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Kingston-upon-Hull

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Early 18th century, first three bays and two-bay kitchen addition. Mid-19th century, second story. On St. Jones River in Ted Harvey Wildlife Area, entered off Kitts Hummock Rd., 1.8 miles east of U.S. 113
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)
  • Kingston-Upon-Hull (HABS)
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)

Listed by Preservation Delaware as threatened, this ancient, abandoned brick building stands empty along the riverbank. The tract that it occupies was patented in 1671. The date of construction is unknown, and even the nomenclature is confusing; the dwelling has sometimes been called Town Point, and nearby Dickinson Mansion (KT25) has been called Kingston-upon-Hull. Early-twentieth-century historians mistook it for a relic of the seventeenth century, calling it “Kent County's first courthouse.” In fact, it was always a home, owned by the Dickinsons for generations. They added the frame second story during the years when tenant farmers occupied the place. The much-remarked colonial brick-work of the walls, nearly sixty feet in length on each long side, shows English, Flemish, and common bonds, with treatments changing over time as the building was enlarged. Earliest are the splendid sections with glazed headers and a doglegged watertable.

Writing Credits

Author: 
W. Barksdale Maynard
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Data

What's Nearby

John Dickinson Mansion
Matthew Lowber House
Hangar 1301, Dover Air Force Base
Jehu M. Reed House
Dover Air Force Base Mortuary Facility

Citation

W. Barksdale Maynard, "Kingston-upon-Hull", [Dover, Delaware], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/DE-01-KT26.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Delaware

Buildings of Delaware, W. Barksdale Maynard. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, 236-237.

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