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Survey of
Historic Sites and Buildings

	DRAYTON HALL South Carolina
Location: 12 miles west of Charleston on S.C. 61, Charleston County. Drayton Hall

Ownership and Administration (1961). Private.

Significance. John Drayton, a member of the Royal Council, acquired property fronting the west bank of the Ashley River in 1738, where he built Drayton Hall. It has remained in the hands of Drayton's descendants to this day. Drayton Hall, the best surviving example in South Carolina of the colonial plantation house, symbolizes the great wealth and culture that marked the colony in the 18th century. It is architecturally far ahead of the great Virginia houses of the same period.

Present Appearance (1961). A monumental brick structure of two stories over a high basement, Drayton Hall has a double-hipped roof of the type common to many Georgian houses in the South. The west ("land") facade is marked by a two-story portico fronting a recessed central bay. The sheltered porch thus formed is approached by parallel flights of steps. No such feature distinguishes the "river" facade, which employs a classic pediment to emphasize the main axis. Here the approach is by a double flight of steps meeting at the main entrance.

East facade, facing the Ashley River, of Drayton Hall, called "the best surviving example in South Carolina of the colonial plantation house." (National Park Service)

The interior is distinguished by spacious rooms with magnificent paneling and richly ornamented ceilings. Especially impressive are the stair hall, with its double flight of stairs, and the entrance hall, with fire place after a design by the great British architect, Inigo Jones. The other rooms are almost equally fine.

From the scope of the plan and the advanced architectural details, Drayton Hall appears to be the creation of a professional architect. Yet nothing has been discovered thus far to give a hint of his identity.

No productive use is being made of the 550 acres comprising the plantation. Except for a sizable lawn around the mansion, it has been allowed to revert to a tangled woodland. The house, although apparently structurally sound, stands in need of repair. Brickwork needs repointing in a number of places, steps and other exterior features show some deterioration, and wasp nests are numerous on the walls. The house is rather sparsely furnished with fine antiques, some of which were among the original furnishings. The house has no regular inhabitants, although a caretaker lives nearby. [66]