During my visit to Calke Abbey with the Attingham Summer School last year, opinions were mixed about the site. Some appreciated the unusual insight into the history of the family that had lived there for centuries while others viewed it as a cautionary tale about the consequences of rarely throwing anything away. Built by Sir…
The start of the 68th Attingham Summer School yesterday brought back wonderful memories from attending last year. Attingham was an amazing experience to study the architecture, art, decorative arts, landscape and material culture of English country houses from medieval times to the late 19th century. It was an incredible opportunity and I am still learning…
The harvest is in at the Chancognie House and I thank you for following the trials and tribulations of cultivating peaches here in downtown Charleston. I received quite a few questions about the peach tree, so I thought that I would provide a short history – like many things here at the Chancognie House, my…
Thank you to the Post and Courier for the fantastic feature on Chancognie Coffee! You can read the full article here – more about this project coming soon!
For most of my time here at the Chancognie House, work has focused on restoration – bringing various parts of the house, such as the second-floor piazza archways, pictured below, back to their original appearance. Recently, as you may have noticed from my posts on Instagram and Facebook, I embarked on a renovation project here…
Like most early American cities, Charleston has a long history of fires both small and large. Wooden buildings in close proximity to each other along with fire-building for cooking and warmth were all too often a combustible combination. The fire of April 27-28, 1838 burned over 500 properties and stopped just down the street from…
One of the many highlights of my Attingham Summer School experience was the rooftop tour of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. Rooftop is a bit misleading, however, as we not only went up to the roof, we went inside the roof. Coming from the US, I am always amazed at things I can do in…
Robert Adam (1728-92) is my favorite architect. To be fair, my admiration for Adam is a recent development as I had never heard of him before I took up residence in the Chancognie House. The Buildings of Charleston described the house as having “Adamesque” detailing, so after reading that, I started to study Adam’s work…
Raby Castle has weathered tumultuous times during a history that spans more than 600 years, and this is reflected in the building itself. Built by the powerful Nevill family in the 14th century, most of the exterior dates to this period. After a series of changes in ownership due to political turmoil, the Castle was…
People often ask me when work at the Chancognie House will be finished. (For the record, my parents stopped asking this question years ago.) I answer that question with a smile and say, “Probably never.” There is work involved with owning any home, no matter the age. Historic homes are a special undertaking, especially if…
The Accidental Preservationist 