William Gillette

William Gillette was born in Hartford, CT in 1853 to a wealthy family. During his youth he thoroughly enjoyed the stage and went on to pursue a career in acting and directing. Many people would be surprised to learn of his involvement with the character of Sherlock Holmes. Gillette rewrote the script of Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" and in 1899 Doyle approved Gillette's revisions. The play toured across the country and also in Europe with Gillette, himself, playing Holmes for more than 30 years in thousands of performances. He contributed the major characteristics that we attribute to Sherlock Holmes today.

In a room that was also dedicated to his books and studies, this picture shows Gillette's chair from his acting and directing days.

The Seventh Sister

Gillette built his home on a hilltop named the "Seventh Sister." A set of seven hills runs through Connecticut, the southernmost hill being the seventh hill and the one which Gillette lived upon.

Outside of the Castle

Gillette first spotted the hilltop upon which he chose to build his home during a ride down the Connecticut River. Even on a cloudy day such as this in the picture, the view from the castle is beautiful, taking in a wide span of the river and the hills on the opposite side.

Gillette began constructing is home in 1914 with twenty workers on a piece of land spanning 184 acres. The castle's structure, architecture and design were all Gillette's own. The outside of the home was built with on a steel support and made with all local fieldstone. The fieldstone, featured here, took the twenty workers a total of five years to carry up the hill and to finish the main structure.

Stone and Furniture Inside

The inside of the castle also features the fieldstone as well as southern white oak. In this main room, the ceiling are very high which allow the room to be visible from surrounding rooms on two levels. A staircase (seen below) gives access to both levels. When he hosted guests, Gillette would often view who was entering the room by standing on the upper level balcony and looking across to a strategically placed mirror (under the horizontal window in the center). In this way amongst many other, Gillette was very much like a real-life Sherlock Holmes.

In this picture, raffia matting can be seen on the walls above the built-in furniture. The matting for the walls was the only imported item that Gillette put in his home.

Seen here on the sides of the stone panels are hand carved wood designs and one of the wooden doors with its unique latches and designs.

Wood Locks

The woodwork and wooden locks that Gillette designed and placed throughout his home are simple yet they add a special touch that make each nook and cranny important and interesting.

A "key" unlocks a window and allows it to be opened to different degrees by locking it in place. The window pictured here opens to overlook the castle's terrace and the Connecticut River.

Little hand-carved wooden drawers open and lock, allowing for trinkets to be secretly kept.

Gillette was known to have kept a puzzling lock on his bar and it is said that he often asked his guests to try to open the lock.

Doors

Throughout his home there are a total of 47 wooden doors. No two of these doors are exactly the same, each with unique features, designs and lock latches. Below are only a few selected pictures of these hand-carved doors which Gillette designed.

A State Park

After Gillette's death in 1937, the castle's ownership transferred to a niece or nephew who was not able to afford the upkeep and the State of Connecticut purchased the property in 1943, making it a state park. In Gillette's will he stated that he did not want his home and property to "fall into the hands of some blithering saphead who has no conception of where he is or with what surrounded" (CT DEP). The state has kept his home in great shape and about ten years ago did a major restoration project on the castle and the grounds.