4 Elm Hill Rd Peterborough, NH 03458

Named Highwood when built by the Van Rensselaer family in the 1920s, this remarkable home features a great room recreated from an 18th-century church. With vaulted ceilings, carved paneling, custom plaster walls, a choir loft, Gothic windows, and a Dutch door opening to a three-season porch, the space feels like a theater transporting you to another era. Italian sconces, 18th-century paintings inset into the paneling, soaring ceilings, and a wood-burning fireplace enhance its grandeur.

Between 2016 and 2018, the home was thoughtfully expanded and renovated, blending historic character with modern comfort. Highwood now offers an open-concept kitchen flowing to dining and family rooms, French doors to an office, and a first-floor primary suite with cathedral ceilings, shower, and claw-foot tub. The kitchen connects to a hallway leading to garages, a yoga studio/playroom, and a deck and patio. A garage lift/elevator provides easy access for groceries or a wheelchair. Upstairs are four additional bedrooms and two full baths.

Set on over three acres bordering conservation land, the property includes low-maintenance gardens, stone walls, a fenced street side for privacy, and a hand-wrought cast-iron gate—an original housewarming gift from Lady Astor to Mrs. Van Rensselaer. Please see virtual tour. Listing agent related to seller.