Poplar Hill; His Lordship’s Kindness
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POPLAR HILL ON HIS LORDSHIP’S KINDNESS
1784–1786, James Hogan, Leonard Harbaugh. 7606 Woodyard Rd.
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(Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, HABS) -
(Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, HABS) -
(Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, HABS) -
(Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, HABS) -
(Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, HABS) -
(Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, HABS) -
(Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie) -
(HABS) -
(Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie)
One of the most well-crafted five-part Georgian houses in Maryland is Poplar Hill, built for Robert Darnall on land granted to his grandfather, Henry Darnall, by colonial proprietor Charles Calvert (also known as Lord Baltimore) in 1703, hence the tract name "His Lordship's Kindness." According to Darnall ledgers, Hogan began the design and construction, which was later assumed by Harbaugh, architect for Washington’s War and Treasury buildings. The house is distinguished by Palladian detailing and specialized rooms, including a private Catholic chapel (now a library). A broad central hall with elaborate stairway is flanked by formal rooms with a perpendicular hall leading to the wings. Carriage and garden fronts present Palladian windows lighting the upper hall, with a pedimented central pavilion and Adamesque frontispiece to the carriage front. Also of note is its M-shaped roof construction used to span the double-pile plan with lighter timbers by transferring the load to the partition walls. Bisected laterally, when viewed from the front, the roof forms a low hip and central pediment, while the rear displays side-by-side hipped roofs. The property includes a terraced boxwood garden, family cemetery, and brick former slave building, smokehouse, washhouse, and privy. It is owned by a foundation intending to open it as a house museum.
References
Heintzelman, Patricia, “His Lordship’s Kindness,” Prince George’s County, Maryland. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 1974. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
Lavoie, Catherine C. “His Lordship’s Kindness,” HABS No. MD-315, Historic American Buildings Survey, National Park Service, 1989. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Landmarks of Prince George’s County. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993.
Walton, John M., and Sara R. Foundation. “A Chronology.” Poplar Hill on His Lordship’s Kindness. Accessed November 18, 2023. https://www.poplarhillonhlk.com/timeline.html.
Writing Credits
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Data
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Location: Clinton, MarylandRegional Overviews:Architect:Types:
Timeline
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1784
Built
What's Nearby
Citation
Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie, "POPLAR HILL ON HIS LORDSHIP’S KINDNESS", [Clinton, Maryland], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MD-01-CR3.
Print Source
Buildings of Maryland, Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2022, 286-287.
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