Morven Park
Encyclopedia
Morven Park is an estate
in Leesburg
, Virginia
, USA, that includes the Westmoreland Davis Mansion and the Winmill Carriage Museum. The gardens are open to the public at no charge. The park is also home to the Museum of Hounds and Hunting, with displays of art, artifacts and memorabilia about the sport of foxhunting. Opened in 1985, the museum is located in the north wing of the Westmoreland Davis Mansion, owned by Westmoreland Davis
, Governor of Virginia
from 1918 to 1922. The Westmoreland Davis Mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places
and is a Virginia Historic Landmark. The Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation operates the property and offers tour
s.
that dominates the front. While the brick structure remains, now stuccoed, none of the Swann interiors exist. Swann's son, Thomas Jr., began a remodeling program around 1850, using the Baltimore firm of E.G. Lind and William T. Murdock as architects, converting the Palladian
house to the Italianate style with four towers, including one that was to be five stories tall, stated by The Buildings of Virginia to resemble Queen Victoria's Osborne House
on the Isle of Wight
. The pavilions were by this time linked to the main house. The towers were later removed. Thomas Swann Jr.'s daughter and her husband, Dr. Shirley Carter, made more changes, adding a music room at the rear of the main house with an octagonal end.
Westmoreland Davis bought the house in 1903 and expanded it again. Davis raised the height of the hyphens
to two stories and reworked the interior. Davis, a New York lawyer, had roots in Virginia and made Morven Park into an agricultural showpiece, while his wife developed formal gardens near the house.
In the 1970s, Morven Park was home to the Morven Park International Equestrian Institute. The Institute was a training center for advanced dressage, 3-day eventing, and show jumping. More than one rider trained at Morven Park went on to international equestrian competition. In its day, Morven Park and the Potomac Horse Center were considered the two most prestigious riding schools in the United States. Today, the barns still stand and the gift shop is located in what used to be a student dormitory.
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
in Leesburg
Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according the 2010 Census is 42,616...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, USA, that includes the Westmoreland Davis Mansion and the Winmill Carriage Museum. The gardens are open to the public at no charge. The park is also home to the Museum of Hounds and Hunting, with displays of art, artifacts and memorabilia about the sport of foxhunting. Opened in 1985, the museum is located in the north wing of the Westmoreland Davis Mansion, owned by Westmoreland Davis
Westmoreland Davis
Westmoreland "Morley" Davis a lawyer, farmer, and the 48th Governor of Virginia from February 1, 1918 to February 1, 1922....
, Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
from 1918 to 1922. The Westmoreland Davis Mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and is a Virginia Historic Landmark. The Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation operates the property and offers tour
Tour guide
A tour guide provides assistance, information and cultural, historical and contemporary heritage interpretation to people on organized tours, individual clients, educational establishments, at religious and historical sites, museums, and at venues of other significant interest...
s.
History
The first structures on the site of Morven Park date to about 1780. A fieldstone house built by Wilson Cary Seldon is now a part of the northt wing of the main house, stuccoed over to match the rest of the mansion. Judge Thomas Swann acquired the property about 1808. Around 1830 Swann built the center two-story portion of the house, with flanking pavilions. It is not known whether the pavilions were initially linked to the house, but the renovations included the prominent tetrastyle Greek Revival porticoPortico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
that dominates the front. While the brick structure remains, now stuccoed, none of the Swann interiors exist. Swann's son, Thomas Jr., began a remodeling program around 1850, using the Baltimore firm of E.G. Lind and William T. Murdock as architects, converting the Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
house to the Italianate style with four towers, including one that was to be five stories tall, stated by The Buildings of Virginia to resemble Queen Victoria's Osborne House
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. The pavilions were by this time linked to the main house. The towers were later removed. Thomas Swann Jr.'s daughter and her husband, Dr. Shirley Carter, made more changes, adding a music room at the rear of the main house with an octagonal end.
Westmoreland Davis bought the house in 1903 and expanded it again. Davis raised the height of the hyphens
Hyphen (architecture)
In architecture, a hyphen is a connecting link between two larger building elements. It is typically found in Georgian style architecture, where the hyphens form connections between a large central house and end pavilions in the Georgian five-part house, which was in turn derived from Palladian...
to two stories and reworked the interior. Davis, a New York lawyer, had roots in Virginia and made Morven Park into an agricultural showpiece, while his wife developed formal gardens near the house.
In the 1970s, Morven Park was home to the Morven Park International Equestrian Institute. The Institute was a training center for advanced dressage, 3-day eventing, and show jumping. More than one rider trained at Morven Park went on to international equestrian competition. In its day, Morven Park and the Potomac Horse Center were considered the two most prestigious riding schools in the United States. Today, the barns still stand and the gift shop is located in what used to be a student dormitory.
External links
- Morven Park - Official website
- Museum of Hounds and Hunting
- Morven Park at the Journey Through Hallowed Ground