Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 5-2012 Unlocking Drayton Hall: A Survey and Analysis of Hardware at a Southern Plantation Lauren Elizabeth Golden Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Recommended Citation Golden, Lauren Elizabeth, "Unlocking Drayton Hall: A Survey and Analysis of Hardware at a Southern Plantation" (2012). All Theses. 1385. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1385 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNLOCKING DRAYTON HALL: A SURVEY AND ANALYSIS OF HARDWARE AT A SOUTHERN PLANTATION A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Historic Preservation by Lauren Elizabeth Golden May 2012 Accepted by: Carter L. Hudgins, Ph.D, Committee Chair Richard Marks III Frances Henderson Ford ABSTRACT No other single architectural element at Drayton Hall near Charleston, South Carolina better reflects the social and financial evolution of the house better than its hardware. When Drayton Hall was built, architectural hardware was in a period of transition, shifting from displaying hardware as a symbol of one’s ability to purchase relatively expensive items to conceptualizing of rooms as holistic spaces where the hardware elements were as hidden as possible. Generations of family owners significantly changed the original, cohesive hierarchy of types ranging from the highly stylized to the simply functional, but much of the original remains. This thesis is twofold, combining data management and architectural history. Each of the nearly 1200 pieces of hardware in the house has an individual set of characteristics and so was given its own unique identifier, differentiating it from all others. Keyed to each unique identifier are the characteristics associated with that item, such as the floor it is located on, the wall, window or door on which it is mounted, its type, material, and installation date. The variety of architectural hardware at Drayton Hall ranges from its construction in 1738 to 1974, when the National Trust for Historic Preservation assumed responsibility for one of the nation’s most iconic 18th century houses. This comprehensive inventory tells a story common to most wealthy, English, land owning families of the low country. Remarkably, nearly half of the original hardware or clear evidence thereof remains in the house. Federal period changes appear as styles changed and the family tried to keep pace fashion. Little to no changes occurred during the ii antebellum period as rice culture, and therefore income, declined. Reoccupation of the house after the Civil War accounts for another period of hardware replacement but not of the quality and style of earlier generations. iii DEDICATION Special thanks are owed to my family for their love and support, especially my parents. Mom, thank you for wanting to live in “an old farmhouse.” Dad, thank you for teaching me what it meant to be a steward of a historic structure. Cheers to my classmates. Without your patience and good humor this thesis would not have been completed. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to the staff of the Preservation Department of Drayton Hall for their enthusiasm, help and support, specifically Dr. Carter Hudgins and Patricia Smith. Thank you to my classmate, Elise Haremski, for taking the time to help me with Microsoft Access. There would be no inventory without you. Thank you to my thesis committee for answering the many questions I had along the way. Also, thank you to the professionals, Willie Graham, Ed Chappell, Robert Self, Matt Webster and Peter Ross who share my love of hardware for their help, input, and guidance. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... vii CHAPTERS I. Introduction and Methodology ...................................................................... 1 II. History of Drayton Hall ............................................................................... 13 III. History of Hardware .................................................................................... 22 IV. The Hardware Collection ............................................................................. 40 Generation I: John Drayton I ................................................................. 40 Generation II and III: Charles Drayton I and Charles Drayton II ......................................................................................... 53 Generation IV: Charles Drayton III ....................................................... 62 Generation V: Charles Henry Drayton .................................................. 63 Generation VI: Eliza Meritt Drayton and Children ............................... 69 Generation VII: Charles Henry III and Francis Beatty Drayton and the National Trust for Historic Preservation ........................................................................ 70 V. Hardware Style and Evolution ..................................................................... 71 VI. Conclusion ................................................................................................... 77 VII. Recommendations for Further Research ...................................................... 79 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 82 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 86 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1 Owners of Drayton Hall. ............................................................................................... 6 1.1 First floor plan showing room, stair, door, fireplace and window scheduling format.. .............................................................................. 7 2.1 Advertisement for the land John Drayton purchased in 1738 that would become Drayton Hall as it appeared in the South Carolina Gazette.............................................................................................. 14 2.2 Drayton Hall, looking north east from the reflecting pond. ........................................ 13 2.3 Image from 1879 Stereocard that depicts the exterior shutters on Drayton Hall.................................................................................................... 18 2.4 Unfurnished Great Hall as it is seen today .................................................................. 20 3.1 Advertisement from 1790 for items being sold in New York City. Notice the variety of items associated as "hardware". .................................... 24 3.2 Left and Right hand 19th century Carpenters Locks. ................................................. 33 3.3 Right-handed 19th century Carpenters lock with beveled latch bolt .......................... 34 3.4 Mineral and glass Victorian knob types...................................................................... 36 3.5 Hardware Advertisement from the 1880 Charleston City Directory. ......................... 39 4.1 Typical 18th century iron rim lock components. ........................................................ 41 4.2 Example of an 18th century brass cased rim lock.. ..................................................... 42 4.3 Rim lock from the first floor north portico door ........................................................ 44 4.4 English Hardware Trade Catalog from 1800 depicting H hinges.. ............................. 46 4.5 Wrought iron butt hinge from second floor stairway door at Drayton Hall.................................................................................................... 47 vii 4.6 Original Drayton Hall basement strap hinge on pintle.. ............................................. 50 4.7 Skew or raising butt hinge, R104, first floor. ............................................................. 53 4.8 Escutcheon on second floor door. Handle and keyhole drop missing. ................................................................................................... 54 4.9 Monticello mortise lock fragment. .............................................................................. 55 4.10 Head bolt mounted on second floor ballroom door .................................................. 57 4.11 Foot bolt on land front door (R101) .......................................................................... 58 4.12 Padlock on north basement door ............................................................................... 65 4.13 Padlock 209, Russell and Erwin Manufacturers Catalog, 1865. ............................... 67 viii Chapter One Introduction For some time it was mostly amateur