Name/Title
141½ Ashley Avenue (Alston Cottage)Entry/Object ID
ASHLEY.141.001Scope and Content
The Alston Cottage at 141½ Ashley Avenue was built ca. 1817-1819 and has been moved 3 times in the past century. This dwelling is an extraordinary survivor of small suburban villas built by wealthy rice planters in the Cannonborough and Radcliffeborough neighborhoods, just outside the city limits of Charleston, in the early 19th century. The house has surviving ornate Adamesque ceiling plasterwork complete with originally sat back from Calhoun Street with its piazza garden side looking out over the Bennett's rice mill pond. Its entry faced Mill Street. The house has been moved 3 times in the 20th century successively by St. Francis Xavier Hospital, which has occupied a portion of its site since 1881, and the Medical University of South Carolina. The most important feature of the building includes its surviving ornate ceiling plaster work complete with medallions and cornices and one 2nd floor room has a barrel vaulted ceiling. The house had moved from 31 Mill Street in 1981, and was later moved to Cedar Hill Plantation in Berkeley County in 2003 in an effort to save the historic structure.
File contains house history from The Vernacular Architecture of Charleston; historical research documentation by HCF including architectural history, plats, and Ward book entries; newspaper articles including DYKYC (1981); photocopy of plates (McCrady?); Preservation Society "Preservation Alert," newsletter, and correspondence related to MUSC's plans for the building; photocopies of photographs; map of MUSC buildings; page from This is Charleston on 31 Mill Street; photocopy of HABS drawings (ceiling plan and chair rail detail); photocopy of conjectural plan of house from American Builder's Companion (1827); Rosen and Associates inspection report (2001).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
ASHLEY.141.Source or Donor
141½ Ashley Avenue (Alston Cottage)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Moving of buildings, bridges, etc.Search Terms
Ashley Avenue, Relocated buildings, Historic buildings--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 File FolderArchive Notes
Finding Aids: Index to Property Files.
Level of Description: FolderLocation
Location
Shelf
Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Location
Container
PF Box 6Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
ASHLEY.141.002, ASHLEY.141.003, ASHLEY.141.004, ASHLEY.141.005, ASHLEY.141.006, ASHLEY.141.007, ASHLEY.141.008Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), p. 620
Documentary Notebook by Richard Marks RestorationGeneral Notes
Note
Notes: This house was moved to the Ashley Avenue site from 31 Mill Street.
141½ Ashley Avenue is also known as 141-A Ashley Avenue.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
August 10, 2005Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 16, 2023