Name/Title
172 Rutledge Avenue (James Nicholson House / Patrick Duncan House / McBee House / Ashley Hall)Entry/Object ID
RUTLEDGE.172.1Scope and Content
Constructed ca. 1802-16; various 19th century additions. Although the building's exact construction date remains in question, it is known that Patrick Duncan, a wealthy tallow chandler, purchased a lot in 1798 from Daniel Cannon and yet another lot in 1807 to the south from Elizabeth Combe. The purchases were made at the time when the neighborhood was becoming the fashionable suburb of Cannonborough. Upon his return to England in 1828, Duncan sold the house to James Nicholson for $11,800 in 1829. In 1836 the property and building passed into the hands of James Reid Pringle, leader of the Unionist Party during the Nullification controversy. In 1845 George A. Trenholm, a noted Charleston merchant and onetime Secretary of the Treasury of the Confederate States, acquired the property. After the Trenholm tenure, the property was in the hands of Charles Otto Witte. Since 1909 the house has served as the home of Ashley Hall, a private school for girls. The architecture of the building is believed to have the influence of William Jay. The house is entered through the basement portico, which has been glass-enclosed to form a conservatory. The exterior of Ashley Hall is stuccoed and is probably original, as most homes such as this one from the Regency era were finished in this manner. The elaborate architectural detail in the Regency-style, soaring elliptical stairway, curved walls and doors, round-headed openings, grandiose portico, and rounded balconies are similar to designs in Savannah known to be Jay's. The three pointed arch windows in the pediment of the building's portico, defined by four Ionic columns, and the vaulted ceilings of the interior add Gothic motifs also used by Jay's contemporary, Robert Mills. An 1819 account describes the richness of Patrick Duncan's garden, but Charles Otto Witte is responsible for the botanical diversity of the garden as well as the garden building clad with shells. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains Adaptive Use Tour house history (1965); building history written for Vernacular Architecture of Charleston (Maurie D. McInnis); newspaper articles (including 1977, 1984 DYKYC); historical/chain-of-title research notes; building history from Architectural Guide to Charleston (by Simons & Thomas); National Register Nomination Form; Ashley Hall brochure (date not indicated); McBee House: A Narrative Tour Conducted by Ian MacDonald; preliminary observations and recommendations for the roof, and full report "Slate Roof Study" by George T. Fore (1988); photocopy of early 20th century photo (Clarke); 1997 letter from HCF regarding providing assistance with the stabilization of the McBee House.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
RUTLEDGE.172.Source or Donor
172 Rutledge Avenue (Ashley Hall)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Private schoolsSearch Terms
Rutledge Avenue, Radcliffeborough and Cannonborough, National Register of Historic Places, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Ashley Hall (Charleston, S.C.)Archive 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 88Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
2004.020.001, 2006.007.11, 2006.007.20, 2006.010.386-444, 2011.003.08, 2011.015.42a-d, 2016.014.23, RUTLEDGE.172.2Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 634-635
FOH Tour booklets on Lowcountry Digital LibraryGeneral Notes
Note
Notes: Photograph by Charles N. Bayless, Object ID 2006.010.386-444.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
October 19, 2011Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023