By Carol Cruickshanks and Kristina Wilson

For almost 200 years, residents and visitors moving in and out of New Hope by way of Bridge Street have passed the same landmark: a handsome, high-walled mansion that sits atop the hill.
Built between 1816 and 1823, Cintra, as the estate is known, is the fruition of a dream by William Maris, a romantic and a financially reckless entrepreneur who modeled his grand residence on a Portuguese castle of the same name.
Today represents a pivotal point in Cintra’s history, as both the estate and its contents are up for sale.

A romantic’s legacy
A sign that reads “Joseph Stanley, Ltd. — English Antiques” hangs at the front of the driveway, though no one has answered the door at Cintra for over 20 years.
Passersby who didn’t know Stanley may have wondered why his shop in this beautiful home was never open. But friends and locals knew that he closed the business with the passing of his partner, Dewey Curtis, in 1986 and retreated behind Cintra’s tall, shuttered windows. The inventory over the 23 years since has remained untouched in the vast rooms, and Cintra itself stands today much as it was when Maris walked its halls.
Maris saw opportunity in this tiny colonial village along the Delaware when he relocated from the cosmopolitan “Athens of the New World,” as Philadelphia was known at the beginning of the 19th century. He built mills along the streambeds to harness waterpower, a silk mill on the extension of Mechanic Street and the Delaware Hotel on the corner of Main and Bridge. But the crowning work of his growing empire was his residence.
Cintra is cited as the only locally known example of European styling without regional precedents. Its unusual “eight-sided” design does not appear like the later and more orderly octagons of the mid-19th century but rather as an experiment in joining two rectangular wings at an angle. The house, comprised of three floors and a full basement, has 13 rooms — including five in the attic — and a large rear portico. Eleven-foot ceilings, cornices, moldings and architectural entrances enhance the large rooms; in the entire house, there are no practical rectangles among the rooms, the largest measuring 28 feet by 24 feet. Wide-planked hardwood floors, original hardware, deep-well windows and marble fireplaces add to the grandeur.

Lost in time
Although Cintra was an architectural success, Maris’s business ventures ultimately failed, forcing him to sell the house and property to Richard Randolph in 1830. He, in turn, deeded the property to his brother-in-law, Elias Ely, of the established New Hope family, in 1834. The Elys lived in Cintra for nearly a century, and ultimately brought it into its second century beautifully decorated with the finest Victorian furnishings and appointments. Under the Elys, Cintra came to embody the splendor that defined affluent America at the turn of the century.
The last Ely to inhabit Cintra, William Newbold Ely, made the decision to sell it following the death of his sister, Margaret. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Crawford, antique dealers from Philadelphia, purchased it in 1936. They promised Ely not to structurally alter Cintra in any significant way, thus keeping it almost as it was in 1823. Minor changes, such as the installation of central heating and bathrooms, were undertaken, but the integrity of the building was conscientiously maintained throughout their occupancy.
So it was in 1972, when Cintra was purchased at auction by Curtis and Stanley. They relocated their antiques business from Pine Street in Philadelphia to Cintra, converting the first floor into a showroom and living on the second. Curtis had been curator at Pennsbury Manor for many years, and also founded the Decorative Arts Trust, an organization that explored the contributions of America to the decorative arts. Stanley was an antique lover at heart, and Cintra provided the perfect historical backdrop for both himself and Curtis to pursue their mutual interest in English antiques, fine paintings and Chinese export porcelains.
Being so active in the art and antique communities, their contacts were many, and friends still tell of the lavish garden parties held in the brick courtyard that would linger late into the summer nights, fragrant with the scent of peonies and roses.
Stanley died late last year. His family, soon after, chose to open Cintra’s doors to Rago Auctions, which will auction off the home’s extensive and elaborate contents August 7 and 8 at the Rago Arts and Auction Center in Lambertville, NJ.

As for the mansion on the hill, it, too, will have a new owner. This may be someone attracted to the acreage, the rental properties in Cintra’s outbuildings, its zoning or, simply, the opportunity to restore a magnificent historical home to its former glory and continue its fascinating story. Time will tell the next chapter in the life of Cintra.

Carol Cruickshanks is a fine art consultant with the Rago Arts and Auction Center. Kristina Wilson is the cataloguer for its estates department. For more information on the auction of the estate of Joseph Stanley or inquiries concerning the sale of Cintra, contact Thomas Martin at the Rago Arts and Auction Center, 609-397-9374, ext. 117.