Claus Von Bulow

Clarendon Court, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates

Today's estate, Clarendon Court in Newport, Rhode Island has more than a little history behind it. The Real Estalker reports that the massive home was built in 1904 for Pennsylvania Railroad executive Edward C. Knight who originally named the house Claradon Court after his wife Clara. A later owner changed the name of the home to the more familiar Clarendon Court. It was designed by architect Horace Trumbauer who designed many a fine home during the Gilded Age (including previous Luxist Estate of the Day Seawater). The Classical Palladian home sits on over seven acres directly on the Atlantic Ocean with beautiful panoramic views across Narragansett Bay. The property is on prestigious Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island and extends to the ocean above the famous Cliff Walk. The house has ten bedrooms with nearly 12,000 square feet of space.

As for that history, the Real Estalker Mama reminds us that the home was bought and restored by Sunny and Claus von Bülow. In late 1980 Sunny von Bülow was found passed out and later diagnosed as having suffered a serious brain injury that left her in a persistent vegetative state. Claus von Bülow was later indicted on on two counts of attempted murder. His trial ended in a conviction but after an appeal by famed legal eagle Alan Dershowitz the conviction was overturned. The events were dramatized in the 1990 movie "Reversal of Fortune" with Glenn Close as Mrs. von Bülow, Jeremy Irons as her husband and Ron Silver as Alan Dershowitz.

Clarendon Court was sold in 1988 to its current owners, Washington D.C. art dealer Glenn Randall and his wife Patricia for $4.3 million. Listing pictures don't give a lot of detail but show wide columned porches, a dramatic marble staircase and grand formal spaces. This home is listed for $17.8 million with Libby Kirwin.

Gallery: Clarendon Court