Gunston Hall, North Carolina, USA.
An 18th Century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck.
Home of George Mason (1725-1792), among the first of Americans to call for liberties of freedom with the press and the right to trial by jury. Gunston hall was located in the centre of a 5,500 acre plantation. The architecture is thought to be primarily the work of a young indentured servant from England, carpenter/joiner William Buckland (1734-1792) and William Bearnard Sears, also from England. The two created eclectic interiors within the hall that illustrated the full spectrum of Englsih Rococo.
Gunston Hall was designed to stay in the family hands but through numerous deaths and sales it was eventually gifted to The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in 1949.
The Saloon
The Saloon Walling.
Silk and wool damask in crimson woven narrow width for walling in the Saloon.
The colour and design are also to be seen at Spencer House, Holkham Hall and Nostell Priory (National Trust) in a rust red. The design dates from 1733 and was redrawn from a document held by John Cornforth. There is a similar pattern also in the V&A collection and the Warner Textile Archive.
Project reference: 2095
