by Prudence Paine Fish (Author)
Prudence Paine Fish was a historical preservationist, whose passion for old houses elevated her to legend status as a premier expert in the identification and preservation of antique houses. She was known particularly for her unrelenting dedication to saving the historic, character-defining features of old houses while restoring them. The Olde House at Ipswich: Saving the Moses Jewett House takes you on a journey of discovery when, in 1980, Ms. Fish and friends find and then purchase a dilapidated Georgian style, Second Period (1725-1776) house, built in 1759, with the intent to restore it to a functional home while preserving all its historic features.
Interior and exterior photographs show the step-by-step process of preserving this antique house-from pocket doors hiding in the walls, to badly cracked plaster walls and ceilings that are worth saving, to rebuilding a back staircase that had been removed 100 years earlier, to finding and restoring a walled-over fireplace-ultimately returning the old house at Ipswich to its original beauty and grandeur.
Ms. Fish has delivered numerous lectures, presentations and formal courses on the history of historic houses and architectural styles. She has collaborated with and lectured for the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.,
and been involved with a number of historical societies, including the Mayflower Society, Ipswich Society, the Templeton Historical Society, and New England Historical and Genealogical Society.
The full scope of Ms. Fish's extensive knowledge of old houses is also evident in two of her previous books,
Antique Houses of Gloucester and
If Antique Houses Could Talk.
Number of Pages: 94
Dimensions: 0.24 x 10 x 8 IN
Publication Date: February 11, 2026
