Rockwood is an English-style country estate and museum located in Wilmington, Delaware. Built between 1851-1854 by banker Joseph Shipley, Rockwood is an excellent example of Rural Gothic Revival Architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
History
Dream Drives: Rockwood Mansion - Meisha Johnson reports.
Rockwood Mansion was built between 1851-1854 for Joseph Shipley, a merchant banker originally from Wilmington. The Mansion was Shipley's retirement home. Shipley spent most of his life in Liverpool, England where he became wealthy. Rockwood Mansion was inspired by Wyncote, Joseph Shipley's English country house designed by George Williams. Shipley had Williams design Rockwood Mansion, though he had never seen the site. Joseph Shipley moved his entire household from England bringing his favorite dog and horse (Toby and Branker), as well as gardener Robert Shaw and housekeeper Audrey Douglas.
After Joseph Shipley's death, Rockwood eventually became the property of his great nephew Edward Bringhurst Jr. in 1891. Bringhurst with his wife Anna and their three younger children Mary, Edith and Edward moved into Rockwood the next year. The Bringhurst's eldest daughter Elizabeth Bringhurst Galt Smith, affectionately known as Bessie, was married and living in a castle in Ireland at the time. Bessie was responsible for much of the decorative features of the Mansion during this period. The mansion currently represents the 1890s when the Bringhurst family moved into Rockwood, though much of Joseph Shipley's furniture (imported from England) is still is in place at Rockwood.
The estate passed to Mary Bringhurst who lived to age 100, and left the mansion to her niece Nancy Sellers Hargraves, who left it to an unnamed non-profit for the enjoyment of present and future generations. New Castle County received the mansion and acreage in 1973, with the Friends of Rockwood as caretakers. The mansion went under extensive restoration by New Castle County in 1999. The 72 acres of Rockwood Mansion Park includes the Mansion & Conservatory, Porter's Lodge, Gardener's Cottage, and Barn & Carriage House.
Architecture
The six acre historic garden of Rockwood is surrounded by a ha-ha (a sunken wall used on English estates instead of a fence to keep livestock away from the house, so it appears that the lawns are continuous). The landscape is referred to as Gardenesque, a style that is characterized by long vistas, curving paths, and trees and shrubs bordering the lawn.
In 2009 the University of Delaware acquired Rockwood's archives as a gift from New Castle County.
On television
Rockwood was featured on an episode of My Ghost Story airing on the Biography Channel on October 29, 2011.The mansion was also featured on a season 11 episode of Ghost Hunters.
Tours
The Mansion is open 10am to 4pm Wednesday through Sunday, tours are available on the hour with the last tour departing at 3PM. Tours are $10 for adults, and $4 for children. The Park has lighted walking trails, and the park is open dawn to dusk, daily. Trail maps and self-guided Historic Landscape Garden tour brochures are available at the mansion Wednesday - Sunday 10am - 4pm. The Mansion is closed on major holidays.
See also
- List of museums in Delaware
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilmington, Delaware
Notes
References
- Vincent, Gilbert T. (1998). Romantic Rockwood: A Rural Gothic Villa Near Wilmington, Delaware. Wilmington, Del.: Friends of Rockwood, Inc. ISBNÂ 1892420589.Â
External links
- Rockwood Park & Museum
- Calendar of Events
- Friends of Rockwood
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. DE-186, "Rockwood, 610 Shipley Road, Wilmington, New Castle County, DE", 21 photos, 3 data pages, 1 photo caption page
