Ancient tales of secret Cornwall come alive at talk

CORNWALL — Narrow Valley, a spot well hidden in the Cornwall landscape, is the source of one of this intriguing town’s most intriguing stories.

It involves a castle, which might or might not have been built by royalty; a resident potter, who many consider a great artist; and clues to a fairy tale existence contrived by one Charlotte Bronson Hunnewell Martin.

In Cornwall, there is a web of “connections†to a rarefied world of wealth and privilege. Many people of means and fame have chosen to retreat to the quiet countryside here, and most choose to blend quietly into the   community.

As a result, some very remarkable items have ended up here.

These would include bits of pottery by Vincenzo Rondinone, made in his unique style from a massive vein of local clay.

His story, and that of others “caught up in the web Charlotte spun†were described during a Talk and Tea hosted by the Cornwall Historical Society on Nov. 13, which was attended by an unexpectedly large crowd of about 100 people.

Saturday’s talk is just one of many events planned for the coming weeks, to bring Cornwall history to life. To do that, the speakers will  use more than just facts and dates.

For this particular history talk, Katherine Freygang, dressed in period costume and lit by a muted spotlight, punctuated the story by reading aloud excerpts from Martin’s book, “The World and the Aristocrat.â€

Cornwall resident Gus Haller Jr. also came up front, to talk a bit about his childhood adventures as the son of the castle’s caretaker.

Descendants of the tale’s major players took part in the talk, as did Ernie and Martin Marola, grandson and great-grandson of the castle’s contractor. It all gave a whiff of realism to a story that might otherwise seem too fantastical to be believed.

The life of an aristocrat

Picture a handsome, dark-haired woman in Edwardian clothing, traveling in a shiny, black vintage town car from Manhattan to Cornwall, where she would eventually fulfill her dream of living like a French aristocrat.

Her first husband, Victor Sorchan, was a ne’er-do-well and, along with Charlotte, a member of the elite Newport social scene. It is thought that he married her for money, and that she married to find freedom from her family.

Her granddaughter, whom Jacobson and his wife, Gail (also a board member), interviewed in New York, said Charlotte fell out of love with him on their honeymoon in France. They had one child, Louise Beatrice.

Charlotte’s second husband, Dr. Walton Martin, was a respected surgeon in New York City, and her true love. In Cornwall, he could be seen riding a big white stallion, his long white hair flowing over a white cape lined in red.

Turtle Bay Gardens

By 1921, Charlotte’s Cornwall “chateau†was being built, but before that, she had renovated 19 Manhattan brownstones into what is believed to have been the city’s first condominium complex: Turtle Bay Gardens.

She envisioned it as an artists’ and writers’ enclave, and her dreams were fulfilled as the likes of Katharine Hepburn moved in, attracted perhaps by  the shared secret garden hidden away among the double row of buildings.

Longtime resident E.B. White wrote “Charlotte’s Web†there. Was the name merely a coincidence? No one knows.

“Today, Turtle Bay Gardens remains pretty much the same,†Jacobson said during his Saturday talk. “Some of the rules have lapsed, but those who live there still need to be the right sort of people.â€

The enchanting castle

It was on land that Dr. Martin had purchased that the castle and a pottery were built. He had been introduced to Cornwall by his good friend, Dr. William Clarke, grandfather of Cornwall resident Dody Clarke-Wolfe. The two men hiked on land that Clarke would eventually establish as part of the Dark Entry Forest Association.

“Castle†was the word used by local tradesmen who worked on the imposing structure, using stone from the area to build the storybook-style structure.

The same stone was used to build what would become Narrow Valley Pottery. There, Charlotte planned to make pots and servingware for the home and as gifts for visitors.

A sculptor, not a potter

The year before construction began, an artist  named Vincenzo Rondinone sailed into New York Harbor. He set off not long after in a Model T with his uncle for what he believed would be a job interview. He found the castle grounds filled with out-of-work potters who were waiting to audition the next day.

“Rondinone thought of himself as more of a sculptor,†Jacobson said. “He was insulted and wanted to go right back to New York.â€

But Uncle Frank was tired and insisted they spend the night. Rondinone ended up auditioning, on a potter’s wheel. After  his demonstration, everyone else was asked to leave.

He stayed at the castle, and later married. He and his wife, Josephine, had two children in Cornwall: Nicholas and Anna Marie.

His work became well-known, and was soon being sold outside the estate. It was even featured in a 1932 article in House Beautiful magazine.

But in 1936, Rondinone suffered a stroke at the age of 42, and retired to Yonkers, N.Y.

His elegant Narrow Valley vases are “prized by those in Cornwall lucky enough to have one,†Jacobson said.

One of the Rondinones’ children, Anna Marie Sabatino, who now lives in Irvington, N.Y., recently donated a small collection of pottery to the Historical Society. One is a small, odd-looking vessel whose only opening is an X-shaped slit. It was designed by Josephine as a bank.

Down near the bottom is a patch of sticky residue. Jacobson explained that whenever Josephine deposited a bill, she would tie a string to it and tape the string to the little ceramic bank, in case she needed it later.

Such was life at Narrow Valley: an odd combination of class and culture that became its own little world of prosperity during the Depression years.

Gus Haller Sr. was the longtime caretaker at the estate. His son, Gus Jr., reminisced Saturday about growing up and attending Cornwall Consolidated School with the Rondinone kids.

He and his dad made countless trips between Charlotte’s homes, using a 1936 panel truck to haul wood, chickens, butter and eggs from the estate to Turtle Bay Gardens.

He recalled one trip his dad canceled at the last minute, correctly guessing there would be pandemonium in the city. The date was Dec. 7, 1941.

In the 1990s, Nick Rondinone and his wife, Florence, retired up here and remodeled the pottery into a home for themselves. It was just a few months before its completion in 1999 that Jacobson and Rondinone met. On a tour of the home, the men climbed a ladder to the top of what had been the kiln chimney.

“There was an indentation there, where they would place a penny on the ledge. When the penny melted, they knew the kiln was ready.â€

In January 2000, Nick and Florence were killed in a car crash on Route 7 in town. Jacobson has been inspired since then to delve deep into the story.

The Cornwall Historical Society has a newly renovated building designed to better display portions of its vast collection. However, part of its mission is to bring history to life with an ongoing series of talks; go online to cornwallhistoricalsociety.org.