Rundlet-May House — Attraction in Portsmouth

I visited Rundlet-May House in September while visiting several other houses in the Greater Portsmouth area. This is a beautiful, well-kept Historic New England property with an excellent tour guide.

Admission to Rundlet-May House is standard HNE pricing: $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $7 for students, HNE members (like me!) are free. The house is only open on the first and third Saturdays from opening day in June to closing day on October 15. As a very important note, remember that the tours start on the half hour instead of the hour, at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. The guide is alone in the house and might close and lock the door for safety, so be prepared to knock several times. The tour is listed at 45 minutes but takes closer to an hour, and a few stops may seem rushed. Be sure to walk through the gardens if the weather permits. The flowers were mostly past at the time of year when I went. Like most historic house museums, Rundlet-May House is not accessible to those using wheelchairs and with limited mobility. The tour is suitable for families with child ages ten and up. The teenage boy on my tour appeared bored, so understand the interests of your children...

What a wonderful house and beautiful spot in an old, historic neighborhood. The formal gardens and lawns are so inviting, but it's just a terrible shame that they treat the back , super shady, wonderful tree /woodland area in the way they do. All the leaves are removed each year, and the roots of the trees are exposed up to 5" above the sunken, wet soil. Scilla and wild flowers grow there and would benefit from a nice, year round blanket of leaves, as would all the hibernating butterflies and fireflies. It breaks my heart to see the leaves sucked up and carted away. Then they spend thousands of dollars to feed the trees that would have been naturally taken care of with their own...

First, I must say how awesome the staff is to have waited for us to arrive! We drove from MA with a reservation and hit a huge traffic delay. While are we were only 5 mins late, we thought for sure we'd be left out. The house is a great example of the period and the furnishings and the family history make it complete. Plenty of unique pieces and a Rumford cooking system to boot! Check it out as Portsmouth has plenty to do before and after the tour, be sure to see the pet graveyard and ask questions! We all learn as much from the group as from...