The original mansion, which was two and a half stories in height, was much plainer and smaller than is the present one. Since its erection it has been raised one story, and the present house has been made to enclose the original structure. Among the old houses that are still standing, few have the dignity and stateliness of this mansion, and its roof has sheltered some of the most important men and women connected with our country's history. The estate is situated on the western side of the main road of what was then known as Mead's Ford, from which the town of Medford derived its name. It was owned by John Winthrop between 1641 and 1645, becoming the property of his son, John Winthrop, Jr., after this period. It was purchased of the Winthrops by Mrs. Elizabeth Lidgett, who made it over to her son Charles. He, however, being an adherent of Andros, was ordered to leave the province, together with the unpopular governor. The house at that time was two and one half stories in height, with dormer windows in the attic. There were two rooms on each floor, and the dimensions over all were eighteen by forty-five feet, the west, north, and south walls being of brick. Lieutenant-governor John Usher, brother-in-law of Colonel Lidgett, came into possession of the house through the entanglement of its owner in lawsuits. During his possession he enlarged it by building a lean-to on the west side, leaving the original brick wall to form a partition between the eastern and western rooms. By careful inspection of this brick work on the south side of the building, one can follow the original outline of the gable end. There is a little window in the lean-to, differing in finish from the two others above it and yet not in line with them. This directs the attention to the second period in the evolution of this historic mansion. Lieutenant-governor Usher was Councilor and Treasurer of Massachusetts under Andros. He married the daughter of Peter Lidgett, and later on married for a second wife the daughter of George Allen, who bought the New Hampshire grants from the heirs of Mason. This home on the Mystic was a favorite resort of the Tories but the last of the governor's life was surrounded by business troubles and lawsuits, in which he was most unsuccessful. In fact, before his death, he put his farm out of his own control, the deed to be returned to his widow at the time of his death. In 1732, nine years later, Isaac Royall, who owned a large plantation in Antigua in the Leeward Islands, a man of considerable means, purchased the estate, and it has since borne his name. At the time of its purchase it embraced five hundred and four and three quarters acres and twenty-three rods of land, and the house and grounds were bought for L10,230 10_s._ 9_d._