Rockwood is an English-style country estate and museum located in Wilmington,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. Built between 1851 and 1854 by banker Joseph Shipley, Rockwood is an excellent example of Rural

Gothic Revival Architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. and It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976.

History

Rockwood Mansion was built between 1851 and 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 Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where he became wealthy. Rockwood Mansion was inspired by Wyncote, Joseph Shipley's

English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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, including much of Joseph Shipley's furniture (imported from England) which was bought at the auction of his estate, and 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 New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

received the mansion and acreage in 1973, with the Friends of Rockwood as caretakers. The mansion underwent 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 Mansion was designed in the "Rural Gothic" style by English architect George Williams. The Rural Gothic was the most up-to-date style at the time, and took its inspiration from rural domestic buildings of 400 years earlier. The best known Rural Gothic home is William Morris' Red House, built in 1860 in England. The style avoided all the tracery and pinnacles that made Gothic Revival buildings look like churches. Rural Gothic was rather plain, and avoided symmetry. The six acre historic garden of Rockwood, extent from the early 1850s, is surrounded by a

ha-ha A ha-ha (french: hâ-hâ or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view ...

(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 at Rockwood is referred to as Mixed Style, then very much in favor, a style which combined all the best features of the broader English Naturalistic style, which began in the 1730s. This style is characterized by wide open lawns. sweeping vistas, curving paths, and trees and shrubs bordering the lawn. The landscape underwent extensive restoration in 1999, based on the many receipts for plants, as well as extensive historic photographs. In 2009 the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

acquired Rockwood's archives as a gift from New Castle County.

On television

Rockwood was featured on an episode of ''

My Ghost Story ''My Ghost Story'' is an American television series on the paranormal, which premiered on July 17, 2010, on the Biography Channel. The series features ghost stories told from a person's own supposed experience with the supernatural. Each episode ...

'' airing on the

Biography Channel FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle pr ...

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 Saturday, tours are currently available on Fridays and Saturdays at 10am, 12pm & 2pm. 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.Rockwood Park & Museum - Visitor Information & Hours of Operation
''The NCCDE Website'', retrieved December 14, 2011

Notes

References

* * Mullin, Timothy J.. (2007). Rockwood: Joseph Shipley's English Estate in Brandywine Hundred, Delaware. ''Delaware History'', 31 (spring/summer 2006).

External links

Rockwood Park & MuseumCalendar of EventsFriends of Rockwood
* {{National Register of Historic Places in Delaware Historic American Buildings Survey in Delaware Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware Museums in Wilmington, Delaware Historic house museums in Delaware Gothic Revival architecture in Delaware Houses completed in 1854 Houses in Wilmington, Delaware National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware