John Drayton’s Garden House: An Archaeological and Architectural Examination of a Gentleman’s Retreat in the Context of the Anglo-Palladian Movement in Colonial South Carolina.

Summary

Drayton Hall c. 1738 is widely regarded as the first fully executed example of Palladian domestic architecture in Colonial America.  Located 12 miles from the colonial capital of Charles Towne,  SC, the property was conceived as a gentleman’s country estate situated at the center of a network of commercial plantations totaling more than 100,000 acres.  Drawing on recent historical and archaeological examinations, this paper will examine the design and orientation of John Drayton’s garden house and its surrounding landscape to illustrate how such a building played a central role in the construction of Drayton’s formalized home seat.  What’s more, such an examination will compare the garden house to seventeenth century examples Anglo-Palladian architecture in England in order to expose the roots of Drayton Hall’s initial design and the development of Palladianism in North America.   

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Another Brick in the Wall: Buildings and Architecture   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 651