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A man's home may be his castle,
but if he plans to build an actual castle something less than grand may be a
disappointment. It was a grandiose dream that inspired Charles Chiswell in
1717 to obtain a land grant from the King of England of 9,976 acres in New Kent
County, now Hanover County, Virginia.
He envisioned an entire transplanted Scotish
community with himself as laird of the castle and hired Scotish architects and
laborers to build his town.
The main house (Chiswell named Scotchtown),
mill and a small group of outbuildings were all that were finished when disease
decimated the workers and the project was abandoned. A disillusioned
Chiswell lived in the main house until his death in 1737.
Scotchtown’s next owner, Charles's son John Chiswell,
also had his dreams shattered---his by a too hastily delivered sword thrust.
Chiswell's intemperate remarks in a tavern in Cumberland County provoked Robert
Routledge into throwing his drink into Chiswell's face. Without thinking
Chiswell unsheathed his sword and killed Routledge on the spot. He was
immediately arrested and, again acting hastily, committed suicide rather than
face certain conviction. Perhaps he was correct in assuming the trial
would go against him. Feelings were strong because of Chiswell’s
unprovoked attack on Routledge and the young man’s family were suspicious that
Chiswell’s death may have been faked. To make sure that it was Chiswell in
the coffin, the Routledges demanded it be opened before burial to prove he had
indeed perished by his own hand.
Things did not run smoothly for Patrick Henry's
family either after they acquired Scotchtown in 1771. Sarah Shelton Henry
was left at this rural Virginia home with six children and 30 slaves while
Patrick Henry fulfilled his many political commitments. In the seven years
the Henry family lived at Scotchtown, he served in the House of Burgesses in
Williamsburg, the First and Second Continental Congresses in Philadelphia and
the Second Virginia Convention at St. John's Church in Richmond (see selection).
Some historians have conjectured that when he
delivered his famous "Liberty or Death" speech at St. John's Church his thoughts
may have included, in addition to the plight of the American colonists under
British tyranny, the unfortunate curtailment of his own wife's liberty.
Due to her deteriorating mental condition, she was kept locked in one of the
cellar rooms at Scotchtown until her death in 1775 at the age of 36. She
was cared for there by Dr. Thomas Hinde and a nurse, as well as by Patrick
Henry's mother and sister.
Patrick Henry's second wife, Dorothea Dandridge,
whom he married in 1777 while living in the Palace at Williamsburg, did not want
to live at Scotchtown and the plantation was advertised for sale in the
Virginia Gazette in 1778. The years of Patrick Henry's residency are
recaptured in this restored plantation house.
The personality of Patrick Henry is imprinted on the
house. Henry enjoyed holding dances in the Great Hall and playing a spinet
similar to that exhibited in the Ladies' Parlor. An enthusiastic,
versatile musician, he taught himself to play the flute while recovering from a
broken collarbone. One of the most evocative family pieces is the writing
desk in his bedroom that is believed to have been made by his father. It
was said you could always tell when Henry was approaching the main thrust of his
political speeches by his habit of raising his glasses to the top of his head
allowing his eyes to pierce his audience. That well-known pose of his is
captured on canvas in a portrait hanging at Scotchtown.
Portraits of the Sheltons, his first wife's family,
hang throughout the house. Many are primitive paintings, so called because
only the head was done from life. There are two portraits of Dolley Payne
Madison, wife of President James Madison, who lived at Scotchtown from the age
of 11 months until the age of three, while her father rented the property (some
historians believe he was the overseer of the plantation).
Eighteenth-century furnishings reveal a great deal
about life in colonial America. The carver type rocker in the children's
bedroom has two distinct sections on the back enabling either young or older
ladies to use it for drying their hair. They would drape their hair
through one of the two openings so it would not get the back of their garments
wet. It was the custom of the day to take baths only seasonally.
Patrick Henry was frequently accused of being untidy; Thomas Jefferson
particularly chafed at his countrified ways.
As you wander around the grounds looking at Patrick
Henry's old law office and the other outbuildings, it is not hard to imagine the
great man himself strolling beneath the trees. Scotchtown is open April
through October on Monday through Saturday from 10:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. and on
Sunday from 1:30 to 4:30 P.M. Admission is charged.
Patrick Henry worked both before and behind the bar.
If you are staying overnight in the Richmond area don't miss the chance to visit
Barksdale Theatre in historic Hanover Tavern, where Patrick Henry often
helped out in the taproom. As the wine list at this dinner theater proudly
claims, they've been "Serving Fine Wines Since 1723." In 1754 18-year-old
Patrick Henry married Sarah Shelton, daughter of Hanover Tavern owner, John
Shelton. The young couple lived with her parents for three years while
Patrick tried to earn a living at store keeping, farming and finally the law.
When the Barksdale Theatre opened in 1953 it was the
nation's first dinner theater. You'll dine by candlelight at this tavern
that once hosted both George Washington and Lord Cornwallis, though not on the
same evening. We know from Washington's diaries that when business or
politics brought him to Richmond he often sought dining or lodging at Hanover
Tavern. The tavern's Washington Room has a large portrait of Washington
over the fireplace, and back in a corner alcove there is a small portrait of
Cornwallis, who left without paying the bill for his 18-day stay.
When you make reservations for dinner and the
professionally-performed play that follows, request a guided tour of the Hanover
Courthouse and Old Jail directly across from the tavern. Tours are given
at no charge 30 minutes before the buffet dinner. It was at this
courthouse that Patrick Henry delivered what is considered by many historians
the first attack on the tyranny of George III. Barksdale Theatre is open
Wednesday through Saturday; call (804) 798-6547.
Directions: From I-95 take Ashland Exit, Route 54.
Continue through Ashland for 8 1/2 miles to Route 671 and turn right. Make
another right turn on Route 685 for Scotchtown. Parking is available on
the grounds and there are picnic tables in a tree-shaded grove. Barksdale
Theatre is only 15 minutes from Scotchtown. Take Route 54 past the I-95
intersection to Hanover Courthouse. The courthouse is on the left and the
Hanover Tavern is on the right. From I-95 take Ashland Exit, Route 54
east.
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