Europe and the Far and Middle East. She also converted one of the boxwood parterres to beds of colorful coleus, which was fashionable in early 19th HAM\TC?N century Europe. By 1880, the gardens also boasted ov r 20,000 bedding plants and 4,000 roses in more 1= than 275 beds. By the end of the 19th century, however, the Ridgely fa mily was forced to reduce its lavish style and the parterres were revised to lessen the maintenance costs. Eventually, all but Parterre I were returned to grass. For almost two hundred years, many visitors have ABOUT YOUR VISIT enjoyed Hampton's gardens and grounds. Hampton hils one of the finest collections of mature native and The grounds are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. exotic trees in Maryland, and the trees' great size except January 1 and December 25. The Mansion is CO!nplements the impressive late Georgian archi­ open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 te ture of the Mansion. Distinguished guests, in­ p.m.; Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The last tour cluding Theodore Roosevelt and Lafayette, have begins at 4:30 p.m. Advanced notices for groups of enjoyed the lovely grounds you are about to discover. ten or more are requested, and special tours may be arranged in advance. Admission is free. A tearoom, The wal ing tour is designed to acquaint you wi th serving luncheon, and a gift shop are located in the Hampton's aried landsca pe st !es. The gardens and Mansion. grounds of the Hampton estate have e ol ed with the Ridgely family, who occupied the Mansio n for six generations. Seventy years after its construction, the noted horticulturist, Henry inthrop Sargent, de­ scribed Hampton: "The entrance hall, of great width and dignit , passes the isitor to the south front, where is a terraced garden of great antiquity, with clipped cedar hedges of most enerable appearance. .. The fo rmal terraces of e quisitel) ept ra s, the long ro\ s of superb lemon and orange tree , \ ith the adjacent orangerie and the fo reign air of the house, quite distu rb ones ideas of republican America." From the beginning, the Ridgelys were interested in landscape gardening. Although information con­ cerning the early planning of the gardens is in­ complete, it is known that Charles Carnan Ridgely (Governor of Maryland, 1815-1818) desired to make a HOW TO GET TO HAMPTON showplace of Hampton. He inherited the property in 1790 fr om his uncle, Captain Charles Rid gely, who ST 0 P 1: Begin the tour at the marble steps NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE buil t the ansion. In 1802, Charles Carnan Ridgely on the north facade of the Mansion (labeled A on the The park is accessible from the Baltimore Beltway approved garden desig ns developed by Willia m Russell map).~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- (l-695) via exits 27 and 28 north. Public trans­ Birch, the Philadelphian artis t. It is also generally From the marble steps, look across the sweeping portation from Baltimore serves the Towson area believed that William Booth, a well-respected American la wn to the Lower House (the farmhouse), which within a mile of the park. In Towson, take Dulaney nurseryman, supervised the construction of the predates the construction of the Mansion. Some of Valley Road (Md. 146) north across the Beltway and parterres, the geometric formal ga rdens, by 1801. Hampton's finest specimen trees are located on the immediately turn right on Hampton Lane, which In 1799, Charles Carnan Ridgely had 10,590 feet of north lawn, where they have had space to develop. leads to the park. This is a dangerous intersection; be wooden irrigation pipes la id to convey water from The north lawn design is adapted from the English careful not to enter the Beltway ramps located nearby springs to the Mansion, ga rdens and meadows. la ndscape park, popularized by Britain's "Capability" adjacent to Hampton Lane. By 1859, irriga tion water was conducted from a Brown and Humphry Repton. Such landscape parks spring by 2,000 feet of lead pipe to a reservoir at the appear to be simple and informal but are, in fact, Hampton NHS is administered by the National Park Mansion. From there, the system radiated to hydrants carefully planned and designed to look natural. The Service, United States Department of the Interior. placed throughout the gardens. style was a drastic break from the formal geometric Hampton Historic Site, 535 Hampton Lane, Towson, hen John Ri dgely (1790-1867) and his wife, Eliza fashion which had reached its highest development in Md. 21204. (301) 823-7054 (1803-1867) lived in the Mansion, they made many France in the 17th century. Hampton's parterres on changes to the gardens. Eli za Ridgely was a frequent This Garden and Grounds tour is printed by Historic the south side are in the formal geometric mode. traveler who brought numerous exotic trees from Hampton, Inc. & Preservation Maryland, in cooper­ An elegant approach avenue of trees, was typically ation with the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. as wide as the mansion itself. Hampton's avenue of and hidden by trees, is a small portion of a 21-acre of nature - a popular Victoria n pastime. The the naturalistic style of the Engli sh la ndscape park. trees conforms to this colonial practice. An uniq ue orchard (M) which Jo hn and Eliza Ridgely planted in porticoes were favori te spots for social gatherings. However, the Hampton parterre gardens, laid out by feature at Hampton is the heart-shaped drive-around the 1830's. This orchard, which contained primarily Wisteria once gr ew up the pilasters to the Chinese­ 1801, followed the much earlier formal geometric in front of the Mansion, probably a result of the apple and peach varieties, flanked the east and west Chippendale style railing, almost obscuring the plans once fa vored by European and English ari - Romantic movement of the early 19th century. sides of the fo rmal gardens and Great Terrace. portico's entrance. The cu rrent iron umbrellas on tocracy. The deliberate selection of this latter style by The Tulip tree (1 on the map) and the Purple Around 19 0, a portion of this field contained a either side of the south portico steps are not original Charles Carnan Ridgely, symbolized the stability, European Beech (2) are especially noteworthy. fhese itchen garden, which had once been located on the to Hampton's landscaping pla n, but support wisteria culture and refinement of his Europea n ancestry. two trees were planted circa 1825. bo tom erraces belo\,. he parterres. in a manner also prevalen in the 19th century. When viewed from the cu pola of the Mansion, the The large mound of earth on the left is a sub­ The Ri el y a mily cemetery (N) is at the end of the Immediately below the south portico steps is a brick terracing creates an optical fantasy, leveling the terranean ice house (B). Built with a brick-vaulted roa o the east o he orchard. walkway. The bric val. way and those of crushed parterres o a continuous patterned garden. This ceiling and rock-lined walls, it was used to store blocks limestone create a va riet of paths throughout the proportioning indicates consid erable sophistication of ice cut from local ponds during the winter. The south gardens. and kno\ ledge of garden design and engineering. stables (C and D) to the east side of the law n were While strolling aroun the erpen i e walkways, In 1949, the late Alden Hopkins, landscape architect built in 1803 and 1867. They quartered the Ri dgely take note of the numerous marble vases purchased by of Colonial Will iamsburg, prepared a restoration family's fine racing thoroughbreds and trotting Eliza Ridgely. She " ' ely cho e •a e of cl assical design fo r Hampton's gardens and grounds . The horses. There is an equestrian exhibit in the Upper design which con inue to li n he , 1an io n's archi­ four parterres on the two terraces have been restored Stable (C). tecture to that o he la ndsca or reconstructed to their approximate appearance prior to 1830. Ea ch parterre has boxwood perimeters in conformance with Mr. Hopkin's plan...... __ ,___ On the fi rst terrace is the original Parterre I (P) . This unaltered parterre is indicative of how the others were probably designed. Parterres I and II (Q ) have been planted with ground covers, and interplanted with sprin bulbs and other seasonal plantings. The second terrace, Parterres III (R) and JV (S), features old-fashioned roses, known as Heritage Roses. Heritage Roses va ry in pe rsonality, express variations in fo liage and fragrance, and are the parents of all modern hybrid roses. The third terrace features peonies. Peonies are among our oldest cultivated pla nts, originating in STOP 3: Walk to the south side of the China. A popular 18th and 19th century bloom, they Mansion and stand in front of the sandstone steps. appear as the principal motif on porcelain, textiles and From here, one can view the Great Terrace. - -- other decorative objects. In Gm·ernor Rid el 's ay, a bowling green, or a To provide enclosure, arborvitae hedging fla n s moo h le\·el la wn was located adjacent to a fashion­ the formal ga rdens on the east and west sides. able home The narle Catalpas (3, 4, 5) and one remai nin ori ina l Cedar (6) along the crest of the STOP 2: Now walk east along the drive. At Terrace are nearly 2 O years old, which indicate that STOP 4: An e cellent place to iew the the end of the Mansion, turn right onto the brick the G rea t Terrace existed at the time of the Mansion's parterres is the center of the southern part of the terrace (E) and proceed to its far end to the gate.- construction. walkway that circles the Great Terrace. ------This section was used as the Mansion's service area. During the mid-19th century. Eli za Ridgely planted The parterres are he rownin Jory of the Beyond the far end of the terrace are, from left to e oti c evergreen and deciduous specimen trees on the Hampton gardens. T heir size and dramatic erra cing right, a 20th century garage (F), a smokehouse (G), a open lawn. The trees were planted following the make them unique among he ar ens of early ST 0 P 5: Toward the west, leading from the wood shed (H), a pair of privies (I) and a pumphouse CT) . design ideas of Andrew Jackson Downing (1815- Maryland and \ irginia. Ham ton had pairs of main brick walkway, lies a marble ch ip pat h, The area labeled (K) is presently an herb garden. 1852), then the foremost landscape gardener in the parterres on each of three errace an belo v them constructed in the 1850's. It by-passes the Great Culinary and medicinal herbs similar to those used country. Of special in terest is the Cedar of Lebanon w ere kitchen gardens, which wa an 1 h century Terrace to the west, leading to the parterres (P, Q, R during the 18th century, are planted within the (7) which is generally believed to have been trans­ practice. and S) and the greenhouses (T and U). ----- foundation of the 19th century octagonal servant ported from the Middle Eas t by Eliza Ridgely, in a Construction of the ter races or "fa lls" oo place Historically, this area has been used primarily to quarters, which burned over 50 years ago. shoe box. The tree is the state champion and one of during the late 1 90's and probably invol •ed movi ng serve the needs of the gardens. Its support structures The cutting garden (L) has been planted for the the largest in the country. Unfortunately, its location greater volumes of earth than in any other early include two restored greenhouses (T and U); cold production of plant materials used in flower ar­ and current size interrupt the primary axis that runs American garden. The presence o ra sed ramps frames; a gardener's cottage, circa 1790, 1843 and rangements in the Mansion. from the farm through the Mansion's Great Hall and rather than steps is a statemen o in ormality that is 1855 (V); and a garden maintenance building, circa In 1772, Captain Charles Ridgely ,maintained an continues down to, and divides the parterres. unlike the European practice. 1875 (W) . By 1880, there were at least four other orchard on the Hampton estate which consisted of The ictorian cast iron benches were installed by By 1790, several merican arden , incl uding those specialized buildings, including a grapery and a fernery 722 apple trees. The terraced field to the southeast Eliza Ridgely to provid e areas for the contemplation at Mount Vernon and 1 onticello, were designed in which no lo nger exist. The Saucer Magnolia tree (8), the state champion, citrus trees in America. Grapes were also grown on was an innovative hybrid when planted during the the Orangerie's wall s in espaliered fashion. During 1820's. The Pecan tree (9) is the tallest tree on the the warm season, 40 potted ci trus plants encircled he property, measuring ll5 feet. G reat Terrace. T he pl ants were transferred to the O rangerie during the winter months. A hypocaus (wood furnace), located in the shed at the west end, provided heat in the winter through flue that ran under the building. CONCLUSION: ___ At Hampton, an interdependent and harmonious relationship between art and nature was perceived as essential. In the 1859 sixth edition supplement to A. J. Downing's A T realise on the Theory and Prac ice o Lnnds ape ST 0 P 6: The last stop on the walking tour is Gardening, Henry Wi nthrop Sargent states, '1t has the Orangerie (X). ------been truly said of Hampton that it expresses more The present Orangerie is a reconstruction of the grandeur than any other place in America." circa 1825 Greek Revival structure that burned in Landscape gardening is an exceedingly fra il e art 1929. Orangeries were seldom seem in early America wh ich can disappear in a few years if the gardens are and were actually fading from fash ion when neglected. Consequently, Hampton's gardens an Hampton's was built. At one time, the Hampton grounds are a heritage of incalculable value or Orangerie housed one of the fin est collections of current and future generations. ----~..... ~ . uide - MAP KEY STOPS B POINTS OF INTEREST LOCATION KEY 3 TREES OF INTEREST A. Mansion B. Ice House C. Upper Stable TREE KEY D. Lower Stable E. Brick Terrace 1. Tulip tree Liriodendron fulipifera F. 20th Century Garage 2. Purple European Beech Fagus sylvatica 'Atropunicea' G. Smokehouse 3. Common Catalpa Catalpa bignonioides H. Wood Shed 4. Common Catalpa Catalpa bignonioides I. Privies 5. Common Catalpa Catalpa bignonioides J. Pump house 6. Red Cedar ]uniperus virginiana K. Herb Garden 7. Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus liba ni L. Cutting Garden 8. Saucer Magnolia Magnolia x soulangiana M. Orchard 9. Pecan tree Carya illinoinensis N. Ridgely Family Cemetery: Preservation Maryland 0 . Great Terrace P. Parterre I: Garden Club of America Q. Parterre II: Roland Park Garden Club R. Parterre III: Wolcott-Conroy-Lilly S. Parterre IV: District Ill, Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, Inc. T. Greenhouse U. Greenhouse V. Gardener's Cottage W. Garden Maintenance Building X. Orangerie

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