Difference between revisions of "The Solitude"
[http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/research/casva/research-projects.html A Project of the National Gallery of Art, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts ]
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| + | '''The Solitude''', located on the west bank of the [[Schuylkill River]] in Philadelphia, was the country estate of the Englishman [[John Penn]]. Greatly interested in eighteenth-century English architecture and landscape design, [[John Penn|Penn]] created a small villa and [[picturesque]] landscape at his country retreat that many scholars credit with helping to spread neoclassicism in America. Today, the villa still stands on the grounds of the Philadelphia Zoo. | ||
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==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
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'''Site Dates:''' 1784–1788<br/> | '''Site Dates:''' 1784–1788<br/> | ||
'''Site Owner(s):''' John Penn (1760–1834) <br/> | '''Site Owner(s):''' John Penn (1760–1834) <br/> | ||
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==History== | ==History== | ||
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| + | <span id="Penn1_cite"></span>Englishman [[John Penn]] (1760–1834), a grandson of Pennsylvania’s founder, [[William Penn]] (1644–1718), purchased fifteen acres of land on the west bank of the [[Schuylkill River]] from Isaac Warner in 1784 for a country house he named The Solitude ([[#Penn1|view text]]) [Fig. 1 - ''Birch painting''].<ref>Penn named his estate after the Duke of Württemberg’s country palace in Stuttgart, La Solitude (built 1763–c. 1769), which Penn had visited during a Grand Tour in 1782–1783. Jude Collin Gleason argues that, La Solitude, as well as another of the Duke of Württemberg’s palaces visited by Penn—Monrepos (1760–1764) near Ludwigsburg—are two very early examples of French neoclassicism in Germany. Gleason, “A House in the Most Singular Style: John Penn’s The Solitude” (Master of Arts Thesis, University of Delaware, 2002), 12–13, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CCXPRCVR view on Zotero].</ref> The estate provided refuge from the hostile political climate Penn encountered in Philadelphia the previous year, when he traveled from London to request compensation from the Pennsylvania assembly for family property seized during the American Revolution.<ref>John Penn inherited three-fourths of the family’s proprietary rights and property in Pennsylvania after the death of his father, Thomas Penn (1702–1775). The remaining one-fourth belonged to Penn’s older cousin, also named John Penn (1729&nash;1795), who was from Philadelphia and resided at his country estate Lansdowne, located just northwest of The Solitude. Ibid., 2, 17, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CCXPRCVR view on Zotero]; Thompson Westcott, ''The Historic Mansions and Buildings of Philadelphia, with Some Notice of Their Owners and Occupants'' (Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1877), 437, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF7PUHNV view on Zotero]; Elizabeth Milroy, ''The Grid and the River: Philadelphia’s Green Places, 1682–1876'' (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2016), 109, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBR8QEHX view on Zotero]; Lorett Treese, ''The Storm Gathering: The Penn Family and the American Revolution'' (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992), 195–197, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RV94U384 view on Zotero].</ref> Jude Collin Gleason has argued that The Solitude’s location several miles outside of the city “allowed [[John Penn|Penn]] to keep his finger on the political pulse of Philadelphia, while keeping a safe distance from unfriendly factions.”<ref>Gleason 2002, 21, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CCXPRCVR view on Zotero]. The decision may also have been driven by family considerations, providing Penn with an alternative to staying at Lansdowne. Ibid., 19–20.</ref> One nineteenth-century commentator described The Solitude as “a small house, just big enough for a bachelor and costly enough for a poet.”<ref>Westcott 1877, 440, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF7PUHNV view on Zotero].</ref> <span id="GW_cite"></span>[[John Penn|Penn]] did occasionally entertain such illustrious guests as [[George Washington]] (1732–1799), who recorded in his diary that he had dined at [[John Penn|Penn]]’s estate following a meeting of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 ([[#GW|view text]]). In a 1785 letter to her husband, however, Rebecca Shoemaker (1730–1819), a resident of nearby Laurel Hill on the east bank of the [[Schuylkill River|Schuylkill]], wrote that [[John Penn|Penn]] was “living a most recluse life” at The Solitude and that he was “making it all a garden and has built a house in a most singular style” (view text).<ref>Rebecca Rawle and her second husband, Samuel Shoemaker, constructed a house at Laurel Hill in 1767, and the property remained in the Rawle-Shoemaker family until 1828. Roger W. Moss, ''Historic Houses of Philadelphia: A Tour of the Region’s Museum Homes'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press for The Barra Foundation, 1998), 98–99, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8TVTVJ3 view on Zotero].</ref> | ||
==Texts== | ==Texts== | ||
| − | * Penn, John, date unknown, entry in his Commonplace Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania (quoted in Westcott 1877: 438–439)<ref>Westcott 1877, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF7PUHNV view on Zotero].</ref> | + | * <div id="Penn1"></div>Penn, John, date unknown, entry in his Commonplace Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania (quoted in Westcott 1877: 438–439)<ref>Westcott 1877, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF7PUHNV view on Zotero].</ref> [[#Penn1_cite|back up to history]] |
:"I felt indeed the accustomed ''amor patriae'' and admiration of England, but sometimes a republican enthusiasm which attached me to America and almost tempted me to stay. . . . Earlier in the year I had made a dear purchase of fifteen acres, costing £600 sterling, and on the banks of the [[Schuylkill River|Schuylkill]]. I named it, from the Duke of Wurtemberg's, The Solitude—a name vastly more characteristic of my place. Advancing my house, I gradually altered my scheme to the great increase of the expenses it put me to. I might be in part actuated in this by a motive now grown stronger, the vanity of English taste in furnishing and decorating the house; and thought the money less thrown away as I then purposed keeping a house in the country, either for my agent to wait my return to the old country should my affairs require it." | :"I felt indeed the accustomed ''amor patriae'' and admiration of England, but sometimes a republican enthusiasm which attached me to America and almost tempted me to stay. . . . Earlier in the year I had made a dear purchase of fifteen acres, costing £600 sterling, and on the banks of the [[Schuylkill River|Schuylkill]]. I named it, from the Duke of Wurtemberg's, The Solitude—a name vastly more characteristic of my place. Advancing my house, I gradually altered my scheme to the great increase of the expenses it put me to. I might be in part actuated in this by a motive now grown stronger, the vanity of English taste in furnishing and decorating the house; and thought the money less thrown away as I then purposed keeping a house in the country, either for my agent to wait my return to the old country should my affairs require it." | ||
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| − | * [[George Washington|Washington, George]], July 19, 1787, diary entry describing The Solitude, estate of John Penn, near Philadelphia<ref>Washington Papers, [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-05-02-0002-0007-0019 ''Founders Online'', National Archives].</ref> | + | * <div id="GW"></div>[[George Washington|Washington, George]], July 19, 1787, diary entry describing The Solitude, estate of John Penn, near Philadelphia<ref>Washington Papers, [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-05-02-0002-0007-0019 ''Founders Online'', National Archives].</ref> [[#GW_cite|back up to history]] |
:"Dined (after coming out of Convention) at Mr. John Penn the youngers. Drank Tea & spent the evening at my lodgings." | :"Dined (after coming out of Convention) at Mr. John Penn the youngers. Drank Tea & spent the evening at my lodgings." | ||
Revision as of 19:06, February 23, 2017
The Solitude, located on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, was the country estate of the Englishman John Penn. Greatly interested in eighteenth-century English architecture and landscape design, Penn created a small villa and picturesque landscape at his country retreat that many scholars credit with helping to spread neoclassicism in America. Today, the villa still stands on the grounds of the Philadelphia Zoo.
Overview
Site Dates: 1784–1788
Site Owner(s): John Penn (1760–1834)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
View on Google maps
History
Englishman John Penn (1760–1834), a grandson of Pennsylvania’s founder, William Penn (1644–1718), purchased fifteen acres of land on the west bank of the Schuylkill River from Isaac Warner in 1784 for a country house he named The Solitude (view text) [Fig. 1 - Birch painting].[1] The estate provided refuge from the hostile political climate Penn encountered in Philadelphia the previous year, when he traveled from London to request compensation from the Pennsylvania assembly for family property seized during the American Revolution.[2] Jude Collin Gleason has argued that The Solitude’s location several miles outside of the city “allowed Penn to keep his finger on the political pulse of Philadelphia, while keeping a safe distance from unfriendly factions.”[3] One nineteenth-century commentator described The Solitude as “a small house, just big enough for a bachelor and costly enough for a poet.”[4] Penn did occasionally entertain such illustrious guests as George Washington (1732–1799), who recorded in his diary that he had dined at Penn’s estate following a meeting of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 (view text). In a 1785 letter to her husband, however, Rebecca Shoemaker (1730–1819), a resident of nearby Laurel Hill on the east bank of the Schuylkill, wrote that Penn was “living a most recluse life” at The Solitude and that he was “making it all a garden and has built a house in a most singular style” (view text).[5]
Texts
- Penn, John, date unknown, entry in his Commonplace Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania (quoted in Westcott 1877: 438–439)[6] back up to history
- "I felt indeed the accustomed amor patriae and admiration of England, but sometimes a republican enthusiasm which attached me to America and almost tempted me to stay. . . . Earlier in the year I had made a dear purchase of fifteen acres, costing £600 sterling, and on the banks of the Schuylkill. I named it, from the Duke of Wurtemberg's, The Solitude—a name vastly more characteristic of my place. Advancing my house, I gradually altered my scheme to the great increase of the expenses it put me to. I might be in part actuated in this by a motive now grown stronger, the vanity of English taste in furnishing and decorating the house; and thought the money less thrown away as I then purposed keeping a house in the country, either for my agent to wait my return to the old country should my affairs require it."
- Penn, John, date unknown, entry in his Commonplace Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania (quoted in Gleason 2002: 92)[7]
- "Before I read the marquis d'Lamenoiselle's excellent treatise on landscape, I find similar sentiment to one of his in my letter (date April 1783) to W. Gould. He recommends a proportion to be observed between the mansion and extent of prospect; a precept I have studiously followed, without knowing it, both in practice, at the Solitude & in theory in this extract from the letter [to W. Gould]."
- Shoemaker, Rebecca, May 23, 1785, in a letter from Philadelphia to Samuel Shoemaker in London, describing The Solitude (quoted in Gleason 2002: 36)[8]
- "He lives a most recluse life over Schuylkill. He bought about twenty acres of land and is making it all a garden and has built a house in a most singular style."
- Washington, George, July 19, 1787, diary entry describing The Solitude, estate of John Penn, near Philadelphia[9] back up to history
- "Dined (after coming out of Convention) at Mr. John Penn the youngers. Drank Tea & spent the evening at my lodgings."
- Penn, John, August 8, 1788, in a letter from London to Edmund Physick in Philadelphia (quoted in Gleason 2002: 94)[10]
- "[The Solitude is] a place which made my stay in a distant country, so full of trouble & anxiety, more tolerable to me."
- Physick, Edmund, December 12, 1789, in a letter from Philadelphia to John Penn in London, describing damage to The Solitude caused by a storm on July 5, 1789 (quoted in Gleason 2002: 90–91)[11]
- "The very heavy falls of water ran over the road with such force as to carry along with it as much gravel off the walks, into the gully & river (exclusive of common dirt) as has taken seventeen wagon loads to replace. The several of the stones placed near the Bridge to resemble natural rocks were undermined, the earth being washed from under them, the bridge was injured, and the water flounced down the gully with such great rapidity and violence as to deepen it three feet below the foundation of the wall you had laid for supporting the bank, the stone wall diving your land from Boltons was in many places washed down, almost all the land was removed out of the garden walks and thrown up in great ridges and piles over the beds so as to alter the whole form of the garden, these disagreeable effect having happened, my wife proceeded to get such repairs made as were most necessary, leaving some stone work under the planted stones in the gully unfinished, until we can be favored with your thoughts upon it."
- Birch, William Russell, 1808, The Country Seats of the United States of North America (1808: unpaginated)[12]
- "Here a pleasing solitude at once speaks the propriety of its title. Upon further research the solitary rocks, and the waters of the Schuylkill add sublimity to quietness. The house is built with great taste for a bachelor, by the former Governor John Penn, since the revolution."
Images
John Nancarrow, Plan of the Seat of John Penn, jun'r: Esqr: in Blockley Township and County of Philadelphia, c. 1785.
William Russell Birch, "Solitude in Pennsylv.a belonging to M.r Penn," in The Country Seats of the United States (1808), pl. 9.
Other Resources
The Solitude - Philadelphia Zoo
Notes
- ↑ Penn named his estate after the Duke of Württemberg’s country palace in Stuttgart, La Solitude (built 1763–c. 1769), which Penn had visited during a Grand Tour in 1782–1783. Jude Collin Gleason argues that, La Solitude, as well as another of the Duke of Württemberg’s palaces visited by Penn—Monrepos (1760–1764) near Ludwigsburg—are two very early examples of French neoclassicism in Germany. Gleason, “A House in the Most Singular Style: John Penn’s The Solitude” (Master of Arts Thesis, University of Delaware, 2002), 12–13, view on Zotero.
- ↑ John Penn inherited three-fourths of the family’s proprietary rights and property in Pennsylvania after the death of his father, Thomas Penn (1702–1775). The remaining one-fourth belonged to Penn’s older cousin, also named John Penn (1729&nash;1795), who was from Philadelphia and resided at his country estate Lansdowne, located just northwest of The Solitude. Ibid., 2, 17, view on Zotero; Thompson Westcott, The Historic Mansions and Buildings of Philadelphia, with Some Notice of Their Owners and Occupants (Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1877), 437, view on Zotero; Elizabeth Milroy, The Grid and the River: Philadelphia’s Green Places, 1682–1876 (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2016), 109, view on Zotero; Lorett Treese, The Storm Gathering: The Penn Family and the American Revolution (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992), 195–197, view on Zotero.
- ↑ Gleason 2002, 21, view on Zotero. The decision may also have been driven by family considerations, providing Penn with an alternative to staying at Lansdowne. Ibid., 19–20.
- ↑ Westcott 1877, 440, view on Zotero.
- ↑ Rebecca Rawle and her second husband, Samuel Shoemaker, constructed a house at Laurel Hill in 1767, and the property remained in the Rawle-Shoemaker family until 1828. Roger W. Moss, Historic Houses of Philadelphia: A Tour of the Region’s Museum Homes (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press for The Barra Foundation, 1998), 98–99, view on Zotero.
- ↑ Westcott 1877, view on Zotero.
- ↑ Gleason 2002, view on Zotero.
- ↑ Samuel and Rebecca Shoemaker Diaries, vol. 2, p. 208, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; quoted in Gleason 2002, view on Zotero.
- ↑ Washington Papers, Founders Online, National Archives.
- ↑ Penn-Physick Manuscripts, vol. 1, p. 195, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; quoted in Gleason 2002, view on Zotero.
- ↑ Penn-Physick Correspondence, vol. 3, p. 254, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; quoted in Gleason 2002, view on Zotero.
- ↑ William Russell Birch, The Country Seats of the United States, ed. by Emily T. Cooperman (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009), 58, view on Zotero.
