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| Naulakha, Kipling's 1895 Vermont Estate |
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Step into Naulakha, Rudyard Kipling's home in Vermont, and it's almost like going back to 1895.
The house and grounds, now under the ownership of the Landmark Trust USA, have been painstakingly restored, as closely as possible, to what they were when Kipling and his family lived there.
One of the most revered authors of his day, Kipling (1865-1936) wrote many acclaimed novels and poems, including "The Jungle Books" and "Captains Courageous" (to name but two of the works written at Naulakha). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907.
Kipling discovered Vermont through his collaborator, Wolcott Balestier, with whom he wrote a novel of India entitled, "Naulakha." Kipling soon fell in love with Balastier's sister Caroline and married her in December 1891, not long after Balestier died of typhoid. Kipling became enchanted with Vermont while visiting Caroline's grandmother, and the couple acquired their new home the following year. Kipling paid $750 for the 11-acre estate.
Naulakha holds the distinctions of being the first property in America acquired by the Britain-based Landmark Trust, and is the only home Kipling ever built for himself. A striking example of the Shingle style, Kipling designed the ship-shaped building, collaborating with architect Henry Rutgers Marshall of New York.
There is more to Naulakha than Kipling, however. The tennis court, for example, is the first one known to be constructed in Vermont. It was Kipling who was introduced to skiing in 1895, courtesy of his close friend, Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. And it was at Naulakha that the pair of them invented winter golf. They got around the problem of finding the golf balls in the snow by painting them red.
Conan Doyle and his son Innes came to visit during a tour in 1894, sharing a snowy Thanksgiving dinner with the Kipling family. "I had brought up my golf-clubs and gave him lessons in a field," Conan Doyle wrote in his autobiography, "while the New England rustics watched us from afar, wondering what on earth we were at, for golf was unknown in America at that time."
Conan Doyle was wrong about that, but certainly the locals had never seen anything quite so strange as two Englishmen up to their knees in snow, hacking madly away at little red golf balls.
Kipling was so famous that while in Vermont a separate post office had to be established to handle his mail. The need to protect their privacy gave the Kiplings a reputation for standoffishness, though they entertained frequently.
Though life in Vermont seemed idyllic at first, trouble brewed in the form of Beatty Balastier, Caroline's younger brother. He and Kipling did not get along, and their animosity boiled over in May 1896, when Beatty threatened to kill Kipling, who then pressed charges for assault. While Kipling won in court, the experience disheartened him, and, after four years the family left Vermont forever, taking only the rugs and some of the children's belongings. Naulakha and its contents eventually passed into the hands of the nearby Holbrook family, and in 1993, to the Landmark Trust.
Trust officials said that the house was in extraordinary condition, even after having been abandoned for decades. Left behind at nearby Scott Farm (also a Trust property) were the original blueprints, photographs, Kipling's letters, furniture, and doors, banisters, rails, and other pieces of the original house.
Thus, one can now sit at the desk on which "The Just So Stories" were written, and sleep in Conan Doyle's room, where the view is little changed since 1895. Kipling's pool table is in the attic game room; much of the furniture is original and, to the extent possible, in its original place. The restoration is so detailed you may be forgiven for having the feeling that Kipling might come through the door at any moment, even though he might kick you out.
The Landmark Trust is a non-profit corporation dedicated to saving historic sites and bringing them back to useful life. The restored properties are available for vacations, from three nights up to two weeks. Reservations may be made up to two years in advance.
Prices fluctuate depending on the season. For full details and availability, call 802-254-6868, or visit the Web site at www.landmarktrust.org.uk.
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Want to start planning your vacation in the Green Mountains of Southern Vermont or learn about more historic sites in the area? Search our database or call 1-888-848-4199 for more information.
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