Winterthur

♫Air♫

In 1951 Henry du Pont opened his home and gardens, Winterthur, just north of Wilmington, Delaware, to the public.  He'd spent years collecting Americana, adding on to the mansion in order to house his collections.  The du Pont de Nemours (they dropped the latter part of their name) came here from France in 1800 to escape the political unrest there.  As the brochure states, they would leave an indelible mark on the Brandywine Valley.  You can read more about the family here.  

After picking up our tickets we went outside to wait for the garden tram.  It was an overcast morning, threatening rain at any moment, but it never came, so we were able to enjoy a refreshingly, cool walk around the grounds. . . .

We exited the tram at the Enchanted Woods, but you will have to wait to see and hear about that since I'm saving that for a separate post.  The next garden we visited was just down the hill--the Quarry Garden. . . .

 It was all quite lovely.  We walked down the steps into the quarry. . . .

. . . .passing a wooden bench. . . .

 . . . .winding our way around. . . .

. . . .to see another bench at the far end of the quarry. . . .

Scanning the quarry you saw many wildflowers. . . .

Off in the distance was one of many gazebos scattered about the grounds. . . .

Every nook and cranny had a plant growing from it. . . .

We walked down another path toward the bridge.  Water was flowing out of the rocks into a little stream. . . .

Because of all the plant markers I learned that those star-like white flowers growing throughout my woods at home are Wood Asters. . . .

Then we headed back up the path. . . .

. . . .and out of the quarry. . . .

Back up on the road we saw pink autumn crocus scattered across the hillside. . . .

As we crossed the lawn we got a glimpse of the house in the distance. . . .

We found ourselves in the Reflecting Pool garden. . . .

This was the bath house for what originally was the family's swimming pool. . . .

Your silver laugh...will always echo here...and soft your presence rest...in rustling leaves.....
....for Elizabeth N. du Pont

 . . . .down another path. . . .

. . . .to get to the house where we toured one of the galleries (photos can be enlarged by clicking on them). . . .

These are miniatures. . . .

After a quick lunch in the museum cafe located in the 50-room "Cottage" across the drive where the du Ponts had moved to when the house was turned into a museum, we browsed through the gift shop then went back to the house for the 1:00 tour which was only one floor of the nine-floor house.  We were all ushered to a waiting room where five groups of 10 were taken every 3½ minutes.  Each group sat in chairs facing each other.  We settled in for the wait.  I told the young couple sitting across from us that this must be why they have the chairs facing each other so we could visit.  Since we were the last to be seated, I added that if I'd known we'd have to wait our turn to go on the tour I would have pushed my way to the front of the line. ☺ They gave one of those nervous-type laughs.  I think they took me seriously.  We chatted a bit.  I found out they were from NJ.  After a while I was getting antsy just sitting there so I went back out to the entrance to push the button on this display, which I'd rushed by earlier, because I wanted to see what happens (ah, my child-like curiosity hadn't entirely abandoned me).  I discovered it lights up a different section of the model of the house to show you when it was added on to the original.  When I returned to my seat everyone wanted to know what the button did.  I said, "You'll have to find out for yourself," but then I relented and told them. . . .

Finally, our group was called to start the tour.  The floor we toured, the fifth, was at ground level at the front of the house and contained the main living/entertaining area of the family.  The first three floors are totally under ground.  The mansion has 175 rooms that were added as du Pont continue to collect Americana.  He would purchase 18th-century houses that were about to be torn down and used the wainscoting and other architectural details to create period rooms in the mansion for his collections.  Those rooms were not included in this tour, however.  I will show you a few of the public rooms shown to us on this tour.  To help you get around here is a floor plan.

Henry du Pont collected a great many dishes (a man after my own heart). . . . 

He would display them even in cabinets meant to house books. . . .

Whenever they would entertain he would choose the dish pattern.  Flowers were also a very important part of his table settings.   He and Mrs. du Pont would occupy a chair on either side of the table instead of at the head so they could be more involved in the conversation at the table. . . .

. . . .like why the British delegation at the 1783 Treaty of Paris were left out of this painting . . . .

The mirror on this wall, our guide explained, had once reflected the image of Martha Washington.  She had bought it and given it as a gift.  If you look closely, you may very well see Martha. . . .

This pattern is called Society of the Cincinnati.  It once belonged to George Washington and had been made to commemorate the Society which recognized the officers who had served in the Revolutionary War.  It was passed down to Martha's great-granddaughter, Mary Custis, who had married Robert E. Lee.  When Lee's estate, Arlington House, was captured during the Civil War, the government confiscated it.  However, in the early 1900's it was returned to Mary Custis Lee and in 1928 Mr. du Pont purchased the remaining 60-some pieces. . . .

Mr. du Pont had the Chinese Parlor built to fit the wallpaper.   He always made sure there were flowers in every room.   This is where his guests would gather after dinner.  Mrs. du Pont would play the piano sometimes. . . .

This staircase came from an early 19th-century house, Montmorenci, that was to be demolished.   It serves floors six and seven, where the guest and family's bedrooms were. . . .

The foyer where this staircase begins was often used as an after-dinner dance floor.  Here is a display of what might have been refreshments for his guests. . . .

This room exits out into the conservatory.  This doorway had been the original entrance to the house before Mr. du Pont began expanding it.  The museum decorates the conservatory each Christmas season with a tree that reaches to the ceiling.  I found this site showing many of the trees that decorate Winterthur during the season. . . .

Henry (he's beginning to feel like an old friend by now) loved sitting in this room, called the Marlboro room, to read his newspaper. . . .

I loved the room, too.  Even though it was quite large, it felt cozy.   Afternoon tea was set out. . . .

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be a guest in his home. . . . !

The next room was the Music Room called the Empire Room because of its furniture's style. . . .

This is the Baltimore Room because the furnishings came from Maryland. . . .

The framed portrait is of Charles Carroll, a Maryland signer of the Declaration of Independence. . . .

This miniature piano caught my eye as our tour concluded. . . .

It was just a little after 2:00--our timed entry for the Downton Abbey exhibit.  I will be doing a separate post for that, too, later.

Now it was time for a tea break back at the Cottage cafe.  This time we sat out on the terrace. . . .

We realized there was still time to do one of the Reserved Tours.  For an additional fee we selected the Distinctive Collections which promised us "stroll through a cobblestone courtyard and see Shop Lane's historic storefronts from the early 1800s.  Explore collections and styles from Shaker to Pennsylvania German, rural to urban.  Floors 1, 3 & 8; 1 hour."  Photography was not allowed here, but I was able to purchase this postcard.  This space had been the 3-story gymnasium before Henry turned his house into a museum.  They would play badminton here.  Now, its facade is four different period dwellings.  The brick "building" on the right came from the 19th-century Red Lion Inn in Delaware.

After touring several rooms on the 8th floor (it seems our guide skipped the 3rd floor I just realized!) we headed back to the visitor's center where we would exit.  There are shuttle buses to take you between the museum and the center, but we opted to walk.  The sun had come out and it was a chance to savor the grounds once more.

♫Allemande in E Minor♫

We arrived at Pennsbury Inn in Chadds Ford, PA, just before 5:00.  This lovely painting of the Inn was in one of the common rooms. . . .

I took this photo of the front of the house the next morning before we left. . . .

Their Havanese pooch liked to follow us around. . . .

The original part of the house was built in 1714.  You can see the newer addition clearly here on the right.  Another addition was added to the back of the house in the last century. . . .

This sitting room is in the second addition. . . .

This sitting room is in the original house.  The steps lead to the Lafayette Room upstairs.  It is available to be reserved as a suite. . . .

That evening we had supper at the historic  Dilworthtown Inn, circa 1780. . . .

The house dates to 1758.  This is the shell of the stables now turned into an outdoor area of the restaurant. . . .

We dined in the main dining room. . . .

I had the Baby Spinach and Lardons (Bacon) Salad (I had to ask Ken what a Lardon was). . . .

. . . .and the Herb Roasted Free Range Chicken with Local Mushroom Risotto, Baby Carrots, & Port Wine Jus, which was all excellent. . . .

I also had a taste of Ken's mushroom soup and wished I'd ordered that too, but as it was I could not finish the chicken.  When our the lady at the next table received a cup of ice cream with a candle in it, I'd wished I'd notified the restaurant that it was Ken's birthday.  At that point, though, if I'd said anything I would have felt the need for Ken to show his license to prove it was, indeed, his birthday and that we weren't just trying to get a free dessert!  But we were both stuffed as it was, so we did not order dessert.

We drove back in the dark, getting lost for awhile. We soon discovered we were headed in the right direction and were not lost at all--we just found a different way back to the Inn!

The next day's itinerary was Longwood Gardens in  Kennett Square, PA--another du Pont home just 7 miles up the road.  This one belonged to cousin Pierre.  

A View of the original house:  Pre-1884
A Biography by Ruth du Pont Lord who died earlier this year:  Henry F. du Pont and Winterthur: A Daughter's Portrait