Drayton Hall on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Drayton Hall is an 18th-century
The mansion was built for the grandfather of John Drayton, John Drayton Sr. (–1779; son of Thomas and Ann Drayton) after he bought the property in 1738. As the third son in his family, he knew he was unlikely to inherit his own nearby birthplace, now called Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
For many decades, the house was thought to have been begun in 1738 and completed in 1752. In 2014, an examination of wood cores showed that the attic timbers were cut from trees felled in the winter of 1747–48. Because the attic framing would have to have been in place well before the completion of the interior finishes, the house is now thought to have been occupied by the early 1750s. The seven-bay, double-pile plantation house is within a site that is part of the plantation based on "Drayton Hall"
South Carolina Plantations, SCIway John Drayton bought considerable property nearby from his nephew William Drayton, Sr., after the latter was appointed as chief justice of the Province of
File:Drayton Hall c. 1890.PNG, When photographed by George LaGrange Cook in about 1890, Drayton Hall's two flanker buildings were still extant.
File:Drayton Hall plantation house distant.JPG, Drayton Hall plantation house viewed from behind one of several live oaks.
File:Drayton Hall1 Carol M Highsmith.jpg, Drayton Hall plantation house by Carol M. Highsmith.
File:The ashley river just behind drayton hall.JPG, The Ashley river, just behind Drayton Hall
File:Rear view of drayton hall.JPG, Rear view of Drayton Hall
File:Main down stairs living space at drayton hall.JPG, Main living space at Drayton Hall
File:Staircase at drayton hall.JPG, Drayton Hall staircase
Drayton Hall homepageThe Center for Palladian Studies in America, Inc.
at South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Drayton Hall *
Drayton Hall {{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Slave cabins and quarters in the United States Houses completed in 1752 1752 establishments in South Carolina South Carolina in the American Civil War National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina Drayton family Historic house museums in South Carolina Plantation houses in South Carolina Palladian Revival architecture in the United States Neoclassical architecture in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina Museums in Charleston, South Carolina Historic American Buildings Survey in South Carolina National Trust for Historic Preservation Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in South Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Indigo dye production Rice plantations in the United States
plantation house
A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and ...
located on the Ashley River about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
, and directly across the Ashley River from North Charleston, west of the Ashley in the Lowcountry
The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an impor ...
. An example of Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
in North America and the only plantation house on the Ashley River to survive intact through both the Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society.
Definition
The term—bot ...
and Civil wars, it is a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
.
Description
The house has a double projecting portico on the west facade, which faces away from the river and toward the land side approach from Ashley River Road. The portico resembles a similar feature at theVilla Cornaro
Villa Cornaro is a patrician villa in Piombino Dese, about 30 km northwest of Venice, Italy. It was designed by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in 1552 and is illustrated and described by him in Book Two of his 1570 masterwo ...
near Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, Italy, designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be on ...
in 1551. The floor plan of Drayton Hall is Palladian-inspired as well, perhaps derived from Plate 38 of James Gibbs' ''A Book of Architecture'', the influential pattern-book published in London in 1728. A large central entrance stair hall with a symmetrical divided staircase is backed by a large salon, flanked by square and rectangular chambers. Pediment
Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
ed chimney-pieces in the house echo designs of Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...
.
History
The mansion was built for the grandfather of John Drayton, John Drayton Sr. (–1779; son of Thomas and Ann Drayton) after he bought the property in 1738. As the third son in his family, he knew he was unlikely to inherit his own nearby birthplace, now called Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
For many decades, the house was thought to have been begun in 1738 and completed in 1752. In 2014, an examination of wood cores showed that the attic timbers were cut from trees felled in the winter of 1747–48. Because the attic framing would have to have been in place well before the completion of the interior finishes, the house is now thought to have been occupied by the early 1750s. The seven-bay, double-pile plantation house is within a site that is part of the plantation based on indigo
InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
and rice
Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
and the former site of 13 slave cabins believed to have housed approximately 78 slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
. Seven generations of Drayton heirs preserved the house, though the flanking outbuildings have not survived: an earthquake destroyed the laundry house in 1886, and a hurricane destroyed the kitchen in 1893.South Carolina Plantations, SCIway John Drayton bought considerable property nearby from his nephew William Drayton, Sr., after the latter was appointed as chief justice of the Province of
East Florida
East Florida () was a colony of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of the Spanish Empire from 1783 to 1821. The British gained control over Spanish Florida in 1763 as part of the Treaty of Paris (1763), Tre ...
in the early 1770s and was leaving South Carolina. John Drayton consolidated the various Drayton properties, and his descendants have controlled them since.
The house is located in the Ashley River Historic District
Ashley River Historic District is a historic district located west of the Ashley in the South Carolina Lowcountry in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The Historic District includes land from five municipalities, almost equally spli ...
, it was declared a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1960. and Drayton Hall is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and managed by the Drayton Hall Preservation Trust, which opened the house to the public in 1976.
Gallery
See also
*List of the oldest buildings in South Carolina
This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings surviving in the state of South Carolina in the United States of America, including the oldest houses in South Carolina and any other surviving structures. Some dates are approximate and b ...
* List of National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina
This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina, United States. The United States' National Historic Landmark (NHL) program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes buildings, sites, structures, ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Charleston, South Carolina
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ...
References
External links
Drayton Hall homepage
at South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Drayton Hall *
Drayton Hall {{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Slave cabins and quarters in the United States Houses completed in 1752 1752 establishments in South Carolina South Carolina in the American Civil War National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina Drayton family Historic house museums in South Carolina Plantation houses in South Carolina Palladian Revival architecture in the United States Neoclassical architecture in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina Museums in Charleston, South Carolina Historic American Buildings Survey in South Carolina National Trust for Historic Preservation Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in South Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Indigo dye production Rice plantations in the United States