Peacock House, at the corner of Atkinson and Jefferson Streets, is a small nineteenth century house that served primarily as rental property. Although documentation is scant, it appears that Theodore Parker built this house in 1821 and sold it the same year to Reuben Shapley. Shapley already owned much of the block bounded by Court and Jefferson Streets, Atkinson Street and Horse Lane. Here we see again the trend toward simpler housing designed for tenant occupancy in the Puddle Dock area as Portsmouth's maritime trade and general economic level declined in the 1820s.

The house takes its name from Grace Peacock, who purchased it in 1842. By 1850 she was married to Ashel Chase, a laborer, and she lived in this small house with her husband, three children and another family consisting of widow Mary Marston and her three year old son. By the middle of the nineteenth century it was common for more than one family to share the houses in this neighborhood.

Peacock House is unusual because it is the only one-and-a-half story house in Strawbery Banke (a type commonly referred to as a "Cape Cod House" or "Cape"), and it is one of the few such houses remaining in Portsmouth. This style was more common in the country than in the city In an urban environment like Portsmouth, where space was valuable, few buildings were constructed of less than two stories. In fact, by the time the house was constructed, three-story buildings such as the Shapley Town House had become a more common type in Portsmouth. Yet the very unusual nature of this house underscores the changing character of this neighborhood and the increasing demand for more rudimentary housing.

Peacock House is as modest in ornamentation as it is in size. The mantelpiece in the south room represents one of the builder's few concessions to the Federal style that still prevailed at the time of its construction. Despite this lack of decoration, the interior of the house seems spacious and pleasing.

A lean-to ell was added to the back of the house on the south end in the late 18OOs, and a second ell was added later. About 1940, a second story was constructed on top of the first addition. These extensions are clearly marked on the south side of the building to demonstrate to visitors the organic growth of the house over the years.