Dine
in the romantic mansion that Captain Ebeneezer
Linnell built for his bride in 1840. With a
sprawling lawn and gardens filled with wisteria
and lavender, this stately home is
a favorite spot for Cape Cod wedding receptions and rehearsal
dinners. The restaurant serves dinner nightly
from 5pm. Off
the beaten path and just a short walk to Skaket
Beach, the location is secluded and romantic.
Stately gardens with a gazebo offer the perfect private and romantic setting for garden wedding ceremonies.
Under the ownership of the Conways, the historic
Captain Linnell House seems to have found the
tender loving care this venerable building needed
to restore it to its rightful place as one of
the Cape Cod's most distinguished dining spots.
Bill and Shelly Conway, a couple with visionary
imagination and big hearts took on this neglected
building with total commitment to restoring
it to its former grandeur. After 22 years of
hard work, the building has been restored to
its former glory as a clipper-ship captain's
mansion.
Chef-Owner
Bill Conway laid the groundwork for his culinary
accolades the traditional way by apprenticing
to a classically trained chef. Bill has been
featured in Gourmet magazine, the New York Times,
Yankee Magazine's Travel Guide. "Great
American food, " is how he describes his
own variations on his classical training. Zagats has rated
the Captain Linnell House as exceptional - its
highest ranking.
As
present owners of the Captain Linnell House,
we'd like to share its history with our guests
as a way of preserving its heritage.
Captain Eben Linnell, the original owner, was
born in 1811 on Barley Neck Road, Orleans. He
lived a full and adventurous life until he died
at sea off the coast of Brazil in 1864 when
a tropical storm pinned him against his ships
wheel. It's been said that the captain was unequaled
among American ship masters for native ability,
energy, and shrewdness.
From the bygone era of stately clipper ships,
one of the Captain's many world-ranging speed
records still stands. In 1855, he raced his
most famous ship, the Massachusetts-built Eagle
Wing from London to Hong Kong in 83 1/2
days. Captain Linnell was also famous as an
inventor. He devised an improved top-sail rig,
which was patented and incorporated in the design
of 64 ships.
He
still found time for two great love affairs
in his lifetime. The first was with the beautiful
Rebecca Crosby who became his bride in 1835.
The Captain had a Cape Codder built for her
on the present site of the Captain Linnell House,
which at one point consisted of 35 acres of
open land along 400 feet of the Cape Cod Bay
shore. There they had three daughters. In France
in 1850, he fell in love again. This time with
a French-designed, neo-classic villa built for
a shipping agent friend in Marseilles. The Captain
brought back the plans to America and soon began
building an exact replica of the villa for his
family.
He
also brought back furniture and fittings for
the house from Europe and the Orient, and it
seems he was preparing to fully enjoy his mansion's
grandeur but in another of the endless ironies
of the sea, he told his family that the voyage
that took his life would be his last.
The
house still carries the heritage of the clipper
master's personality and reflects his worldliness,
inventiveness and taste. We hope to preserve
this legacy, and our plans include continuing
the restoration of the Captain Linnell House.
We're delighted that it's regarded as one of
Cape Cod's important historical sites.
As
present owners of the Captain Linnell House,
we'd like to share its history with our guests
as a way of preserving its heritage.
8