His Lordship's Kindness
Encyclopedia
His Lordship's Kindness was built in the 1780s for Prince Georges County planter Robert Darnall near Clinton, Maryland
. The five-part Georgian
mansion, also known as Poplar Hill, retains a number of subsidiary buildings including a slave's hospital and a dovecote
.
was granted 7000 acres (28.3 km²) of land in Prince George's County, Maryland
in 1703 by Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
, which Darnall named in recognition of Lord Baltimore's gesture. Darnall built a house for his family on a nearby property, known as The Woodyard
, between 1683 and 1711. On Henry's death in 1711, the properties passed to his son, Henry Darnall II, who was forced to dispose of much of his father's accumulated 35000 acres (141.6 km²) of property to clear his debts before leaving the country. His son, Henry Darnall III received the remaining 1300 acres (5.3 km²) from his father, including 300 acres (1.2 km²) of the original grant with a mansion, which became known as Poplar Hill by the 1740s. Henry III, however, was found in 1761 to be embezzling money from one of his appointed positions, causing a bond to be forfeited and for fines to be paid by Henry's guarantors, his brother John Darnall, and Charles Carroll of Annapolis
.
Henry III's brother Robert found the means to buy back the original grant and replaced the original house with the present structure, completed in 1786. Darnall, who died childless in 1803, left the property to his nephew Robert Sewall. Sewall in turn left the property to his son Robert Darnall Sewall. The son in turn left the property to two nieces, Susan and Ellen Daingerfield of Alexandria, Virginia
, in 1853. In 1865 Susan Daingerfield married future US Senator John Strode Barbour
. Through the next hundred years, the property passed through a number of hands, including David K.E. Bruce, Chandler Hale
, and the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
. The eastern pavilion contained the kitchen , while a chapel was located in the west pavilion. The kitchen was renovated as a study in the 1920s but retained an interior balcony. The main block features a projecting bay containing the recessed entry door with fanlight, pilasters and pediment, and a large Palladian window on the second story. The facade's other windows have stone sills and flat arch lintels. The rear, or garden elevation is similarly composed, but lacks the projecting bay, and the door is less elaborately detailed.
A center hall extends from the front to the garden doors. Narrow lateral halls run out to the wings, and with the center hall, subdivide the first floor into four rooms. The center hall is bisected by a wide arch, with the main stairway to the rear on the east side. The plan of the first floor is repeated on the second, with four bedrooms.
Clinton, Maryland
Clinton is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the American Civil War. The population of Clinton was 26,064 at the 2000 census. However, as of 2007, there is an...
. The five-part Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
mansion, also known as Poplar Hill, retains a number of subsidiary buildings including a slave's hospital and a dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
.
History
Colonel Henry DarnallHenry Darnall
Colonel Henry Darnall , was a wealthy Maryland Roman Catholic planter, the Proprietary Agent of Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore . He served as Deputy Governor in Maryland. During the Protestant Revolution of 1689, his proprietarial army was defeated by the Puritan army of Colonel John Coode,...
was granted 7000 acres (28.3 km²) of land in Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
in 1703 by Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, 2nd Proprietor and 6th and 9th Proprietary Governor of Maryland , inherited the colony in 1675 upon the death of his father, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. He had been his father's Deputy Governor since 1661 when he arrived in the colony at the age of 24...
, which Darnall named in recognition of Lord Baltimore's gesture. Darnall built a house for his family on a nearby property, known as The Woodyard
Woodyard Archeological Site
The Woodyard Archeological Site is an unexcavated archaeological site located in Clinton, Prince George's County, Maryland. This site was originally patented as "Darnall’s Delight" for Colonel Henry Darnall in 1683...
, between 1683 and 1711. On Henry's death in 1711, the properties passed to his son, Henry Darnall II, who was forced to dispose of much of his father's accumulated 35000 acres (141.6 km²) of property to clear his debts before leaving the country. His son, Henry Darnall III received the remaining 1300 acres (5.3 km²) from his father, including 300 acres (1.2 km²) of the original grant with a mansion, which became known as Poplar Hill by the 1740s. Henry III, however, was found in 1761 to be embezzling money from one of his appointed positions, causing a bond to be forfeited and for fines to be paid by Henry's guarantors, his brother John Darnall, and Charles Carroll of Annapolis
Charles Carroll of Annapolis
Charles Carroll of Annapolis was a wealthy Maryland planter and lawyer. His father was Charles Carroll the Settler, an immigrant to Maryland who had arrived in the colony in 1689 with a commission as Attorney General, and had accumulated a vast fortune, emerging as Maryland's wealthiest citizen...
.
Henry III's brother Robert found the means to buy back the original grant and replaced the original house with the present structure, completed in 1786. Darnall, who died childless in 1803, left the property to his nephew Robert Sewall. Sewall in turn left the property to his son Robert Darnall Sewall. The son in turn left the property to two nieces, Susan and Ellen Daingerfield of Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, in 1853. In 1865 Susan Daingerfield married future US Senator John Strode Barbour
John S. Barbour, Jr.
John Strode Barbour, Jr. was a Representative and a Senator from Virginia. He is best remembered for taking power in Virginia from the short-lived Readjuster Party in the late 1880s, forming the first political machine of "Conservative Democrats", whose power was to last 80 years until the demise...
. Through the next hundred years, the property passed through a number of hands, including David K.E. Bruce, Chandler Hale
Chandler Hale
Chandler Hale was a United States diplomat who served as Third Assistant Secretary of State from 1909 to 1913.-Biography:Chandler Hale was born in 1873, the son of Eugene Hale and his wife, the former Mary Douglas Chandler, daughter of Zachariah Chandler...
, and the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
Description
His Lordship's Kindness is a five-part ensemble with a hipped-roof central block measuring 56 feet (17.1 m) wide by 48 feet (14.6 m) deep. The central block is 2½ stories tall, with dormers in the rear elevation. It is connected to two -1/2 story end pavilions by single-story hyphensHyphen (architecture)
In architecture, a hyphen is a connecting link between two larger building elements. It is typically found in Georgian style architecture, where the hyphens form connections between a large central house and end pavilions in the Georgian five-part house, which was in turn derived from Palladian...
. The eastern pavilion contained the kitchen , while a chapel was located in the west pavilion. The kitchen was renovated as a study in the 1920s but retained an interior balcony. The main block features a projecting bay containing the recessed entry door with fanlight, pilasters and pediment, and a large Palladian window on the second story. The facade's other windows have stone sills and flat arch lintels. The rear, or garden elevation is similarly composed, but lacks the projecting bay, and the door is less elaborately detailed.
A center hall extends from the front to the garden doors. Narrow lateral halls run out to the wings, and with the center hall, subdivide the first floor into four rooms. The center hall is bisected by a wide arch, with the main stairway to the rear on the east side. The plan of the first floor is repeated on the second, with four bedrooms.
Visiting
The John M. and Sara R. Walton Foundation own and operate the property as a historic house museum. Guided tours of the historic house are offered from March through December. The facilities are available for rental.External links
- Poplar Hill on His Lordship's Kindness - official site
- His Lordship's Kindness, Prince George's County, including photo in 1974, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Poplar Hill, 7606 Woodyard Road (His Lordship's Kindness Road) (Rosaryville vicinity), Clinton, Prince George's County, MD: 3 drawings, 48 photos, 19 data pages, 3 photo caption pages, at Historic American Building Survey
- Poplar Hill, Pigeon Cote, 7606 Woodyard Road, Clinton, Prince George's County, MD: 6 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page, at Historic American Building Survey
- Poplar Hill, Privy, 7606 Woodyard Road, Clinton, Prince George's County, MD: 8 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page, at Historic American Building Survey
- Poplar Hill, Slave Hospital, 7606 Woodyard Road, Clinton, Prince George's County, MD: 2 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page, at Historic American Building Survey
- Poplar Hill, Smokehouse, 7606 Woodyard Road, Clinton, Prince George's County, MD: 2 photos, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page, at Historic American Building Survey
- Poplar Hill, Wash House, 7606 Woodyard Road, Clinton, Prince George's County, MD: 1 photo, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page, at Historic American Building Survey