Why You Should Take a Tour of the Chase-Lloyd House in Annapolis

Annapolis is a wonderful waterside town. You can spend a day there walking the historic streets, boating on the water, and eating wonderful Chesapeake food. (For more Howard County recommendations, download our free area vacation guide!) The Chase-Lloyd House in Annapolis is one of those sites worth visiting.

History of the Chase-Lloyd House

The Chase Home’s first owner was Samuel Chase, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence for Maryland and Supreme Court justice. (We told you Annapolis is a remarkable historic location!) The Lloyd portion comes from another owner, Edward Lloyd IV. He was a fifth generation Maryland planter.

The Lloyds were a politically active and influential family. In 1771, Edward Lloyd IV was elected to represent Talbot County at the Maryland General Assembly. He bought and completed the Chase-Lloyd House after Samuel Chase ran out of funds to complete the home. Several of his children were born here and his youngest daughter, Mary Tayloe, was married to Francis Scott Key, the writer of the National Anthem, here in 1802.

The Chase-Lloyd House in Annapolis owes it function to its last private owner, Hester Chase Ridout. When she died in 1886, Hester Chase-Ridout willed the house become a safe haven and rest home for elderly women.

Amazingly, the Chase-Lloyd House still operates as an independent living facility for elderly woman today. But its historic importance and Georgian architecture make it an ongoing artifact of American history.

The Architecture

Since the house was unfinished when he bought it, Lloyd hired the famous colonial architect William Buckland to finish the interior.

Buckland stayed true to the experior Georgian symmetry of the outside of the home on the inside. He even installed false doors to keep the symmetrical aesthetic going on the first floor. The contrast of the austere elegance of the exterior and elaborately decorative moldings and plaster ceilings of the interior are classic aspects of the Georgian style. The home’s central cantilevered staircase and the Palladian window that the first tier of the staircase leads to are simply breathtaking.

The Chase-Lloyd House is one of the last of its kind to be built in Annapolis. Though the house has been restored and updated for modern use many times, it has remained true to its initial design.

Chase-Lloyd House Gardens

Pineapple sage, cherry tomatoes, Swiss chard, Thai basil, lavender, American pennyroyal, oregano. These are just a few of the wonderful and fragrant plants you’ll encounter in the working garden. Chase-Lloyd House gardener Kim would happily discuss the many beautiful species growing in this spectacular historic garden.

Visit the Chase-Lloyd House in Annapolis

Next time you take a day trip to Annapolis, why not arrange for a tour of this incredible home? You can take a tour of the lower level and step back into life in the late 1800s.

March-December

Monday-Saturday 2pm-4pm

Admission $5.00

More in Annapolis

We recently wrote about Annapolis in general. It’s a wonderful place to visit, and you’ll find more detailed recommendations on our Annapolis blog post.

 

Located in nearby Ellicott City, the Wayside Inn is a wonderful retreat. Stay with us and indulge in our outstanding breakfast before trekking out into the region. Our own historic Ellicott City offers plenty of amusement, but Washington DC, Annapolis, and Baltimore are all close. Truly, you can’t go wrong with choosing Ellicott City for your base of operations. Our free Howard County vacation guide will offer plenty of ideas and recommendations for how to fill your days. Our historic and cozy inn offers convenient comfort at night.