Winterlights coming to Bradley Estate

Winterlights will open on November 22. (Trustees of Reservations photo)

Thousands of lights will bring holiday cheer to visitors who spend an evening at Winterlights at the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate, presented by Citizens Bank, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from November 22 to December 29. The Trustees of Reservations — which owns the Bradley Estate along with over 100 other properties in Massachusetts — launched Winterlights last year at two of its historic homes, Naumkeag in Stockbridge and Stevens-Coolidge Place in North Andover, and decided to add the Bradley Estate this year to welcome more people. Visitors will be able to walk through the brightly lit grounds and enjoy the seasonally decorated first floor of the estate house.

“It is the property that really lends itself to the walk,” said Vidya Tikku, director of the Trustees for greater Boston. “It’s best located for greater Boston.”

Winterlights at the Bradley Estate is a self-guided tour for visitors. The experience will include an illuminated woodland trail as part of the tour path, as well as light displays and installations through the formal Italianate lattice-walled garden, rhododendron walk, and kitchen garden.

Visitors will start their tour just beyond the parking area near the entrance to the estate, where trees, bushes and plants will be glowing with thousands of lights. They will then continue on to the house, where they will view the first floor with its holiday decorations. The walk continues outside to view the light displays on the porch, in the meadow, and throughout the formal garden at the back of the house.

“It’s a loop that people walk through with several stops along the way, with lighted pathways,” Tikku said.

Located on Route 138 near the junction of I-93, the Bradley Estate is a family property that Dr. Arthur Tracy Cabot inherited in the late 1800s. In 1902, Cabot hired architect Charles Platt, who specialized in designing country homes in natural surroundings. He designed the Italianate lattice-walled garden. After Cabot passed away in 1912, his widow, Susan, owned the property for another 30 years. In 1945, Cabot’s niece, Eleanor Cabot Bradley, and her husband, Ralph Bradley, became the owners of the estate. They preserved the traditions of the property and added ponds, a sunken camellia garden, and an art studio.

Several scenes from the upcoming film Little Women were filmed at the Bradley Estate in the fall of 2018 and early winter of 2019. In order to recreate the feeling of an 1860s New England home for the film, a section of the first floor of the house was redecorated with wallpaper specifically chosen to represent the period. When the filming ended, the staff removed the majority of the wallpaper, but kept some of it on the wall, which visitors to Winterlights will be able to see. Little Women cast members Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern and Bob Odenkirk took part in the filming at the Bradley property. The movie opens on Christmas Day 2019.

“The Bradley Estate is delighted to open its doors as the Winterlights site on the south shore and so close to Boston,” Tikku said. “Eleanor would have loved to see her beloved gardens and trails adorned with twinkling lights and shared with so many visitors during this joyous season.”

In addition to enjoying the beauty of the lights and the displays, visitors will be able to leave wishes on a wishing tree and read the wishes that others leave; take part in a scavenger hunt; feel the warmth of a campfire; and purchase food and beverages. Winterlights is open from 5-8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from November 22 to December 29. The Bradley Estate is also available for private events on Thursday evenings during Winterlights with the exception of November 28, when it is closed for Thanksgiving Day.

Tickets for Winterlights are $12 for Trustees members and $17 for non-members and may be purchased at thetrustees.org/winterlights as well as at the door. Children 12 and under are admitted for free. A Member Preview Night has been scheduled for Friday evening, November 22.

Parking will not be available at the Bradley Estate itself for Winterlights. Instead, there will be free parking at the DCR Ponkapoag Golf Course at 2167 Washington Street, with a free shuttle service to take visitors back and forth to the event. The Bradley Estate is located at 2468 Washington Street in Canton.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Oct 26 2019. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.