Thomas Eyre Hall: Cheriton, Northampton County, Eastern Shore Virginia

Thomas Eyre’s relocation to Jamestown in 1622 and right to 1,600 patented acres (647.49 hectares) in 1623 explains 12 continuous generations of direct descendants owning land in lower Northampton County. Occupancy of 700 additional acres (283.28 hectares) by great-grandson Littleton Eyre (1710 – 1768) and great-granddaughter-in-law Bridget Harmanson (1715 – 1768) in 1754 furnishes means for:

• construction of a 41-square-foot (3.81-square-meter), gambrel-roofed, two-and-a-half-story wooden residence by 1760;
• cultivation of grains, tobacco.

Ownership by John Eyre (1768 – 1855) and Ann Upshur (1780 – 1829) gives reasons for:

• boxwood enclosures;
• neo-classical chimney-building;
• one-and-a-half-story extension expanded into second-floor dining room, housekeeper’s room, storeroom;
• orangery clippings from John McHenry (1791 – 1822);
• Rives du Bosphore (“Banks of the Bosporus”) wallpapering by Joseph Dufour et Compagnie. 

Twenty-first century visitors have current owner, retired bank executive Henry Furlong Baldwin, to thank for the accessibility and authenticity of the grounds. The present owner in fact is the son of Margaret Eyre Taylor Baldwin (1898 – 1979), granddaughter of John’s inheriting nephew, Severn Eyre (1831 – 1914). He therefore joins quite logically his predecessors in:

• maintaining barn, caretaker’s house, garage, guest house, machine shed, stables, tenant houses, woodshed from the twentieth century and the office from the twenty-first;
• preserving the dairy from 1759/1760, graveyard, mansion, orangerie ruins from 1818, overseer’s house from 1798, smokehouse from 1807;
• respecting modernizations and restorations in the 1930s by the architectural firm of Victorine and Samuel Homsey of Wilmington, Delaware and Boston, Massachusetts. 

Visitors know that public access cannot be expected to overlap with a private residence’s National Historic Landmark (since March 2, 2012), National Register of Historic Places (since November 12, 1969), and Virginia Landmarks Register (since September 9, 1969) status. Such a confluence lends to the special experience of strolling Eyre Hall’s grounds year-round and witnessing Eyre Hall’s interiors in April. It makes the appreciation culturally enriching, educationally entertaining, and geo-historically enthralling even outside Garden Week when visitors have access only to what may be the United States of America’s most continuously cared, oldest-known English-styled garden of:

• boxwoods, crape myrtle, dwarf-cedar, magnolia;
• brick-and-wood picket wall;
• four square parterres;
• modern beds;
• swept paths;
• 380-foot (115.82-meter) by 170-foot (51.82-meter) dimensions. 

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Northampton County's historic courthouse complex is sited in Eastville, only a few miles north of Eyre Hall.
Debtor's prison, built in 1816, and 1731 Clerk's Office
Eastville, Northampton County, Eastern Shore of Virginia; Friday, August 12, 2005, 15:42: Alexiskferia, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eastville_Courthouse.JPG

east view of Eyre Hall's stair hall with Les Rives du Bosphore (The Banks of the Bosphorus), scenic wallpaper made ca. 1816 by French firm of Joseph Dufour et Compagnie
Ca. 1755 - 1770 open card table (right) is attributed to shop of cabinetmaker Anthony Hay (ca. 1739 - December 4, 1770) of Williamsburg, Virginia.
ca. 1930-1939 by Frances "Fannie" Benjamin Johnston (Jan. 15, 1864-May 16, 1952); LOC Carnegie Survey of Architecture of the South: No known restrictions, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division @ https://www.loc.gov/item/2017891020/

View of Eyre Hall's stair hall looking north toward exterior door, which opens onto north porch: At foot of stairway is east door (right) leading to library.
John Eyre (May 2, 1768 - June 19, 1855), grandson of Eyre Hall's builder, Littleton Eyre, and his wife Ann Upshur Eyre (October 4, 1780 - June 17, 1829) had Dufour's scenic wallpaper installed.
ca. 1930-1939 by Frances "Fannie" Benjamin Johnston (Jan. 15, 1864-May 16, 1952); LOC Carnegie Survey of Architecture of the South: No known restrictions, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division @ https://www.loc.gov/item/2017891021/

Eyre Hall's West end, South front, and west side
photograph by Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS): No known restrictions, via Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/va0789.photos.163982p/

View of Eyre Hall's library, located on original house's garden (north) side; Over mantel is portrait of Severn Eyre (1735-August 1773), only son and heir of Littleton Eyre (ca. 1706/1710 - 1768), who built Eyre Hall as family seat and working plantation.
Oil on canvas by Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783 – November 5, 1872) is copy of portrait by Benjamin West (October 10, 1738 - March 11, 1820) that hangs above ca. 1800 chimney piece in parlor room.
ca. 1930-1939 by Frances "Fannie" Benjamin Johnston (January 15, 1864 – May 16, 1952): No known restrictions, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division @ https://www.loc.gov/item/2017891022/

view of Eyre Hall from southeast
gambrel roof section (left), completed ca. 1759 for Littleton Eyre; wing (right), added in late 18th century and enlarged in 1807
photograph by Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS): No known restrictions, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/va0789.photos.163981p/

Ancestry.com. 2012. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, U.S.A.: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.

“Anna M. Upshur [1780 – 1829].” Find A Grave > Memorial #125793999 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015. .

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2532195&GRid=125793999&

Bourne, Michael; and Harper, Marilyn. 18 March 2011. “Eyre Hall.” National Historic Landmark Nomination. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.nps.gov/nhl/news/LC/spring2011/EyreHall.pdf

“Bridget Harmanson Eyre [1715 – 1768].” Find A Grave > Memorial #125796733 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2532195&GRid=125796733&  

Calder, Loth. 1999. The Virginia Landmarks Register. Charlottesville, VA, U.S.A.: University Press of Virginia for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Carson, Cary, and Carl R. Lounsbury, eds. 2013. The Chesapeake House: Architectural Investigation by Colonial Williamsburg. Chapel Hill NC: Published in association with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation by the University of North Carolina Press.

“Eastern Shore.” Virginia Garden Week 2015. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://vagardenweek.org/warehouse/fm/documents/2015HGW_TourDetails/2015HGW_EasternShore.pdf

“Eastern Shore Gazetteer – Northampton County.” Ghotes of Virginia. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.ghotes.net/gazetter/northam.htm

“Eyre Hall.” Eastern Shore Garden Tours > Homes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.esgardentours.com/easternshoretourhomes/eyrehall.html

“Eyre Hall.” Facebook. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eyre-Hall/112123248799470

“Eyre Hall Gardens.” Virginia Is For Lovers > Historic Sites. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.virginia.org/Listings/HistoricSites/EyreHallGardens/

“Eyre Hall Gardens – Cheriton.” Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism > What To Do. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.esvatourism.org/es_what_to_do/what_to_do_select.asp?cat2ID=54&filterby=1

“Grace Taylor Eyre Taylor [1872 – 1910].” Find A Grave  > Memorial #125805089 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=125805089

“Henry duPont Baldwin [1898 – 1974].” Find A Grave > Memorial #65792720 Created by Fred Sanford. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=65792720&ref=acom

“Henry Furlong Baldwin [born 15 Jan 1932 married 18 Jun 1988 Constance Hoffman Hoffman Macdougall born 10 August 1939] in the Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936 – 2014.” Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936 – 2014 [database on-lline]. Provo, UT, U.S.A.: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gss=angs-c&new=1&rank=1&gsfn=h+furlong&gsln=baldwin&msypn__ftp=Accomack+County%2c+Virginia%2c+USA&msypn=103&msypn_PInfo=7-%7c0%7c1652393%7c0%7c2%7c3245%7c49%7c0%7c103%7c0%7c0%7c&msfns=baldwin&msmng=margaret+eyre+&msmns=taylor&MSAV=0&uidh=lx5&pcat=BMD_MARRIAGE&h=13406720&recoff=8+9+35+36+37+50&db=General-9279&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1

“John Eyre [1768 – 1855].” Find A Grave > Memorial #125793468 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2532195&GRid=125793468&

Loth, Calder. 1999. The Virginia Landmarks Register. 4th Edition. Charlottesville, VA, U.S.A.: University Press of Virginina for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

“Margaret L. Taylor Eyre.” Find A Grave > Memorial #125797090 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2532195&GRid=125797090&

“Margaret S. Parker [married 19 Jan 1865 Severn Eyre] in the Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785 – 1940.” Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785 – 1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, U.S.A.: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=5542&db=FS1VirginiaMarriages&indiv=try&h=3765678

“Margaret Stanton Parker Eyre.” Find A Grave > Memorial #125796232 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2532195&GRid=125796232&

“Mary Burton Savage Eyre [1804 – 1866].” Find A Grave > Memorial #125796090 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2532195&GRid=125796090&

“Richard Baker Taylor [1874 – 1947].” Find A Grave > Memorial #92709013 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=92709013

Savage, J. Thomas. September 2009. “Eyre Hall on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.” Photography by Langdon Clay. The Magazine Antiques > Articles. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.themagazineantiques.com/articles/eyre-hall-on-virginias-eastern-shore/

“Severn Eyre [1831 - 1914].” Find A Grave > Memorial #125796139 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2532195&GRid=125796139&

“Severn Eyre [1831 – 1914 married 19 Jan 1865 Margaret S. Parker 1840 - 1899] in the Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785 – 1940.” Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785 – 1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, U.S.A.: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=severn+&gsln=eyre&mswpn__ftp=Accomack+County%2c+Virginia%2c+USA&mswpn=103&mswpn_PInfo=7-%7c0%7c1652393%7c0%7c2%7c3245%7c49%7c0%7c103%7c0%7c0%7c&MSAV=0&msbdy=1831&catbucket=rstp&uidh=lx5&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=3765676&db=FS1VirginiaMarriages&indiv=1&ml_rpos=7

“Severn Eyre [married 19 Jan 1865 Margaret S. Parker] in the Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785 – 1940.” Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785 – 1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, U.S.A.: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=5542&db=FS1VirginiaMarriages&indiv=try&h=3765678

“Thomas Eyre [1625 – 1674 married Susannah Baker 1614 – 1687, parents of Thomas Eyre 1647 – 1715 married Jane Severn 1655 – 1755, grandparents of Severn Eyre 1680 – 1728 married Gertrude Harmanson 1690 – 1728, and great-grandparents of Littleton Eyre 1710 – 1768 married Bridget Harmanson 1714 – 1768].” Ancestry > Historical Person Search > Search Results. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/thomas-eyre_671201  

“William L. Eyre [married Mary B. Eyre] in the Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785 – 1940.” Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785 – 1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, U.S.A.: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=5542&db=FS1VirginiaMarriages&indiv=try&h=3765675

“William Lyttleton Eyre.” Find A Grave > Memorial #125796011 Created by Linda Dukes. Retrieved September 2015.

• Available @ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2532195&GRid=125796011&