Cranberry Hill

Perched on 22+ private acres above East Gloucester's Back Shore, Cranberry Hill is a rare thing — a great house that has been kept. Designed by Gloucester's foremost architect Ezra Lunt Phillips in 1924 and carefully preserved ever since, it offers nearly 9,000 square feet of grand but livable space: formal rooms scaled for gathering, six fireplaces, a library, a yoga studio, and a primary suite with views across the estate to the open Atlantic.

The Grounds

22 acres above the shore

The grounds are as much Cranberry Hill as the house itself. The natural cranberry bog that gives the estate its name, the formal gardens — wisteria, perennials, a century of cultivation — the granite-rimmed pond with its bridge, the open lawns and the private trail that runs directly to the Gloucester waterfront.

A long gravel drive through the Bass Rocks enclave leads to the house. A brick patio with outdoor dining tables and a gas grill extends the living space outwards in the warmer months. Good Harbor Beach — one of the finest in New England — is five minutes away. Niles Beach, quieter and local, is closer still.

The House

A center-hall colonial of real character

Phillips designed a house of confident proportions — stately without ostentation, formal without stiffness. The center-hall plan places the principal rooms to catch sweeping ocean views from the upper floors while remaining sheltered from the Atlantic winds at ground level. Six original fireplaces run through the interior, each one a presence in its room.

Original details have been preserved throughout: ornate wallpapers, decorative fireplaces, the library's floor-to-ceiling shelving, a record player that nods to the house's 1920s roots. The interiors have been thoughtfully updated — new linens, refreshed kitchens and bathrooms, modern appliances — without disturbing the character of the rooms they inhabit.

Kitchen & Dining

Built for twenty-four

The kitchen was designed from the outset for groups: two sinks, two dishwashers, a double oven, a center island, and a large butler's pantry beyond. A warm eat-in area with a window seat overlooks rolling green lawns. The formal dining room brings all 24 guests to a single table — one of the great pleasures of the house — while a sunroom seats a smaller group in the evening light.

Living Spaces

Rooms for every mood

The open ground floor moves naturally between kitchen, sunroom, and a spacious living room — different corners for different parts of the day. French doors open onto the brick patio. An indoor-outdoor sound system follows you between the two.

The library is a room apart: floor-to-ceiling shelves, board games, a record player, and enough quiet that you might actually read. The game room off the library has a pool table and leather wingbacks. A second sunroom houses a proper gym — Rogue squat rack, dumbbells, Peloton — and the second floor's dedicated yoga studio is a calm, mirrored space with natural light and everything you need.

The Primary Suite

Wingaersheek Beach Suite

The primary suite has its own wing of the house and is built for genuine privacy. Two full bathrooms — one with a steam shower and bidet, one with a shower-tub combination — flank a four-poster king bedroom with a window seat and large built-in closets. The en-suite sitting room beyond has a sectional, a Smart TV, and panoramic views across the estate's grounds to the trees and sky beyond. A suite within the suite.

The Bedrooms

Nine rooms, each named for a beach

Every bedroom at Cranberry Hill takes its name from a stretch of the Gloucester coastline — Good Harbor, Niles, Wingaersheek, Plum Cove, Long Beach, Folly Cove, Cressy's, Pavilion, Breakwater. All nine are dressed in 100% cotton linens from California Design Den on memory foam mattresses, with bath amenities, hair dryers, and fresh towels in every bathroom.