Great Britain. The Gores spent the years from 1796 to 1804 in Europe. In 1799 they were informed that the Waltham house had been destroyed by fire and began planning a replacement. The carriage house was not affected and still stands on the property. In 1801 the couple went on an extended tour of Europe, including a six-month stay in Paris. During this stay they met architect Jacques-Guillaume Legrand, with whom they struck up a good relationship. Rebecca Gore was particularly interested in architecture, and six months after their return to London had sketched out plans for a new building. In October 1802 Gore sent some of her sketches to his friend Rufus King, who was vacationing in Paris, requesting that Legrand draft plans from them. Although there is no definitive evidence that Legrand drafted the plans used in construction, the house as built has details that are part of his architectural vocabulary. It also betrays the influence of English architect Sir John Soane, some of whose designs the Gores may have seen on tours of England. They may also have seen his Sketches in Architecture, published in 1793. The Gores returned to Massachusetts in 1804 and construction on the house began in March 1805; it was completed in 1806 at a cost of $23,000. Many of the mansion's construction materials, including the bricks, were shipped from England and rafted up the Charles River to the Waltham site. During the construction the Gores lived in a wing of the old house that had survived the fire; this remnant was then moved to the center of Waltham. Architecture Mansion The mansion consists of a central block with symmetrical wings on either side. Each wing consists of a narrow section, or hyphen, with a slightly wider pod at its end. The total length is about ; the main block, which includes oval protrusions, measures 68 by 40 feet, the hyphens are 40 by 21 feet, and the pods at the ends of the wings are 20 by 32 feet. The main block is stories high, while the wings are stories. The building is faced in brick made in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Although it was originally shingled in wood, the roof is now made of slate. The main block and east wing are devoted to public and family space, while the west wing is entirely devoted to servant quarters and facilities. Carriage house The