By Barbara Gallo
Excitement is building for the opening of the 20th Mansion in May at Three Fields in the Borough of Mendham, New Jersey. The designer show house and gardens will feature the design inspirations of 44 of the area’s leading interior and landscape designers. Occurring bi- or triennially since 1974, Mansion in May has been the premier show house event for design and architecture, featuring the most historic and iconic mansions in New Jersey. More than 20,000 visitors are expected to tour Three Fields throughout the month of May.
Beautifully situated on almost 36 acres of pastoral, rolling fields, Three Fields features many architectural elements, including tall, steeply pitched tile roofs punctuated by dormers, wood casement windows (originally shuttered), and French doors that opened to the formal gardens, ponds, and fields beyond. The 9,000 square-foot stone, brick, and tile-roofed French manor-style home was designed by New York architect, Greville Rickard, for Benjamin Duncan Mosser and his wife, the former Florence Willets Mosford. Designed and built between 1929 and 1930, Three Fields was described in Architecture magazine in the early 1930s as being “in the French style,” to evoke the feeling of a long-established, rambling Norman-style country farmhouse, rustic and yet also somewhat formal in style. The facade, made up of several conjoined units—as if the house had been added to over the years—as well as roofs with built-in bumps and sags, all served to further project the romantic look of an elegant, long-established country residence.
Visitors to Three Fields will have the opportunity to tour the mansion individually or on a private guided tour and experience the interior designers’ unique transformations in their specific spaces. A tour of the gardens will provide visitors with the pleasure of spending time among beautifully landscaped outdoor spaces filled with flowering plants, relaxing seating, dramatic sculpture, and inspiring artwork. Browsing in the boutiques at Three Fields and dining in the café will enhance their visit while supporting a worthwhile cause in support of the community it serves.
Chosen by the Women’s Association for Morristown Medical Center for its signature fundraiser, the proceeds of this month-long event will benefit the expansion and modernization of the Institute of Bioskills Training and Innovation at Morristown Medical Center.
Mansion in May 2023 will be open to the public daily from May 1-31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For tickets and information on group and individual private tours, please visit www.mansioninmay.org.