Gillette Castle

William Gillette, the actor/writer/director whose most enduring success was playing Sherlock Holmes on stage and screen, built a splendid home for himself here in Connecticut. It is now open to the paying public.

 

Wonderful Branch Woodman was also making his first visit to the Gillette Castle even though he has played two seasons at Goodspeed in years past.

 

 

 Gillette ran a train on the estate to transport his guests around the grounds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the entrance hall. Every door in the castle is unique and hand crafted as are the light fittings and switches.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside, the rooms are surprisingly intimate and comfortable

 

 

 

 

 

Pracical joker Gillette rigged this bar so that he could secretly lock it and invite guests to help themselves to a drink while he left the room. They would struggle to open the bar while he watched from a concealed mirror upstairs, then he would return and open the bar effortlessly with sleight of hand. 

The same mirrors, one of which is seen here above the curtains, also allowed Gillette to avoid guests downstairs he did not wish to greet. 

 

The walls are lined with what appears to be rope and seagrass matting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gillette was very fond of cats and kept several. The decorative spikes on the card table above are in fact attached on strings so the cats could play with them.  

 

 

 

 

 

Gillette's bedroom is surprisingly snug, with gadgets next to the bed to turn out the lights. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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