HISTORY

The house at 2417 Alder Row began in 1914 as the home of a railway surveyor and an amateur botanist. Its broad porch, tall central hall, and unusually bright drawing room made it a natural gathering place from the start.

Through the middle of the century, the property passed between three families. Rooms were added, wallpapers layered over one another, and the garden grew around a pair of old elms. For several years the upstairs rooms were rented to teachers arriving for terms at the nearby college.

By the early 2000s, time had softened the house and hidden much of its original detail. The present keepers began a careful restoration in 2018, working with local craftspeople to repair windows, uncover plaster mouldings, and save every door that could still be made to swing true.

A new guesthouse was added behind the manor rather than beside it, preserving the original approach from Alder Row. Its proportions echo the old service wing, while its interiors answer the manor's rich pattern with air, daylight, and quieter color.

Wrenfield House opened as a hotel, restaurant, and neighborhood gathering place in the spring of 2022. The history remains visible, but the purpose is forward-looking: to keep a good house alive by filling it with people.