Master Bedchamber

The Master Bedchamber represents the early occupancy of the second master and mistress, Governor Charles Carnan Ridgley (1760-1829) and Priscilla Hill Dorsey Ridgely (1762-1814).

This southwest room on the second floor was historically used as the principal bedchamber at Hampton. Priscilla, second mistress of Hampton, bore at least 14 children between 1783 and 1803. During a woman's "lying-in" after childbirth, friends and neighbors visited, thus the elaborate nature of the room's decoration and furnishings.

Bed and window curtains were among the most important and valuable objects in the house. The hangings exhibited in winter reflect Priscilla's purchases of furnishing chintz in that period. In summer, bed and window curtains of sheer white muslin with tambour embroidery in blue are based on an original Hampton bed valance in the collection of the Maryland Historical Society.