches of snow and loved it! great kitchen.....could use some full size glasses. very convenient to skiing, grocery stores and they were all about keeping the roads and driveway plowed. Overall a great place.
We spent the last two weeks of 2022 with our family at Well Sweep. We could not have had a better stay. The property was clean and very well stocked and even has a pizza oven. The massive size of the barn makes it perfect for large groups, as everyone can gather together but there are also many places gather and play games, work puzzles, read, etc. the owner and on-site caretaker were great to deal with and gave great suggestions on things to do in the area. Mt Sunapee is less than 10 minutes away but we also hit Stowe, Mt Snow and Okemo for skiing. Highly recommended for a large group!!
Really well laid out, comfortable and classy. Great for a winter retreat. Loved to muck-in together and cook in big open kitchen. Has everything you need. Great memories! Master suite very nice too. Great views. Appreciate the owner making it available for others to experience.
This is the most amazing property!!! It is breathtakingly beautiful!!! Ruth took such great care of any needs. We had 26 stay and everyone fell in love with the house!! I will be recommending the place to everyone!!!
This property is amazing. We had a girls weekend and were all just in awe of the beauty and grace of this amazing home. My granddaughter and I now call it the castle. It is just amazing. Plenty of space to be alone or get the group together. Hopefully we can go again in the future. One downside. Not enough kindling wood for the fireplace, but there were tree branches in the surrounding woods. :)
We had a great time with family and friends. The house was super for large groups getting together and enjoying food and friendship. The host and caretaker are very available and ready to answer any questions. Thanks for a fantastic time.
Absolutely an amazing property and perfect for our family get together and annual fall weekend away. With a beautiful large kitchen, plenty of bedrooms / baths and multiple areas for people to spread out, the home easily accommodated all 20 of us. Can only imagine how great this home would be to stay there over Thanksgiving or Christmas . Communication with the host Chris was great as was the check in with Ruth. Our family is hoping to come back for years to come !
We had a group of 12 adults and there was plenty of room for all of us to be together or spread out. Close to lake for swimming and boating and lots of hiking. Played games and foosball inside and wiffleball, cornhole and other activities outside. We all had a great time. Ruth, the caretaker lives in a home on the property and was very responsive to our needs- which were few! It was difficult getting a response from Chris, the owner, during the process of reserving the property, but had no issues upon arrival and throughout our stay. Would come back again and highly recommend for large groups.
Love the house - love the area - loved Sunapee - rented a boat and had a great day on the lake - and New London is fantastic - and easy access to everything in the area and no traffic
What a wonderful home to give the entire family a great getaway! Plenty of space, beautiful area to explore and a wonderful time was had by all. A special thanks to the grounds keeper Ruth who handled every question or need. Our family has lots of memories to take home with us!
The sheer size and architecture of this home is outstanding. The interior space is well thought out, the views are lovely, there is lots of space to spread out. Many things to see and do in the Sunapee area, a swim in the lake is a must! AC would be a real plus. Some of the outside furniture should be replaced and the large upper deck railing is VERY shaky. Otherwise, a lovely experience. Some outside furniture needs to be replaced, very worn. Railing on large upper deck is very loose and shaky (we were happy no little ones were with us).
We loved our stay! I recommend it with great enthusiasm. Hope we didn’t disturb the neighbors laughing and singing. Layout perfect for mingling together and for finding privacy.
We had an amazing time. It was plenty big for the 22 of us and we highly enjoyed our stay.
We were concerned that civilization might be too far away, but restaurants, gas, and supermarket were all reasonably close.
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