Nemours Mansion and Gardens

Nemours Mansion from the front

The Nemours Mansion and Gardens is a 300-acre (1.2 km²) country estate with jardin à la française formal gardens and a classical French mansion located in Wilmington, Delaware. The mansion resembles a Château and contains more than seventy rooms spread over five floors occupying nearly 47,000 sq ft (4,400 m²). It shares the grounds with the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and they are both owned by the Nemours Foundation at 1600 Rockland Road. The estate is part of the DuPont legacy and is located on the DuPont Historic Corridor.

Origin

Nemours was created by Alfred I. du Pont in 1909–1910, and named for a French town affiliated with his great-great-grandfather, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours. Carrère and Hastings designed it. The architecture is of the Louis XVI—Rococo style of French architecture.

Furnishings

The mansion features rare French 18th century furniture throughout and contains an eclectic collection of notable antiques, works of art and tapestries. Artworks range from 16th century religious works to paintings by the European masters to early works by Americans Frederic Remington and Sidney Lawrence. Of particular interest is a rare Louis XVI musical clock, circa 1785, by David Roentgen and Peter Kinzing, which plays four different tunes on a dulcimer and pipe organ.

Landscape gardens

The estate has the most developed and largest jardin à la française (French formal garden) style landscape park and collection of individual gardens in North America. The design is patterned after the gardens of Versailles surrounding the Petit Trianon at the Château de Versailles. Their central axis extends ⅓ of a mile from the mansion facade, paralleling the main avenue leading to the house. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with plantings, fountains, pools, statuary, and a pavilion surrounded by naturalized woodlands.

The named features include:

• The Boxwood garden – French parterre garden with boxwood edging and a central faun fountain.
• The Colonnade (1926) – memorial to Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours and his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, designed by Thomas Hastings.
• The Maze Garden – a maze garden with main hedges of Western Arborvitae 'Spring Grove', inner hedges of Japanese Barberry 'Crimson Pygmy', and central statue of Achievement, by Henri Crenier, atop a base with images of Triton and Neptune's face.
• The Reflecting Pool (1 acre) – 40 feet (12 m) in diameter, with 157 jets, backed by Japanese cryptomeria, pink flowering horse chestnut, and pin oaks.
• The Sunken Gardens – designed by Alfred Victor du Pont (1900–) and Gabriel Masséna. Features large lake, grottoes, and 1930 statue by Charles-Marie Sarrabezolles (1888–1971).
• The Temple of Love – in classical style, with life-sized statue of Diana (1780) by Jean-Antoine Houdon.

Restoration and renovation

The Nemours mansion and gardens reopened its gates on May 1, 2008 after closing in 2005 for a 3-year, $39 million renovation. The work, commissioned by the Nemours Foundation, was performed by world-class conservators, artisans and craftspeople who refurbished furniture, fabrics, tapestries, interior finishes, paintings, and sculptures. The comprehensive reconstruction included replacing the electrical systems and draining and repairing the 800,000 gallon reflecting pool, and landscape restoration of the extensive formal gardens plantings, constructed design elements, and statuary.

See also

• Buildings inspired by Versailles
• Nemours Foundation
• DuPont Winterthur Museum and Gardens
• DuPont Longwood Gardens
• DuPont Hagley Museum and Library
• List of botanical gardens in the United States
• List of museums in Delaware
• Garden à la française
• Landscape design history

External links

• Nemours Mansion and Gardens
• Brandywine 10