Lincliff
Encyclopedia
Lincliff is a Georgian Revival house in Glenview, Kentucky
, a small city east of Louisville, Kentucky
where wealthy Louisvillians began building estates around 1900. Lincliff was built in 1911-1912 and added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1983.
ed structure with a hipped roof
, dormer
s and interior chimneys. The windowsills, lintels, and quoin
s are of limestone
. The horizontal plan incorporates a rather simple entry on the south facade which leads through a compact vestibule and staircase to a transverse hall lined with north-facing windows. The hall, which has an elaborate, plaster strapwork
ceiling, terminates in a parlor or salon at the west end and in a service wing at the east end.
On the north side of the house is a stone terrace overlooking the Ohio River. There had been no additions or alterations to the house when it was added to the Register in 1983.
The house has an extensive garden. In the 1940s and 1950s, garden designs were planned by Mary Louise Speed, a Louisville landscape architect. The site also contains two stuccoed cottages built in 1911-12, probably for servants, a gardener, or caretaker.
The property was listed as being significant because it is one of the finest example of the lavish houses built around Louisville, especially east of Downtown Louisville
, between the American Civil War
and World War I
. According to its official inventory, "Lincliff emphasizes the aspirations of its builders in a manner which, although sometimes lavish to the point of extravagance, maintains a proper attitude of tradition, restraint, and task".
The original 50 acres (202,343 m²) estate has gradually been subdivided, but the property retains 15 acres (60,702.9 m²).
. William R. Belknap hired local architects Kenneth McDonald (1852–1940) and William J. Dodd
(1862–1930) to design Lincliff.
William R. Belknap died in 1914, and the Belknap family sold the estate in 1922. In 1945, C. Edwin Gheens, owner of Bradas and Gheens Candy Company, purchased Lincliff with his wife. She lived in the house until her death in 1982.
Helen Combs purchased the house in 1983. Combs was well known in Louisville for restoring, often saving from destruction or conversion to apartments, numerous Louisville mansions including Rostrevor, Gardencourt and Boxhill
. Her renovation of Lincliff was featured as the 1983 Bellarmine
Women's Council Designer's Show House. Combs lived in Lincliff for several years after restoring it.
Mystery writer Sue Grafton
is the most recent owner of the house.
Glenview, Kentucky
Glenview is a city in northeastern Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 558 at the 2000 census, and was estimated to have increased to 718 by the 2006 census estimate....
, a small city east of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
where wealthy Louisvillians began building estates around 1900. Lincliff was built in 1911-1912 and added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1983.
Description
Lincliff is a three-story, stuccoStucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed structure with a hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
, dormer
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
s and interior chimneys. The windowsills, lintels, and quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s are of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. The horizontal plan incorporates a rather simple entry on the south facade which leads through a compact vestibule and staircase to a transverse hall lined with north-facing windows. The hall, which has an elaborate, plaster strapwork
Strapwork
In the history of art and design, the term strapwork refers to a stylised representation in ornament of strips or bands of curling leather, parchment or metal cut into elaborate shapes, with piercings and often interwoven...
ceiling, terminates in a parlor or salon at the west end and in a service wing at the east end.
On the north side of the house is a stone terrace overlooking the Ohio River. There had been no additions or alterations to the house when it was added to the Register in 1983.
The house has an extensive garden. In the 1940s and 1950s, garden designs were planned by Mary Louise Speed, a Louisville landscape architect. The site also contains two stuccoed cottages built in 1911-12, probably for servants, a gardener, or caretaker.
The property was listed as being significant because it is one of the finest example of the lavish houses built around Louisville, especially east of Downtown Louisville
Downtown Louisville
Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, and 9th Street to the west...
, between the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. According to its official inventory, "Lincliff emphasizes the aspirations of its builders in a manner which, although sometimes lavish to the point of extravagance, maintains a proper attitude of tradition, restraint, and task".
The original 50 acres (202,343 m²) estate has gradually been subdivided, but the property retains 15 acres (60,702.9 m²).
History
Lincliff was built in 1911-12 for William R. Belknap, president of W. B. Belknap and Company, then one of the largest wholesale hardware firms in the Midwest. The Belknap family is prominent in Louisville history, and lends its name to the main campus of the University of LouisvilleUniversity of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
. William R. Belknap hired local architects Kenneth McDonald (1852–1940) and William J. Dodd
William J. Dodd
William J. Dodd was a Canadian-born American architect and designer who worked mainly in Louisville, Kentucky from 1886 to 1912 and in Los Angeles, California from 1912 until his death. Dodd rose from the so-called Chicago School of architecture, engineering and design innovations of the late 19th...
(1862–1930) to design Lincliff.
William R. Belknap died in 1914, and the Belknap family sold the estate in 1922. In 1945, C. Edwin Gheens, owner of Bradas and Gheens Candy Company, purchased Lincliff with his wife. She lived in the house until her death in 1982.
Helen Combs purchased the house in 1983. Combs was well known in Louisville for restoring, often saving from destruction or conversion to apartments, numerous Louisville mansions including Rostrevor, Gardencourt and Boxhill
Boxhill (Louisville)
Boxhill, also called Winkworth, is a Georgian Revival house in Glenview, Kentucky, a small city east of Louisville, Kentucky. It was built in 1906 or 1910 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983....
. Her renovation of Lincliff was featured as the 1983 Bellarmine
Bellarmine University
Bellarmine University is an independent, private, Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. The liberal arts institution opened on October 3, 1950, as Bellarmine College, established by Archbishop John A. Floersh of the Archdiocese of Louisville and named after the Cardinal Saint Robert...
Women's Council Designer's Show House. Combs lived in Lincliff for several years after restoring it.
Mystery writer Sue Grafton
Sue Grafton
Sue Taylor Grafton is a contemporary American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the 'alphabet series' featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. The daughter of detective novelist C. W...
is the most recent owner of the house.