Tudor Place Times · Winter 2013

/by

Architect’s Final (“Presentation”) Drawing for Tudor Place

/by

 

· Architecture ·

Dr. William Thornton is known to have drafted 11 sets of plans (serially) for Tudor Place on behalf of clients Martha and Thomas Peter. Ten belong to the Library of Congress. Thornton’s final presentation plan for the house resides in the Tudor Place Archive.


« Return to Topic

On the Track – Thomas Peter, Henry Clay, and the Duchess of Marlborough

/by

 

· Georgetown and the Federal City ·

Horse racing was popular among the landed gentry and elite of the city well before the nation’s capital became a reality. With a notice published on April 10, 1769, offering a purse of 25 pounds for the winner of a race in Georgetown, a social tradition was established that would last a century. Archivist Wendy Kail “visits” these historic arenas using correspondence in the Archive and other contemporary accounts of the sport’s highlights and leading participants, including the Peters of Tudor Place.


« Return to Topic

Possible Servant/Slave Domicile: Tennis Lawn Archaeology Investigation (2013)

/by

This investigation was undertaken based on evidence from a 2010-2011 Phase-One survey that a building – possibly a slave quarter – may have stood in the North Garden east of the Center Walk. In March 2013, six test units were dug and features consistent with a possible dwelling were found in two of them. The features’ size, their apparent configuration, and recovered artifacts suggest it may have been a root cellar or sub-floor associated with a dwelling for enslaved workers or other servants.


« Return to Topic

Conservation Studies Resource List compiled by Tudor Place staff

/by
· Conservation ·

Tudor Place is dedicated to sharing best practices and new technologies in conservation and collections care through a variety of educational resources and workshops. For study and reference in this area, curatorial staff recommends these print and online resources.


« Return to Topic

In Boxwood Knot Restoration, Opportunity to Excavate (2011)

/by
· Archaeology ·

Undertaken in conjunction with the regrading and restoration of the North Garden’s Boxwood Knot rose garden, this October 2011 dig was commissioned during an 11-day window when the area was cleared of vegetation. From three test units and 10 shovel test pits, 893 artifacts were recovered. The knot garden’s southeast corner revealed a brick rubble layer identified as architectural debris from a past event containing handmade bricks with sparse fragments of burnt lime. In the garden’s northwest corner, a post hole was found – possibly part of a fence dating to the area’s use as a working yard or a post-in-ground outbuilding or arbor.


« Return to Topic

Tudor Place Floor Plan

/by

 

· Architecture ·

The original 1816 house at Tudor Place designed by Dr. William Thornton consisted of two two-story wings connecting to a two-story center block by one-story corridors (“hyphens”). Thornton’s circular Temple Portico is embedded in center, its interior half forming a curved wall of glass windows and its exterior, a majestically domed, colonnaded portico. Via the Saloon, the Portico links two public reception room and creates an airy interface between the interior and the South Lawn’s expansive views. In 1876 an addition on the house’s western wing added a one-story kitchen.


« Return to Topic

Phase-I Archaeology Survey (2010-2011) of Tudor Place

/by
· Archaeology ·

This 2010-2011 project for the first time surveyed all 5½ acres of Tudor Place. Performed by Dovetail Cultural Resource Group at the behest of Tudor Place, it entailed GPS mapping and the digging of 222 test pits, among other investigations, and recovered 874 artifacts. The study laid the groundwork for further study and excavation and was the subject of a 2012 D.C. Historic Preservation Award for Excellence in Archaeology conferred on Tudor Place.


« Return to Topic

The Square Piano: Conservator’s Report

/by
· Conservation ·

Purchased by Major George Peter (1779–1861), this 1804 John Broadwood & Sons instrument has remained in the Peter family for generations. A conservation and cleaning project undertaken in 2012 revealed that most of its parts are original and in an excellent state of preservation. Most notably, the instrument has a six-octave compass (with span from DD to d4) unique among surviving Broadwood pianofortes.


« Return to Topic