Gunston Hall
The formal, Palladian-style room in Gunston Hall features rococo woodwork. Two gifted English indentured servants, carpenter and joiner William Buckland and master carver William Bernard Sears, were responsible for the interior work.
The progression of architecture in the American colonies was an irregular process. Most pre-revolution residential design is through English architectural pattern books such as Abraham Swan and William Pain. Gentlemen who were building their homes used these plates as a reference to adapt to their needs. The Georgian influence dominated most of the eighteenth century in the colonies. This influence would gradually shift post-revolution towards design reflecting England less and classical ideals of the new republic more.
Gunston Hall, built-in 1755 and 1759, is a bold statement for its time and surroundings. The style in Virginia at the time was the "neat and plain" look of white plastered walls and painted trim. Located off the Potomac River - In its day, Gunston Hall was also the closest neighbor to George Washington's Mount Vernon. One of the first brick structures in Northern Virginia, Gunston Hall is practically a textbook rendering of the strict symmetrical style of Georgian architecture. The ground floor plan follows the typical Virginia house structure of four rooms-two front and two back-with a large center passage separating them.
George Mason died in 1792 and the house stayed in the Mason family until 1867. It remained a private residence until 1949 when the house and approximately 550 of the original acres was acquired by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today the site is operated by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
Gunston Hall features some exceptional woodwork. English indentured servant architect William Buckland (1734-1774) worked on the house after coming from England. Buckland was discovered in England by George Mason's brother, Thomson Mason. The exterior walls of Gunston Hall were probably complete when Buckland arrived. He likely designed the portico on the "south front" overlooking Mason's formal garden and the river. The portico resembles a garden temple in William Paine's The Builder's Companion and Workman's General Assistant (1758).
The Masons both envisioned and achieved a unity of house and gardens that was characteristic of classical English estates. Employing a large amount of boxwood to accent the grounds, they created in the 1750s a beautiful setting that offered extraordinary vistas to the Potomac and the river valley.
Gunston Hall is one of the most important examples of Georgian architecture in America. Built c. 1755-59, the house is noted especially for its unexcelled interior woodwork by William Buckland. The south porch is a very rare example of Gothic Chippendale design that was directly from England to Northern Virginia via the arrival of William Buckland. The portico closely resembles a garden temple in William Paine’s The Builder’s Companion and Workman’s General Assistant (1758).
The Sitting Room or "palladian room" at Gunston Hall is a beautiful example of William Buckland's work and collaboration with George Mason. The Gunston Hall Dining Room was one of two ground-floor rooms considered formal rooms used for entertaining. The fireplace has a mantel decorated with fretwork. Although chinoiserie was popular in Britain, Gunston Hall is the only house known to have had this decoration in colonial America. William Bernard Sears worked as the master carver charged with translating William Buckland's designs into wood. George Mason also indentured Sears to work on Gunston Hall. Sears would work at Mount Vernon, completing ta chimneypiece in the small dining room in 1775.
The public spaces were meant to impress visitors with the latest styles – while chinoiserie was popular in Britain in the early 18th century, it was virtually unknown in America when Gunston Hall was built and the dining room is the earliest example of this style in Virginia.
The stair brackets in the hallway are just one example of the exquisite carving in the public areas of the house. The central passage is lined by six symmetrical Doric-style pilasters. A double arch, with a carved pine cone, divides the front of the passage from the back. In the front, there are four doors placed opposite one another, although one is a fake door for symmetry. The front of the hall is covered in wallpaper, while the back has raised painted paneling.
The little parlor was private and decorated plainly. The walls were painted a neutral grey. Above the fireplace is a split pediment overmantel. On either side of the fireplace are deep-shelved beaufats (niches) to store and display the tableware, with doors to secure valuable possessions. The desk belonged to George Mason.
The primary bed chamber was a private room less ornate than the public rooms. Toward the end of Mason's life, it was painted in high gloss emerald green, an on-trend color technique for the time. The color also appears on the small dining room at Mount Vernon and the Wythe House and Brush-Everard House parlor in Colonial Williamsburg. The total effect is captured in candlelight.
