Eyre Hall Symposium

Erected in 1759 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Eyre Hall is still occupied by descendants of Littleton Eyre, the original owner. The generations have acquired and preserved such items as furniture, silver, even sheet music, with continuity rivaled by only a handful of other Virginia properties.

On Wednesday, Sept. 14, Shore History will host “Inside & Out,” a symposium on location to showcase these treasures. Springboarding off the book “The Material World of Eyre Hall: Four Centuries of Chesapeake History,” an impressive lineup of speakers awaits attendees.

George W. McDaniel, author of Drayton Hall Stores: A Place and Its People, and Executive Director of Drayton Hall for over 25 years, will moderate a panel about those who called Eyre Hall home. 

The event, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., will include a tour of the house and garden, book signings, and a box lunch. Tickets are $175 each and available at shorehistory.org. Registrants will receive a promo code by email entitling them to purchase the book from shop.mdhistory.org for $50, down from the $89.95 cover price.

Speakers include:

Thomas Savage, Eastern Shore native and recently appointed Colonial Williamsburg director of educational travel and conferences, will serve as master of ceremonies. Savage previously held positions at Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, the former home of Henry Francis du Pont of the chemical company du Ponts.

Architectural historian and speaker Carl Lounsbury edited the book, assembling a who’s who of material culture as contributors. The Eyre Hall story took four years and 450 pages to tell.

Furniture expert Sumpter Priddy, is known for his innovative approach to the study of culture and artifacts. A former curator for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, he is actively engaged in researching early American artisans and their products, particularly those of the early South.

Angelika Kuettner, associate curator of ceramics and glass for Colonial Williamsburg, will address the role the pieces play in understanding a society’s “social customs, fashion trends, and relative differences in economic and social status.”

Mark Letzer, president and chief executive officer of the Maryland Center for History & Culture, will speak to the legacy of silver associated with Eyre Hall. He begins his chapter in “The Material World” with a quote from the will of Bridget Boxcroft, who bequeathed “my beloved kinsman Severn Eyre” a number of pieces including “the silver punch bowl,” not only the oldest and most significant piece in Eyre Hall’s collection but also one of the most important to survive from colonial Virginia. Will Rieley, who taught at the University of Virginia for 20 years and participates in the Historic Landscape Institute, will tell the story of Eyre Hall’s grounds, garden, and orangery in the context of colonial America.

Visit shorehistory.org, email marketing@shorehistory.org, or call 757-787-8012 with questions about the symposium. Eyre Hall is located at 3215 Eyre Hall Drive in Cheriton.