Mary Cooper House

Friday, October 30, 2009
by Peter Ingle

1.11Church94_crop94 Church Street • c. 1760

The left side of this house is a largely blank wall with only two stair windows, but Mary Cooper could be certain that this back wall would not be tied into another house. Consequently it was given a dentil cornice and string course like the ones on the street front.

In 1760, Mary Cooper persuaded Ann Peacock, the owner of 96 Church, to sign a legal agreement ensuring that a passage would always remain open between their houses so that “the Chearful light and wholesome air, which by and through the windows on the Northside of such house may or can enter.”

The stair windows (between floors) and the flanking chimneys within the back wall reflect the central position of the stairhall—features that enable a Charleston single house to be recognized even from the back. Although the house was not placed in the usual position at the corner of its lot, the chimneys were still placed within walls in the same position as in a row house.

94_church_back_wallGovernor William Alston owned this property from 1804–1805 while he was married to Theodosia Burr, the daughter of Aaron Burr. •


Copyright Notice: all material in this series is the exclusive property of Gene Waddell. If you want to reuse any of it in any form, you must get permission in writing from chastoday@charlestontoday.net.


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