How The Madame Built A Castle
In our quest to find something unique in New Hampshire to visit and film, we came across Madam Sherri Forest. This location sits in the western part of New Hampshire and has a colorful past being built by a very eccentric woman named Madame Antoinette Sherri. She was a costume designer for the Ziegfeld Follies in the 1920s. She had the castle built in West Chesterfield for the main purpose for having her friends from the city come and party. These parties were infamous. She was said to drive into town in the summer wearing her fur coat and nothing else. Scandalous…
Madame Sherri was born Antoinette Bramare in 1878 in Paris, France. In 1909, she met her husband, Anthony Macaluso, an expatriate, and fugitive from the law, who was traveling under the name of Andre Reila. In 1911, the couple sailed to New York City. They made up an elaborate cover story which lead them to be accepted by New York Society. They opened a millinery shop on 42nd Street, designing costumes for Broadway productions, including the Zeigfeld Follies.
Unfortunately, in 1912 Andre’s past caught up with him and he was arrested but he was never convicted due to a lack of evidence. Having his name cleared gave him the opportunity to pursue a dancing career. Antoinette continued as a costume designer.
Antoinette wanted to have a more exciting name so in 1916 she changed her name to Andre-Sherri after the Otto Hauerbach’s play, “Madame Sherry”.
Madame Sherri and her husband continued the be extraordinarily successful but sadly in 1924 Andre’s suffered from a chronic illness that left him blind and insane. He had to be institutionalized. He passed away in October 1924.
Madame Sherri was so devastated that she looked to a stage friend, Jack Henderson, for a diversion. He had her come to his home in Chesterfield where he held spectacular and extravagant parties. She loved her time in Chesterfield, so she purchased 600 acres of farmland and forest on Gulf Road in West Chesterfield.
She hired local craftsmen to build her castle. She did not want blueprints, instead she walked around the property staking where she wanted things built. To the shock of these poor locals, she often did this scantily dressed. She also changed things frequently which was difficult for the craftsmen. But despite all of her antics, they succeeded in building a one of a kind structures which was a cross between a roman ruin and a French chalet. She had a bistro with tables in the cellar. The main floor had a large bar which was flanked by live trees which poked through the roof.
The third floor was Sherri’s private quarters which was made accessible only by a stone staircase that ran up the side of the building.
She did not live in the Castle, she lived in a small farmhouse across the street. She used her castle for her parties where she would be the Queen of her Ball, where she was known for scandalous behavior. The parties matched Madame Sherri’s outrageous and sometimes shockingly scandalous behavior. She reigned as Queen and held court in a cobra-backed chair that she called the “The Queen’s Throne”. She made a point to outdo her guests in her outlandish costumes and was known for her extravagant entrances.
Madame Sherri had been surviving on the money of a rich benefactor, Charles LeMaire. At the end of WWII his checks stop, and she left her home in West Chesterfield and moved to Vermont where she relied on some old friends for financial support.
She returned to the castle in 1959 to find that in her absence it was vandalized. She was so upset she left again never to return. In 1962 the castle burned to the ground.
The property was saved by Ann Stokes who purchased the property on October 20,1965 which coincidentally was the same day that Madame Sherri died. Today the property is owned by the New Hampshire Society for the Preservation of Forests. The only remaining evidence of the structure are the foundation, chimneys, and a grand stone staircase.
So, after reading all this history on her, I really wanted to see her castle ruins. When we arrived, I was incredibly surprised that the ruins are less then 25 feet from the parking lot. For those people who are not in shape for a hike you will be able to enjoy exploring the ruins. They are very cool, and we really enjoyed exploring what is there. It was fun to imagine how it looked. A lot of people come to Madame Sherri Forest to enjoy the many hiking trails. The ruins are popular for wedding photos and engagement photos. It’s definitely a nice spot for a picnic.
If you want to see what’s left of the Castle, we highly recommend you visit Madame Sherri’s Castle.
