"NORTH HILLS" THE ESTATE OF LAWRENCE HOBART SHEARMAN

AERIAL SHOT OF "NORTH HILLS" THE ESTATE OF LAWRENCE HOBART SHEARMAN, GLEN COVE, LONG ISLAND, NY - AIGLON AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION

SOUTH ELEVATION, SHOWING GARDENS.  HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

NORTH ELEVATION, SHOWING ENTRANCE COURT. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

VISTA INTO COURT THROUGH ENTRANCE GATES. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

GABLE OF DINING ROOM. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

NORTTH ELAVATION, SHOWING DOORWAY. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

DETAIL OF MAIN ENTRANCE. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

DOOR FROM TERRACE TO ENTRANCE HALL. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

ENTRANCE HALL. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

LIVING ROOM. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

DETAIL OF DOOR IN LIVING ROOM. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

LIBRARY. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

GATEWAY IN GARDEN. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

FIRST FLOOR. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

SECOND FLOOR. HOUSE OF L. H. SHEARMAN, LAKEVILLE. L. I., N. Y. JAMES W. O'CONNOR. ARCHITECT

  L. Hobart Shearman, Vice President of W. R. Grace & Co., has purchased from Mrs. W. R. Grace, Sr., forty-four acres—the easterly portion of the former I. U. Willets farm—on the north side of the Little Neck-Old Westbury Road and north of and opposite the new golf club(Links Golf Club). He has built an attractive brick hollow-tile, and stucco residence from plans by J. W. O'Connor, architect. The New York Times February 16, 1919

 O 'Connor designed numerous estates for other clients on Long Island. The Sherman residence, built in 1918, represents a significant departure from his recurring Colonial theme. A wealthy lawyer with vision, Sherman commissioned O'Connor to design a Tudor mansion. Comprised of 22 rooms, a courtyard of farm buildings, greenhouses, a man-made pond, and lavishly landscaped gardens, this estate displays the same architectural integrity that characterizes O'Connors other residential work. Grand, but nonimposing in scale, it invites entry. Interior details, a frieze with scenes from Grimms fairy tales, door-to-ceiling oak paneling, and a flower room convey the personal nature of the architect-owner relationship. Sold by Sherman at the onset of the Depression to Frederick Lunning. SPLIA .Lunning called the property "Northcourt".

 A leading transaction during the last year was the sale of the L. H. Shearman property, a $200,000 holding in North Hills, Manhasset, to F. Lunning, The property includes forty-seven acres and a large Georgian(?) residence from plans by James W. O'Connor, architect. The New York Times 1938

 Lunning, a New York-based Dane who served as Georg Jensen's American agent, had in 1951 established a richly endowed eponymous prize to recognize pioneers in Scandinavian design. Lunning Prize.  Born in Grenaa, Denmark,- Mr. Lunning early in his career owned [and operated a bookstore in Odense, and at the same time sold Jensen silverware. In 1922, he came to New York and opened his first store on West Fifty-seventh Street, his principal merchandise being the Jensen silver.

  With the steady development of his enterprise, he increased  the range of his stock to include nearly every sort of household article possessing the attribute of beauty, with Scandinavian products dominating. 

  Mr. Lunning was made a Commander of the Order of Dannebrog by King Frederick IX of Denmark.

  In 1955 the Buckley County Day School purchased the  property(19 acres at the time). The twenty-room Tudor mansion was acquired for $100,000.  Connected with this all is the Grace family - It appears that every fall the Grace family and their friends would reluctantly leave the quietude of the North Shore and move back to New York City to be near the schools their children attended. Wanting to keep the children on Long Island, Mrs. Ruth Grace (née Eden) managed to raise $50,000 from a group of her friends and donated ten acres of land on Steamboat Road in Kings Point for a school site.

  Benjamin Lord Buckley, who was the founder of the Buckley School in New York City that all three Grace sons attended, was asked to serve as an educational consultant for the new school. Mr. Buckley served on the original Board of Trustees.  

  Prior to the sale the acreage surrounding the house was sold for development - "Plans call for houses in the higher priced brackets with each building on a minimum plot of two acres. Many of the dwellings will face the Links Golf club." The New York Times December 1953

Click HERE to see "Northcourt" at wikimapia. HERE to see when "North Hills" was for sale at oldlongisland.com. BING. Click HERE to see the estate and golf course intact in 1966.