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| "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania |
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| "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania |
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| http://issuu.com/acanthus_press/docs/main_line_counry_houses |
Following the death of their mother in 1883, four-year old Craig Biddle and his brother Livingston were raised as wards of George W. Childs Drexel. Under the terms of Anthony J. Drexel's will, each of the Biddle brothers would receive a million dollars upon reaching age 21. The lavishly decorated 'Lauranto', with 113 acres landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers, was a wedding gift to Craig Biddle from his Drexel guardians, a similar gift being made to Livingston Biddle upon his marriage.
Lauranto's interiors were furnished largely with European purchases, including antique marble mantelpieces, classic statuary, and Aubusson tapestries from dealers in Rome and Florence. The vaulted, two-story hall, with Palladian arched windows overlooking the valley, occupied the center of the house with reception, dining, library and sitting rooms arrayed on either side.
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| Craig Biddle - 1918 |
By the 1970s 'Inver House' was owned by the Roach Brothers real estate firm, which announced plans to adapt the property for use as a retirement community. This scheme came to naught, however, and 10 years later, house and stable had been replaced by a large complex of luxury town houses."
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| "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania |
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| "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania1902 |
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| Nothing remains of it now except for the gate and driveway leading nowhere. |
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| On the top of each pillar under the lions, one can see very clearly the inscription "Inver House". |
The situation is superb, standing on the summit of a hill that rises sharply above the road by which it is usually approached, but with an ample plateau on the inner side, toward which the entrance front is faced. On the roadside the base of the hill is enclosed within a low stone wall, that presently will be thickly covered with vines.
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| Roadside Watering Trough. Designed by Peabody & Stearns - wall to extreme right constructed under the Supervision of Mr. Brown with suggestions from the Olmsted Brothers. 1901 |
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| "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania |
At one point, within a recess, is a water trough for horses; farther on is the entrance, high sandstone piers capped with standing lions and supporting a wrought-iron arch carrying a central lantern: a stately, handsome entrance, as effective as it is simple.
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| East front from turn in approach drive at which point the house is seen for the first time on approaching. 1901 |
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| Looking North West toward approach front of house - all plants on terraces were planted spring 1902 - except privet hedge which was planted Fall 1901. |
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| "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania1902 |
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| The Entrance Front Is a Dignified Composition in the Italian Style |
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| "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania |
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| The Porte Cochere Is Built of Terra Cotta and Is Directly Before the Main Entrance |
A stately porte cochere, built wholly of terra cotta, is erected before the main doorway. It has four great piers, with round arches on the side, and two columns to support the entablature on the front, whence a ravishing view can be had of the magnificent lawn that stretches away from the house, and of the hilltops in the far distance.
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| "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania1901 |
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| "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania |
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| "Laurento", the Terrace Front and Its Arch of Triumph |
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| Terrace Front of "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., at Wayne, Pennsylvania |
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| Flower garden during construction. 1901 |
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| Flower Garden and North Pergola.1902 |
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| "The Main Corridor Looking Toward the Billiard-room |
The entrance door leads to a small vestibule, wholly paneled in wood painted white. Its glazed doors admit to a space of similar dimensions and treated in an identical manner. This is without inner doors, but open on to the broad corridor that runs across the house from right and left. Curtains of red damask on three sides convert the center of the corridor into a sort of antechamber beyond which is the great central hall. Quite from the outer door the spacious splendor of this apartment has been visible, for the whole of the center of the house is brilliantly illuminated by the flood of light admitted by the vast window under the arch of the terrace front.
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| The Main Hall Is Flanked with Aisles, in One of Which Is the Fireplace with a Mantel of Carved Stone |
The hall is of regal proportions, rising to the full height of the second story. Ionic columns, on either side, divide it into three bays. It is thus basilical in plan, with aisles on each outer edge, while the central space is supported by the columns and pilastered piers in the corners.
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| The Main Hall Looking Toward the Vestibule. It Is a Splendid White Apartment, Two Stories High |
The billiard-room is at the end of the corridor, and completely fills this farthest end of the house. It is treated throughout in warm brown. The floor is formed of large dull-red bricks, on which are many small Oriental rugs. It is paneled in wood to the frieze, which is of carved leather depicting hunting scenes. The ceiling has wooden beams, corresponding with the rest of the woodwork, the panels being filled with leather, of the same beautiful warm-brown hue which characterizes the whole room. The curtains, both for tapestry curtains of blue and yellow tones. On the left, within the aisle, is a handsomely carved fireplace and mantel of white stone; on the opposite wall, in the aisle, is a superb piece of tapestry. In the center is a green marble table with white marble feet: it supports a richly carved vase. In the corners by the entrance are marble statues.
The rooms on either side may be reached from the central hall, but it will perhaps be more convenient to visit them from the main corridor. Like the hall and vestibules this is floored with white marble, spread with rich Oriental rugs. On the right it leads to the billiard-room, situated at the extreme end of the house; and on the left it connects with the servants' quarters. It is so broad, and high, and spacious—as are all the apartments on this floor—that it has a true monumental character. Its chief decoration is a series of busts of Roman emperors, of which six are in the right hall, while two stand in the farther corners of the left extension. These sculptures are nobly placed, and add immensely to the monumental effect of the corridor.
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| The Library Is Finished in Mahogany with Walls of Red Brocade |
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| The Reception-room, with Paneled Wails of French Gray, Is Louis XVI in Style |
On the left hand side of the entrance doorway are two rooms, both entered from the main corridor. That on the front of the house is the breakfast-room, treated wholly in yellow, with warm-yellow walls, and curtains of the same brilliant color.
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| An Immense Slab of Green Marble Encloses the Fireplace of the Dining-room |
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| The Dining-room Is Paneled in Dark Oak, Above Which Is a Frieze of Old Tapestry |
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| DINING-ROOM "Laurento", the Estate of Craig Biddle, Esq., Wayne, Pennsylvania |
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| The Massing of Foliage Plants and Trees Is Admirable |
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| Looking down on flower (Italian) garden from a second story window of house. 1901 |
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| View of Long Terrace and Flower Garden.1902 |
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| The Formal Garden of "Laurento" with Its Central Fountain and Encircling Flower Beds |
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| Looking South East from Italian garden towards the Stable. All plants seen in photo except the trees in background were planted either Fall 1901 or Spring 1902. |
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| Path south of the esplanade and looking east toward stable. All planting put in Spring 1902. |
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| The Stable and Clock Tower - East front. |
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| The Stable and Clock Tower - East front. |
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| Welcome to Inveraray |
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| INVER HOUSE GREEN PLAID |
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| September 19, 1908 |
"Harry Oelrichs was one of the most intimate friends of James Gordon Bennett," writes Edward Vizetelly in a London weekly. "Between them they introduced polo into America, and were familiar figures, side by side, in Broadway years ago, particularly after dark."SOURCE