Beard, Briar & Rose

Exterior notes of Drayton Hall, on the Ashley River near Charleston, SC.

I’m just back from a trip south for a friend’s wedding, and I managed to get down to Charleston for a couple of days. I’ve been to Charleston several times over the years but I’ve never been to any of the numerous plantations. I’d always been intrigued by the brochures of this particular mansion and I’m glad I finally paid a visit. I’m a huge fan of Palladian architecture, and Drayton Hall, begun in 1738, is the first of it’s kind built in this country. The house was owned by the family until 1974, when it was sold to the nation for preservation. The house was never updated with any kind of modern convenience, and the interiors are sans furniture now; the paint on the walls worn off revealing wood grain. Indeed, walking through it I felt like I should be a model in an Anthropologie™ catalog. I wish more McMansions built everywhere these days could have more of a simplicity like this has, instead of being pastiched, multi-gabled monstrosities.

Drayton Hall interior notes …

Anthropologie catalog, anyone? The interiors are left and preserved as they were found in 1974 when the family sold the property to the nation, complete with details that were added over time.

(Next-to-last photo credit and more detail shots at Mark Hawkins Photo;

Last photo from the Library of Congress archive, probably early to mid-twentieth century, as the hall no longer has furniture.)