Tudor Hall - formerly home to two famous Shakespearean actors - and Edwin's brother John Wilkes Booth.
lyra
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Booth's ghosts, the bard's spirit
By Cassandra A. Fortin
Originally published November 12, 2006
Booth's ghosts and the Bard's spirit
More than 20 years ago, Gary Sloan strolled down the long lane leading
to Tudor Hall. He walked up to the porch where the owner sat in a
rocking chair.
"I just had to see it," Sloan said of the Bel Air residence, dubbed
"Shakespeare's birthplace in America" because it was formerly home to
two famous Shakespearean actors - Junius Booth and his son Edwin - in
addition to the man who shot President Abraham Lincoln - Edwin's
brother John Wilkes Booth.
For Sloan, the visit was significant because he idolized Edwin Booth,
considered one of the greatest American actors of the 19th century.
"He was the father of our country's love of Shakespeare," said Sloan,
an actor who teaches theater at Catholic University. "I wanted to
continue footsteps that have long been stretched behind me."
The visit was the first step of a project that culminated two decades
later in the one-man play Haunted Prince: The Ghosts of Edwin Booth.
Sloan's play portrays Edwin coping with his ghosts after the
assassination of Lincoln by his infamous brother.
On Saturday, Sloan will present the work's premiere with two readings
in the historic courtroom at the Harford County Courthouse in Bel Air,
where an oil painting of Edwin hangs. Next spring, the Silver Spring
resident will present the play as part of a Shakespeare event in
Washington.
The play is about Edwin's trying to come to grips with the horrific
crime his brother committed, as well as his father's death, his wife's
death, and how to carry on with the name Booth.
"Edwin Booth was to Shakespeare what the Beatles are to rock 'n' roll,"
Sloan said. "He is the cornerstone of the House of Shakespeare in
America. This is a story that needs to be told."
Sloan brings his characters to life in an authentic way, Holbrook
said.
"Gary studies his subjects," the 81-year-old actor said. "And, that's
the way it should be. Actors today look for excuses to be lazy. They
won't take the time to find out about the time during which a character
lived, or what is known about the character. Gary always does."
...he trekked to Edwin Booth's gravesite in Cambridge, Mass., a visit
that has become an annual pilgrimage. Then he went to Tudor Hall.
"Tudor Hall is in the best shape that it has been in since I walked up
the lane over 20 years ago," he said. "I feel proud that our celebrated
work with the house those few years in the early '90s gave it more of a
universal reputation as a Shakespearean hall of fame, rather than
merely the home of the assassin."
But it was more than pride that Sloan experienced sitting on the front
porch, chatting and quoting Shakespeare.
"Tudor Hall felt a little like an ex-wife, to be blunt about it,
divorced from her now about 10 years, it was a forlorn memory, but she
looks restored and happy and so am I," he said.
Gary Sloan will present "Haunted Prince: The Ghosts of Edwin Booth" at
2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Harford County Courthouse in Bel
Air.
(read the article at
)
lyra
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(quote, excerpts)
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Tudor Hall
by John T. Marck
Tudor Hall - Home of John Wilkes Booth
Just outside Bel Air, Maryland in Harford County is a home of
interesting architectural and historic significance known as Tudor
Hall, the home of the great Shakespearian actor, Junius Brutus Booth,
Sr. Born on May 1, 1796 in England, Junius moved to America and settled
on Exeter Street in Baltimore City, where the old post office building
is located today. From the city, Junius settled in Harford County where
he built a log house. In 1822, Junius moved this log house to the
present location of Tudor Hall, originally totaling one hundred
thirty-seven acres.
Junius designed the house in Tudor style, thus its name, but decided to
make it T-shaped, different from most Tudor homes that were L-shaped.
John Wilkes bedroom, on the second floor contains period furnishings,
as does the entire house, however; only one chair originally belonged
to the Booth family. Upon entering John Wilkes bedroom, one can see a
balcony, built for practicing acting scenes, reached by opening two
glass windowed doors. Also, on the second floor is a room designed to
look like a stage, in which the family put on plays.
Several interesting stories are associated with Tudor Hall and the
family. Once, Junius gave John Wilkes a diamond ring. John, in a test
to see if the diamond was real, scratched his initials in the front
inside window to the left of the main entrance doors, which can be seen
today.
As one enters the house from the main doors, directly in front, is one
of the back to back fireplaces.
Located above the fireplace, facing the main entrance doors, is a
picture of President George Washington. Junius, who was a great admirer
of President Washington, insisted that all female guests upon entering
the house, bow, and that all men salute Washington's picture.
Tudor Hall proved to be a very interesting and historic place to visit.
Anyone interested in this period in history as well as the Civil War,
will find it well worth the visit. Tudor Hall also contains an
extensive library, having volumes that surpass those of the Library of
Congress. The Library at Tudor Hall was restored, with the assistance
and cooperation of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
(read the rest at
http://www.aboutfamouspeople.com/article1147.html )
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF TUDOR HALL
C. Milton Wright wrote1 that in "1797 Dr. J. Hall owned the tracts of
'Edwards Lott', 'United Lott', and 'Mathews Neighbor Resurveyed'
containing 159 acres. This was the Booth farm called 'Tudor Hall.'"
In 1824, Junius Brutus Booth, the elder, (1796-1852) leased the land
for 1000 years for $733.20 from the Hall family. 2 First, Junius bought
a log house from John C. Brown, father of Elizabeth Brown Rogers, and
moved the house to the property near a spring.
Junius had Tudor Hall built nearby in 1847 by James Gifford3 who also
built Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865 and
where, on June 9, 1893, 22 War Department employees were killed and 68
others injured when it collapsed due to renovations in the basement.
James J. Wollon, Jr, Mrs. Mahoney's great-grandson, has shown that
Tudor Hall matches a design published for a Gothic Revival cottage
designed by an architect named William H. Ranlett in "The Architect"
Volume I, 1847.4
(read the rest at
http://www.harfordhistory.net/th.htm )
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old photos of Tudor Hall
http://www.harfordhistory.net/thpast.htm
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