It's Never Too Late To Dream

With her grown children gone, Peggotty Gilson decided to fulfill a childhood ambition by becoming an architect.

It’s Never Too Late To Dream

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

1

With her grown children gone, Peggotty Gilson decided to fulfill a childhood ambition by becoming an architect.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO DREAM by julia douglas

P

eggotty Worthington Gilson, a resident of Windsor, evolved into an architect by a long and circuitous route. Her mother’s brother, John M. Johansen, was a member of the Harvard Five, a famous group of architects who studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard and designed modern houses in New Canaan, Conn., in the 1950s. After her family moved to New Canaan, 9-year-old Peggotty bonded with her Uncle John who became her mentor, friend and inspiration. On her way home from school she would stop by his office.

She was enchanted by architectural forms and created three-dimensional sections of horse stalls and aerial perspectives of farms. “I was born to look down on things,” Peggotty says. “I drew a picture of a chair in perfect perspective when I was 2 years old.”

At the tender age of 10, Peggotty announced that she wanted to be an architect when she grew up. The reaction from her family was negative, pointing out that she had two strikes against her: a weakness in math and the fact that she was a female. This was a crushing blow to her youthful dream.

From birth, Peggotty had been surrounded by art. Her maternal grandparents, Jean McLane and John C. Johansen, were both talented artists living and working in a New York brownstone in Greenwich Village. At boarding school, Peggotty took all the art courses available and won prestigious prizes for her work. When she graduated from Pine Manor Junior College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., she received the art prize for her painting and sculpture.

Next came the Rhode Island School of Design where her artistic talents flourished. She studied there for two years and a summer before her marriage to Peter Gilson.

Moving to New York, the newlyweds settled in Gramercy Park, where Peggotty had lived as a little girl.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

2

An aerial view of a Cape Cod house on a bluff reveals a series of indoor and outdoor rooms, each possessing different views and exposures. The architect, Peggotty Gilson, sited the house in a north/south direction to gain passive solar heat and light in the winter. The original Cape Cod houses were all aligned in this manner. The house overlooks the Pamet River with distant views of Cape Cod Bay.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

3

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

4

denise ritchie

Architect Peggotty Worthington Gilson at home in her Windsor cottage.

Around the corner was the renowned National Arts Club where her Grandfather Johansen resided. She worked at an advertising agency setting up photo sessions.

Then came a move to Delaware and motherhood, followed by three years in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she illustrated a children’s book. Back in the States, she designed needlepoint and created aerial drawings of houses and properties for clients in the Wilmington, Del., area. A local architect praised her pen and ink and watercolor perspectives. Then, at nearby Longwood Gardens, Peggotty earned a certificate of merit in Ornamental Plants.

Her horticultural knowledge would figure in future garden projects.

When her daughter and son went off to boarding school Peggotty’s first commission called for creating an orangery attached to an existing 18th-century brick house in Chester County, Pa. The owners provided her with an historical model from an 18th-century English gardening dictionary. In designing the wing, the architect adhered to strict dimensions and requirements specified in the dictionary. She skillfully integrated the orangery into the main house. Terracing level changes instituted by the architect aided in the successful addition of the new wing.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

5

Thanks to a series of floor-to-ceiling doors and windows on the east and south side of the new wing, the orangery is flooded with light and is ideal for growing flowers and plants for three seasons. In the summer, the plants are taken outside through the ample doorways.

and college, Peggotty experienced the empty-nest syndrome. Her old dream of becoming an architect surfaced again. After some deep soul-searching and discussion, she enrolled in an architectural undergraduate program, Design for the Environment, at the University of Pennsylvania. To conquer the dreaded but necessary math courses, Peggotty hired a tutor to guide her through algebra and calculus. After a year of undergraduate work, she transferred to the graduate school for three more years of study. “My husband was travelling, my kids were away at school, and I experienced a whole new life,” she recalls.

“I had hours of homework every night and a 60-minute commute each way, but I felt energized and fulfilled. I made new friends and gained respect from others.”

Graduation was a seminal event, enhanced by her receiving the faculty prize for the most outstanding student.

After a brief stint in Boston, the Gilsons settled in Chadds Ford, Pa. Peggotty’s career took off like a rocket. Her first job was a challenge: to create an “orangery” as an integral part of an existing 18th-century Georgian brick house. The clients, fastidious collectors of American antiques, knew exactly what they wanted in the new room.

Peggotty mastered the project and other commissions ensued. For close to 20 years, she was busy, able to pick and choose her clients. “People felt comfortable with me; REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

6

The owners enjoy this bright comfortable room year-round. The tiles complement their American antiques. The architect designed the grillework speakers on either side of the fireplace to match grille work in the main house. The wall above the mantel is punctuated by an oil painted by the architect’s grandmother, Jean McLane. Visible on the left is a female figure in the form of an antique ship’s head.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

7

To enlarge a Chester County farmhouse, Peggotty created a pair of wings on either side of the existing stone house. She connected the new wings to the main house by a series of stairs and bridges. Here, a metal stair and a bridge can be viewed. An old stone well discovered during ground excavation provides a point of interest.

we shared an educational and cultural background,” she says. “I was an artist who loved beautiful things and was a good listener. Being an architect means playing many roles besides designing: selling yourself, working with construction guys on site, acting as a psychologist or marriage counselor, solving puzzles.”

Having cherished her time as a mature female student at Penn, Peggotty is proud that she and Peter funded a scholarship at the graduate school of architecture. She says, “I wanted to give a similar experience to a mature REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

8

In another project, the architect was charged with opening up the south wall of a French country house in Greenville, Del. She designed a charming sunroom to complement a spacious new terrace, brought the land up to the level of the terrace and embellished it with pots of flowers and plantings on the steps.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

9

Peggotty Gilson placed an artist’s studio in Wilmington, Del., in the woods overlooking the Brandywine River. Plenty of light was provided for her client, a painter and paraplegic.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

10

woman who needed financial support. Our student has earned her Master’s and Ph.D. and is now teaching. We are in close touch.”

In March of 2006, a golfing friend invited Peter to the men’s member guest tournament at Windsor. Peggotty went along for the social activities. Like legions before them, the Gilsons had no interest in living in Florida.

But Windsor’s Anglo-Caribbean architecture intrigued Peggotty and Peter admired the golf course. He asked Peggotty to investigate the real estate market. Eventually, they found a Windsor cottage to their liking with a charming, interior courtyard garden.

Peter, an avid golfer, can now be seen on the practice area with his beloved golden retriever, Barkus. He is a member of the newly established Windsor Sailing Club which races Lasers on a club pond. The Gilsons lead an active social life, particularly enjoying the local theatre and museum. “Windsor offers so many opportunities to lead the good life,” says Peggoty, “though I am most fulfilled by my friendships with several women whom I call my ‘soul sisters.’ I found Windsor a good place for healing

as I battled breast cancer. Peter and I are grateful for the excellent medical facilities and physical therapy nearby.”

By choice, Peggotty now limits her schedule to a few architectural projects each year. She finds joy in the lack of deadlines and her new artistic freedom. Recently, she added a studio to the cottage by cleverly commandeering unused space above the garage. Her hideaway sports a northern exposure. With her Windsor “soul sisters” she paints or creates collages and exotic designs of plants, statues and fabrics.

Looking back on her successful career, Peggotty says, “I grew up in a family of painters and architects, and I knew as soon as I could draw that my passion was the same as theirs. Everything I have experienced has reinforced my ability to interpret my clients’ architectural dreams and transform them into living spaces that connect with the surrounding landscape.” ` A curving stone wall extends from the main house to the studio through the terrace and garden. The sharp clean lines of the studio adroitly echo those of the main house.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION ©VERO BEACH MAGAZINE

11