18ST75 - Notley Hall

Site Summary

18ST75 Notley Hall
c. 1720-Present

Site History

Notley Hall is a standing structure that was built c. 1750-1800. The home was once thought to have been constructed, at least in part, by Maryland Governor Thomas Notley in the 1670s, but architectural historians and archaeologists determined that such an early date did not fit the house, and another site (18ST74) about a mile away was most likely Notley’s residence. Eighteenth-century records for Notley Hall are sparse because of an 1831 courthouse fire, but tax assessments from 1793 and 1798 indicate that the house and land were owned by an Elizabeth Thomas. The Thomas family owned the property until the late 19th century.

Archaeology

Archaeology was undertaken in 1981 at the request of private owners who planned to build additions and install a new septic field. Controlled surface collection identified a concentration of 18th-century artifacts that was later tested through the excavation of three quads of a 10’ by 10’ unit (Square 641). The unit exposed two possible post holes and a primary midden deposit full of artifacts and architectural debris that date to c. 1720-1775.

Additional excavations near the house revealed red and yellow brick foundations from an earlier structure. These foundations, and nogging in the extant Notley Hall, both incorporated yellow brick that has been interpreted as brick that was robbed from the nearby 17th-century site (18ST74) for reuse. Artifacts recovered throughout the investigations indicate that the earlier structure post-dates 1720. The archaeology therefore supports a timeline whereby a dwelling was built c. 1720 and occupied into the mid-18th century. In the mid-18th century, this house was dismantled and some of its bricks reused in the current Notley Hall. The rubble and trash deposited in Square 641 probably resulted from construction activities associated with this transition.

For more information:

Pogue, Dennis J.
1981 Archaeological Investigations at Notley Hall (18ST75), St. Mary’s County, Maryland. Maryland Historical Trust Manuscript Series Number 12. On file at the Maryland Historical Trust.

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