Cozy antique ready for its next caretaker

(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

36 High Road
Newbury
Price: $850,000
Style: Antique Colonial
Built: 1749
Square feet: 2,538
Rooms: 8
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2
Sewer: Septic

This house has a long history in Newbury and a strong connection to its residents. It sits on a prominent location in town, on land originally granted to the Rev. John Tucker and his family by King George. Across a side road is the Upper Green, now used for ballgames and events like the annual Christmas tree lighting.

As owner Traci Massaro renovated it over nine years, she would often field questions about what she was doing.

The inside has a somewhat awkward flow, with the kitchen dividing the two sides of the living quarters. But this also contributes to a cozy feel, with a "keeping" room containing a brick fireplace and working beehive oven, a dining room that opens into the nicely appointed, renovated kitchen and a den with large built-in bookcases and cabinets. Massaro worked hard to get it this way, removing old carpets, refinishing floors, adding tiling, upgrading bathrooms and the master bedroom, painting in historical colors, and adding back moldings.

Massaro is moving to Kentucky to live near her new partner - and show horses that she stables there. Leaving is difficult. "I love my house. I feel like I've been its caretaker. But I'm leaving it better than I found it, and it's time for someone to take it and do more with it." Stone Ridge Properties will hold an open house from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today.

Mindy Pollack-Fusi