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The Accidental Preservationist

An unexpected journey

East elevation of the Chancognie House.

 

The Chancognie House

 

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What is The AP?

Join me on an unexpected journey in restoration and research at the circa 1810 Simon Jude Chancognie House in Charleston, South Carolina and beyond.

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The town of Childsbury, named for founder James Child, was established in early 18th century on the Cooper River. With few roads in existence, rivers were used extensively for transportation and Child established Strawberry Ferry which provided a route to Charleston. Strawberry Chapel (for more on its history, see my previous post) was built c. 1725 as a chapel of ease for the Childsbury settlement. It is still active today, hosting weddings, baptisms, and funerals for descendants of the families who originally worshipped here. Various family plots surround Strawberry Chapel with constant vigilance necessary to deter senseless vandalism. #theaccidentalpreservationist
Strawberry Chapel is the only surviving structure from the 1707 Childsbury settlement located in present-day Cordesville in Berkley County. Constructed c.1725 as a chapel of ease for the St. John’s Berkley Parish, the chapel was a mission church to Biggin Church, the primary parish church. As the name suggests a chapel of ease was built as a place of worship for parishioners who could not easily access the main parish church. Unlike most chapels of ease, baptism, and funeral services, usually performed only at parish churches, were regularly performed at Strawberry Chapel. The Childsbury settlement struggled and eventually failed with the settlement’s buildings absorbed into the nearby Strawberry Plantation which later became part of the Rice Hope Plantation. The brick structure beside the Chapel is the Harleston Family vault which served as a receiving tomb where bodies would be stored prior to burial. An anteroom was added to the chapel in the early 1800s and a balcony added in the 1850s fell during the 1886 earthquake and was donated to the nearby Taveau Methodist Church. On the rear wall, “Glory to God in the Highest” was written using pieces of pinecones, the date of installation is unknown. The Chapel still owns silver made by Miles Brewton, a chalice and paten, which are some of the earliest pieces of southern silver and are on loan to the Charleston Museum. Thanks to @draytonhall and the Ball family for arranging this special visit! #theaccidentalpreservationist
Finding a fragment of hand blown green bottle glass is not unusual at the Chancognie House – I have thousands of pieces from the excavation of the privy here. The location of this shard, however was most unexpected – wedged in the mortar between the upper bricks of the dining room chimney. Thanks to @unrepentantclassicist for discovering this during repointing work – slide to see if you can spot it from the ground. The question, of course, is how did it get there? I would love to hear your theories! #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse
If you have followed me for a while, you know that I often post stories about artifacts that I find here at the Chancognie House. While it might seem that I do this rather casually, these surface finds are an important part of the archaeological record here. Slide to see some of the artifacts found during recent yardwork – from mochaware and handblown glass to Coke bottle caps and Legos these items reference the many lives lived here over the centuries. From one of the tiniest ceramic fragments I have ever found to an in the field mend, I carefully note where I find the artifacts and store them until I have enough to warrant a washing session. Once the artifacts are clean and dry, I store them according to their field specimen (FS) number. Eventually I will label them, catalog them and work on reassembling vessels – looking forward to doing this once I get my archaeology space set up this fall! #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse
In another installment of you never know what you might find when you start taking your house apart, I present vines in the wall of the dining room. Fortunately, they are not actively growing and I have no desire to replant. The west wall of the dining room has seen many repairs over the years, especially under the window where I found these vines, so unfortunately, other treasures in the wall, if there were any are long gone. #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse
Christmas in July…. Truth be told, it is Christmas year round at this property or at least it has been ever since I moved to Charleston over a decade ago. There used to be an artificial tree illuminated with multicolor lights in the lower right front window, but I suspect that it became a fire hazard and has not been lit for a long time. Oddly enough, seeing the wreath on the door made me think about decorating for Christmas at my home here at the Chancognie House – not that I will take any decorating cues from the owners of this property and a lot will depend on the progress of various projects, so let me know if you have any suggestions! #theaccidentalpreservationist

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The town of Childsbury, named for founder James Child, was established in early 18th century on the Cooper River. With few roads in existence, rivers were used extensively for transportation and Child established Strawberry Ferry which provided a route to Charleston. Strawberry Chapel (for more on its history, see my previous post) was built c. 1725 as a chapel of ease for the Childsbury settlement. It is still active today, hosting weddings, baptisms, and funerals for descendants of the families who originally worshipped here. Various family plots surround Strawberry Chapel with constant vigilance necessary to deter senseless vandalism. #theaccidentalpreservationist
Strawberry Chapel is the only surviving structure from the 1707 Childsbury settlement located in present-day Cordesville in Berkley County. Constructed c.1725 as a chapel of ease for the St. John’s Berkley Parish, the chapel was a mission church to Biggin Church, the primary parish church. As the name suggests a chapel of ease was built as a place of worship for parishioners who could not easily access the main parish church. Unlike most chapels of ease, baptism, and funeral services, usually performed only at parish churches, were regularly performed at Strawberry Chapel. The Childsbury settlement struggled and eventually failed with the settlement’s buildings absorbed into the nearby Strawberry Plantation which later became part of the Rice Hope Plantation. The brick structure beside the Chapel is the Harleston Family vault which served as a receiving tomb where bodies would be stored prior to burial. An anteroom was added to the chapel in the early 1800s and a balcony added in the 1850s fell during the 1886 earthquake and was donated to the nearby Taveau Methodist Church. On the rear wall, “Glory to God in the Highest” was written using pieces of pinecones, the date of installation is unknown. The Chapel still owns silver made by Miles Brewton, a chalice and paten, which are some of the earliest pieces of southern silver and are on loan to the Charleston Museum. Thanks to @draytonhall and the Ball family for arranging this special visit! #theaccidentalpreservationist
Finding a fragment of hand blown green bottle glass is not unusual at the Chancognie House – I have thousands of pieces from the excavation of the privy here. The location of this shard, however was most unexpected – wedged in the mortar between the upper bricks of the dining room chimney. Thanks to @unrepentantclassicist for discovering this during repointing work – slide to see if you can spot it from the ground. The question, of course, is how did it get there? I would love to hear your theories! #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse
If you have followed me for a while, you know that I often post stories about artifacts that I find here at the Chancognie House. While it might seem that I do this rather casually, these surface finds are an important part of the archaeological record here. Slide to see some of the artifacts found during recent yardwork – from mochaware and handblown glass to Coke bottle caps and Legos these items reference the many lives lived here over the centuries. From one of the tiniest ceramic fragments I have ever found to an in the field mend, I carefully note where I find the artifacts and store them until I have enough to warrant a washing session. Once the artifacts are clean and dry, I store them according to their field specimen (FS) number. Eventually I will label them, catalog them and work on reassembling vessels – looking forward to doing this once I get my archaeology space set up this fall! #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse
In another installment of you never know what you might find when you start taking your house apart, I present vines in the wall of the dining room. Fortunately, they are not actively growing and I have no desire to replant. The west wall of the dining room has seen many repairs over the years, especially under the window where I found these vines, so unfortunately, other treasures in the wall, if there were any are long gone. #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse
Christmas in July…. Truth be told, it is Christmas year round at this property or at least it has been ever since I moved to Charleston over a decade ago. There used to be an artificial tree illuminated with multicolor lights in the lower right front window, but I suspect that it became a fire hazard and has not been lit for a long time. Oddly enough, seeing the wreath on the door made me think about decorating for Christmas at my home here at the Chancognie House – not that I will take any decorating cues from the owners of this property and a lot will depend on the progress of various projects, so let me know if you have any suggestions! #theaccidentalpreservationist

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The Accidental Preservationist: Juliana Falk


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