The Scottish Baroque and its Connections with Drayton Hall

David Jones, Head Curator of the Dumfries House, Scotland – part of the Prince of Wales Historic Trust – will speak in the auditorium of the Gibbes Museum of Art on Meeting Street in downtown Charleston.

A light reception starts at 6 followed by the talk at 7 pm and is included for all guests.

The Scottish Baroque was a robust and individual style of architecture that characterised the classical aspirations of Scotland in the early part of the eighteenth century. Its master exponent was William Adam (1689-1748) who introduced the manner at its most elaborate in designs for Hopetoun (1723-48), Duff (1735-9) and on a more modest scale during the 1730s, country houses with recessed centre facades, quadrant loggias and perron staircases.

Accompanying this was an emergent luxury furniture trade that developed in Edinburgh to furnish these newly fashionable country houses and villas. The chief makers were Francis Brodie, Alexander Peter, James Cullen and the cooperative Edinburgh Upholstery Company who were responsible for furnishing Hopetoun House.

Although little is yet known about the early life of Drayton Hall’s builder John Drayton, it seems from evidence of the architectural style of the house and its original contents that he was more than just aware of this Scottish milieu. His wife, Margaret Glen, was a Scot and his son Charles went on to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, returning to South Carolina in 1772.

This lecture will explore some of the fascinating connections that link Drayton to the Scottish Enlightenment and hopefully open up new avenues for research.

David Jones is a Scottish historian who has taught at the University of St Andrews for thirty years and more recently at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. He advises on the architecture and furniture collections of several Scottish houses including Hopetoun, Paxton and Dumfries, where he is Hon. Keeper of Furniture.