WednesdayPosted Dec 28, 2016 at 5:07 PMUpdated Dec 28, 2016 at 5:11 PM

With seven bedrooms, gorgeous woodwork andsweeping ocean and bay views, 1888 'summer cottage' is aJamestown classic.

By Christine Dunn Journal Staff Writer

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JAMESTOWN, R.I. - Three towering Christmas trees and a vast collection ofSanta figurines all seemed right at home at a recent visit to Channel Bells, aclassic shingle-style house perched on a rocky hill in the Dumplingsneighborhood.

In addition to the festive holiday decor, the house, with its wraparound piazzaand large windows, also has panoramic water views of both Narragansett Bayand the Atlantic Ocean. At night, the views also include a "necklace of lights"from the Newport and Mount Hope Bridges, according to owners Gerry andGale Bay.

The circa 1888 house was designed by Charles Lovatt Bevins, an architect whodesigned more than 40 luxury homes in Jamestown. Channel Bells was built forGeneral Robert Patterson and was named for the musical sound of bell buoys inthe Dumplings.

House of the Week: Channel Bells sings over thesea

The Bays have owned the home for the past 22 years, starting with a "weddingweekend" in which the Bays, and one of Gale's children, got married. Gerry andGale each owned homes in Connecticut before they married. They had beenlooking for a house they both loved, even though their tastes were a bit different.Before they discovered their Jamestown home, he lived in a contemporary homeand she owned a converted 1847 gristmill.

Gerry said he saw Channel Bells first, and although it needed quite a bit of work,he called Gale and asked her to come see it right away. They said they bothinstantly fell in love with the house. At the time, it was unheated anduninsulated, and there was no septic system, they said. Other improvements thecouple have made include a large kitchen/family room addition, and the additionof a music room with a cathedral ceiling. A large skylight is in the center of themusic room ceiling. Near the entrance to this room, which holds the tallest ofthe Christmas trees, there is a small plaque on the wall. It says "music washesaway from the soul the dust of everyday life."

Sited on a 2.46-acre lot, the house has 4,596 square feet of living space, includingseven bedrooms, four full bathrooms and one half bathroom. The expansivemaster bedroom suite includes a hot tub in a turret, a private balcony and aspacious dressing room. The property also includes a tennis court.

The house, part of Ocean Highlands - Walcott Avenue Historic District, wasincluded in the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission'sJamestown survey report. The description reads: "General Robert E. Patterson'sambitious summer cottage features a piazza that wraps around most of the houseand a gambrel against a pyramidal roof with dormers and other details. Knownoriginally as The Ramparts, the house was designed by C.L. Bevins in his ownidiosyncratic version of the Queen Anne style. Despite some simplification of theexterior trim, Bevins's preference for bold scale, complex window forms orderedby encompassing enframements, and Japanese detail, is still much in evidence.The paneled interior preserves his Queen Anne-Georgian Revival mode, withoverscale eighteenth-century style elements the focus of each room. Perchedhigh on one of the Dumplings, the piazza affords extensive views over FortWetherill to the east passage of the bay and the open ocean."

Channel Bells, at 27 Newport St. in Jamestown, is priced at $5.3 million. Realestate taxes are $17,624. For more information, contact Christina McIntyre atLila Delman Real Estate, (401) 862-0037.

cdunn@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7913

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