Nemours Mansion and Gardens

Nemours Mansion from the front

The Nemours Mansion and Gardens is a 300-acre (120 ha) country estate with jardin à la française formal gardens and a classical French mansion in Wilmington, Delaware. Built to resemble a château, its 105 rooms on five floors occupying nearly 47,000 sq ft (4,400 m2). It shares the grounds with the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, both owned by the Nemours Foundation at 1600 Rockland Road. The estate is part of the DuPont legacy and is located on the DuPont Historic Corridor.[1]

Origin

Nemours was created by Alfred I. du Pont in 1909–10 as a gift for his second wife, Alicia, and named for the north central French town affiliated with his great-great-grandfather, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours. Carrère and Hastings designed it. The architecture is of the Louis XVI-Rococo style of French architecture.[2][3]

Furnishings

The mansion contains rare French 18th-century furniture and an eclectic collection of notable antiques, works of art, and tapestries. Artworks range from 16th-century religious works to paintings by the European masters to early works by Americans Frederic Remington and Sidney Lawrence. Of particular interest is a rare Louis XVI musical clock, circa 1785, by David Roentgen and Peter Kinzing, which plays four tunes on a dulcimer and pipe organ.[1]

Landscape gardens

Boxwood Garden
Sunken Garden

The estate has the most developed and largest jardin à la française (French formal garden)-style landscape park and collection of individual gardens in North America. The design is patterned after the gardens of Versailles surrounding the Petit Trianon at the Château de Versailles. Their central axis extends ⅓ of a mile from the mansion facade, paralleling the main avenue leading to the house. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with plantings, fountains, pools, a carillon tower, statuary, and a pavilion surrounded by naturalized woodlands.[2][4][5]

The named features include:[4]

Restoration and renovation

Temple of Love

The Nemours mansion and gardens reopened its gates on May 1, 2008, after closing in 2005 for a 3-year, $39 million renovation.[1] The work, commissioned by the Nemours Foundation, was performed by world-class conservators, artisans and craftspeople who refurbished furniture, fabrics, tapestries, interior finishes, paintings, and sculptures. The comprehensive reconstruction included replacing the entire electrical system, draining and repairing the 800,000-gallon reflecting pool, and landscape restoration of the extensive formal gardens plantings, constructed design elements, and statuary.[5]

Litigation

In June 2012, the state of Delaware filed suit against the duPont Trust and Nemours Foundation, claiming the trustees were not following duPont's intentions, Delaware was not receiving their proper yearly distribution, and the $72 million renovation should not have been included in Delaware’s share of foundation distributions. Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden also objected to the Nemours Mansion and Garden prohibiting access by children under 12 and limiting total visitors to 48 per tour on the 222-acre property.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Neumours Mansion & Gardens". Fieldtrip dot Com. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Nemours Mansion and Gardens". Ettractions. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Mansion". Nemours Mansion & Gardens. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  4. 1 2 "The Gardens". Nemours Mansion & Gardens. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Nemours Mansion & Gardens". The Brandywine. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  6. ↑ Associated Press (June 18, 2012). "Delaware's Nemours Foundation At Center Of Controversy". CBS 3 Philadelphia. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
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Coordinates: 39°46′36″N 75°33′29″W / 39.7766°N 75.5580°W / 39.7766; -75.5580

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