Samuel Taylor Suit Cottage
Encyclopedia
The Samuel Taylor Suit Cottage, also known as the Berkeley Castle, is located on a hill above Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
. The castle-like house was built for Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit
of Washington, D.C.
as a personal retreat near the spa town, beginning in 1885. It was not complete by the time of his death in 1888 and was finished in the early 1890s for his widow, Rosa Pelham Suit, whom Suit had first met at Berkeley Springs. The post 1888 work is of noticeably inferior quality.
The fifteen-room interior features a ballroom 50 feet (15.2 m) wide and 40 ft (12.2 m) long. The design is attributed to Washington architect Alfred B. Mullett
, who is alleged to have drawn a rough sketch of the plan on a tablecloth at the Berkeley Springs Hotel. The design may have been based on elements of Berkeley Castle
in Gloucestershire
, United Kingdom
. Detailed design and construction supervision was carried out by Snowden Ashford, who designed Washington's Eastern Market
. Mrs. Suit entertained lavishly at the house until her money ran out and the property was sold in 1913.
Snowden Ashford
, also credited as an architect, apprenticed for Mullett.
The house is now privately owned and is available for rentals for special occasions.
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. The castle-like house was built for Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit
Samuel Taylor Suit
Samuel Taylor Suit was a Maryland politician and landowner. Suit was born in Bladensburg, Maryland, the son of innkeeper Fletcher Suit. At age 14 he left home and traveled first to Keokuk, Iowa, and then to Louisville, Kentucky. In Kentucky Suit became involved in distilling whiskey, eventually...
of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as a personal retreat near the spa town, beginning in 1885. It was not complete by the time of his death in 1888 and was finished in the early 1890s for his widow, Rosa Pelham Suit, whom Suit had first met at Berkeley Springs. The post 1888 work is of noticeably inferior quality.
The fifteen-room interior features a ballroom 50 feet (15.2 m) wide and 40 ft (12.2 m) long. The design is attributed to Washington architect Alfred B. Mullett
Alfred B. Mullett
Alfred Bult Mullett was an American architect who served from 1866 to 1874 as Supervising Architect, head of the agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings...
, who is alleged to have drawn a rough sketch of the plan on a tablecloth at the Berkeley Springs Hotel. The design may have been based on elements of Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK . The castle's origins date back to the 11th century and it has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.The castle has remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Detailed design and construction supervision was carried out by Snowden Ashford, who designed Washington's Eastern Market
Eastern Market, Washington, D.C.
The Eastern Market is a public market in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., housed in a 19th century brick building. It is located on 7th Street SE, a few blocks east of the U.S. Capitol between North Carolina Avenue SE and C Street SE. The Eastern Market is on the National...
. Mrs. Suit entertained lavishly at the house until her money ran out and the property was sold in 1913.
Snowden Ashford
Snowden Ashford
Snowden Ashford was an American architect who worked in Washington, D.C.. The Washington Post characterized him as "Architect of the Everyday", and noted: "Ashford designed or supervised everything the District built between 1895 and 1921, including the North Hall at the Eastern Market...
, also credited as an architect, apprenticed for Mullett.
The house is now privately owned and is available for rentals for special occasions.