Hampton National Historic Site | HAMPTON MANSION MUSIC ROOM

Hampton Mansion Music Room, Hampton National Historic Site

Hampton Mansion Music Room, Hampton National Historic Site


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The Music Room at Hampton Mansion is located in the southwest corner of the first floor. It is decorated as it might have been between 1870 and 1890 when the fifth owner of the estate, John Ridgely II, lived in the house. During the first thirty years of his time at Hampton, he took on the role of what his wife Helen Stewart called a “gentleman farmer,” which meant that he didn’t do anything. His father had died at an early age in 1872, leaving his mother, Margaretta, a widow with plenty of years left in her. She continued to live in the house, and while John was legally the owner, it was Margaretta who ran the place until her death in 1904. With that in mind, if the room is decorated per the last part of the 1800s, it may reflect Margaretta’s taste and not John’s or Helen’s.

The room was known as the Music Room since the 1840s, and it mainly served as a family room, whereas guests were entertained in the Drawing Room. On display is a rare Steinway Square Grand Piano from the 1870s and Eliza Ridgely’s Erard of London harp (this is not the harp in the Thomas Sully painting that hangs in the Great Hall). Eliza was John’s grandmother.

Hampton Mansion Music Room, Hampton National Historic Site

Hampton Mansion Music Room, Hampton National Historic Site

Steinway Square Grand Piano

Steinway Square Grand Piano

The portrait over the fireplace is that of Charles Carnan Ridgely, John’s great grandfather and Hampton’s second owner.

Hampton Mansion Music Room, Hampton National Historic Site

Hampton Mansion Music Room, Hampton National Historic Site

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Last updated on April 16, 2024
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