Ratcliffe Manor, Easton Parkway (State Route 322) Vicinity, Easton, Talbot County, MD
Summary
Significance: Built between 1757 and 1762, Ratcliffe Manor is perhaps the finest, most sophisticated and intact mid-eighteenth-century Georgian style plantation house on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It was built for wealthy merchant planter Henry Hollyday on what was originally a 1,000-acre tobacco plantation. Hollyday was, however, among the planters who early on transitioned from tobacco to grain production. Thus Ratcliffe Manor reflects the wealth of the planters who preemptively diversified from, or give up altogether, their tobacco production. Among Ratcliffe Manor's distinguishing architectural features are the near identical carriage and river front entries, with the latter overlooking an original boxwood garden and terraced landscape flanked by the Tred Avon River and Dixon Creek. Ratcliffe is recognized for its extraordinary and intact period brickwork and the sophisticated wood detailing that appears both inside and out.
Survey number: HABS MD-89
Building/structure dates: 1757-1762 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1953 Subsequent Work
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