His Lordship's Kindness, also known as Poplar Hill, is a historic plantation estate on Woodyard Road east of

Clinton, Maryland Clinton is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the Civil War, and Robeystown from 1865 to 1878. The population o ...

. It was built in the 1780s for

Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

planter Robert Darnall. The five-part Georgian mansion retains a number of subsidiary buildings including a slave's hospital and a

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...

. The property is now operated as a museum by a local nonprofit preservation group. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1970.

History

Colonel

Henry Darnall Colonel Henry Darnall (1645 – 17 June 1711) was an Irish-born planter, militia officer and politician who served as the chancellor of Maryland from 1683 to 1689. He was also appointed as the proprietary agent for Charles Calvert, 3rd Bar ...

was granted of land in

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

in 1703 by

Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore (August 27, 1637 – February 21, 1715) was an English colonial administrator. He inherited the province of Maryland in 1675 upon the death of his father, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. He had been his ...

, which Darnall named in recognition of Lord Baltimore's gesture. Darnall built a house for his family on a nearby property, known as The Woodyard, between 1683 and 1711. On Henry Darnall's death in 1711, the properties passed to his son, Henry Darnall II, who was forced to dispose of much of his father's accumulated of property to clear his debts before leaving the country. His son, Henry Darnall III received the remaining from his father, including of the original grant with a mansion, which became known as Poplar Hill by the 1740s. Henry III, however, was found in 1761 to be embezzling money from one of his appointed positions, causing a bond to be forfeited and for fines to be paid by Henry's guarantors, his brother John Darnall, and Charles Carroll of Annapolis. Henry III's brother Robert Darnall found the means to buy back the original grant and replaced the original house with the present structure, completed in 1786. Darnall, who died childless in 1803, left the property to his nephew Robert Sewall. Sewall in turn left the property to his son Robert Darnall Sewall. The son in turn left the property to two nieces, Susan and Ellen Daingerfield of

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, in 1853. In 1865 Susan Daingerfield married future

US Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

John Strode Barbour. Through the next hundred years, the property passed through a number of hands, including David K.E. Bruce,

Chandler Hale Chandler Hale (March 2, 1873 – May 23, 1951) was a United States diplomat who served as Third Assistant Secretary of State from 1909 to 1913. Early life Chandler Hale was born in 1873. He was the son of the former Mary Douglas Chandler (1848� ...

, and the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Description

His Lordship's Kindness is a five-part ensemble with a hipped-roof central block measuring wide by deep. The central block is 2½ stories tall, with dormers in the rear elevation. It is connected to two -1/2 story end pavilions by single-story

hyphens The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes (en dash , em dash and others), which are wider, or with t ...

. The eastern pavilion contained the kitchen, while a chapel was located in the west pavilion. The kitchen was renovated as a study in the 1920s but retained an interior balcony. The main block features a projecting bay containing the recessed entry door with fanlight, pilasters and pediment, and a large

Palladian window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Republic of Venice, Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetr ...

on the second story. The facade's other windows have stone sills and flat arch lintels. The rear, or garden elevation is similarly composed, but lacks the projecting bay, and the door is less elaborately detailed. A center hall extends from the front to the garden doors. Narrow lateral halls run out to the wings, and with the center hall, subdivide the first floor into four rooms. The center hall is bisected by a wide arch, with the main stairway to the rear on the east side. The plan of the first floor is repeated on the second, with four bedrooms.

Visiting

The John M. and Sara R. Walton Foundation own and operate the property as a historic house museum. Guided tours of the historic house are offered from March through December. The facilities are available for rental.

Gallery

Image:Poplar Hill, 7606 Woodyard Road (His Lordship's Kindness Road) (Rosaryville vicinity), Clinton (Prince George's County, Maryland).jpg, His Lordship's Kindness, HABS Photo Image:His Lordships Kindness South Dec 08.JPG, His Lordship's Kindness - South Front, December 2008 Image:His Lordships Kindness Entry Detail Dec 08.JPG, His Lordship's Kindness - Entry Detail, December 2008 Image:His Lordships Kindness Dairy Dec 08.JPG, His Lordship's Kindness - Dairy, December 2008 Image:His Lordships Kindness Slave Hospital Dec 08.JPG, His Lordship's Kindness - Slave Hospital, December 2008 Image:His Lordships Kindness Smokehouse Dec 08.JPG, His Lordship's Kindness - Smokehouse, December 2008 Image:His Lordships Kindness Plaque Dec 08.JPG, His Lordship's Kindness - Historic Marker, December 2008

References

External links

* *, including photo in 1974, at Maryland Historical Trust *

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...