The John Langley House is a two-story building with a gable roof and an interior central chimney. With a build date c.1807, it is typical of many Newport houses constructed between 1730-40 and 1815. This is the only house that the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) ever moved twice. The house was purchased by NRF in 1969 and restored in 1970 and again in 1977.

The original fan light doorway is the key to the construction date of the house, as are the cornice and window treatments, all of which reflect the refined style of the Federal period. Applying later modern details to an earlier building, perhaps seventy-five or one hundred years older and of a different style, was not uncommon in Newport. The Langley House offers a fine example of this practice.

Originally situated on Fair Street, the house was scheduled for demolition in order to make way for Memorial Boulevard West. In 1970, the building was moved-complete with its chimney pile in place-to a lot on the south side of Church Street. The house was restored while it stood at this location. In 1977, when the development of Queen Ann Square was in progress, the house was moved again, this time to the north side of Church Street, facing the newly created square. Certain changes were made and additional work done to the house after this second move.