Cliveden (Benjamin Chew House) facts for kids

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Cliveden
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property


Location	6401 Germantown Avenue Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Area	5.4 acres (2.2 ha)
Built	1767
Built by	Jacob Knorr and John Hesser, among other Germantown craftsmen
Architect	Attributed to William Peters
Architectural style	Georgian Colonial
Part of	Colonial Germantown Historic District (ID66000678)
NRHP reference No.	66000677
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	January 20, 1961
Designated NHLDCP	June 23, 1965

Cliveden (pronounced KLIV-den), also known as the Chew House, is a famous historic place in Germantown, a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia. It is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which helps protect important historical sites.

Cliveden was built as a large country home for a lawyer named Benjamin Chew. It was finished in 1767 and was home to seven generations of the Chew family. Cliveden is well-known for being the site of the American Revolutionary War's Battle of Germantown in 1777. It is also famous for its beautiful Georgian architecture, a style popular in the 1700s.

Today, we are learning more about Cliveden's history. This includes the lives of people who were enslaved or worked for the Chew family. This new information helps us understand more about American identity and freedom. You can find clues about the property's past all over its five-acre wooded area.

The grounds of Cliveden are open to everyone as a public park. You can visit from Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, if the weather is good. The property has four buildings: the Main House, Kitchen Dependency, Wash House, and Carriage House. You can take tours of Cliveden from May through November, Thursday to Sunday, 12 PM to 4 PM.

Cliveden's Design and History
Further Research
Images for kids
See also

Cliveden's Design and History

Cliveden was built between 1763 and 1767. Local German builders constructed it as a summer home for Benjamin Chew, Sr. (1722–1810) and his family. They used it to escape the summer heat and sicknesses like yellow fever.

During the American Revolutionary War, Cliveden was at the center of the Battle of Germantown in 1777. The Chew family and their household lived in the house for many generations until 1972. There was one time when they sold it after the battle to Blair McClenachan, but they bought it back in 1797.

Even with many changes over the years, the original look of Cliveden from the front has stayed the same. The house kept its classic Georgian style.

Benjamin Chew and His Family

Benjamin Chew was born in Maryland. He moved to Pennsylvania because he saw chances to buy land and connect with the powerful Penn family. Chew became a lawyer and later advised the Pennsylvania Colony's governor. He even became the Chief Justice, which is like the main judge, of the colony.

This important job brought him wealth and opportunities. The Chew family also owned a house in Philadelphia, a large house in Delaware, and several big farms in Maryland and Delaware. They also owned many other properties.

The Chews had many different businesses, including shipping goods, farming, and mining iron. All these businesses relied on the work of enslaved people and people who worked for a set time to pay off a debt. During the time of the Revolution, Chew stayed out of politics for a bit. But he became important again after the new government was set up.

Building Cliveden's Unique Style

Cliveden's design came from building styles popular in the United Kingdom. It shows the fancy tastes of wealthy families in the American colonies. However, it also used local building materials and methods from the Delaware Valley.

The front of Cliveden looks very balanced, which is typical of Georgian architecture. This style uses shapes and patterns from ancient Greece and Rome. No one architect is officially named for Cliveden. But old family papers suggest that lawyer William Peters (1702–1786) helped with the design. He likely looked at ideas from famous architects like Andrea Palladio and Abraham Swan.

Cliveden was built when Germantown was growing quickly in the 1760s. At this time, English styles were becoming popular in the German settlement. Cliveden is a Georgian country house that fits its surroundings because of the skill of its German builders. Family records show that master carpenter Jacob Knorr and master mason John Hesser were among the Germantown builders.

Cliveden's Size and Materials

Cliveden was larger than most colonial houses in Philadelphia at the time. It has two full floors and a half-story attic. The front of the house has five sections, with the middle section sticking out slightly. This middle part has a fancy entrance with columns.

Cliveden has a gabled roof, which is unusual for a Georgian house. This shows the influence of Germantown's building styles. Two large brick chimneys rise from the roof. The roof is also decorated with five big urns on brick bases.

The walls are made of Wissahickon schist, a type of stone that was cheaper than brick. This stone was also a common building material in Germantown. The outside of the house shows different levels of detail. The front has carefully cut stone blocks with neat mortar lines. The side facing the public was covered with smooth stucco. The other sides were made of rough stone, though one was later covered with stucco.

This difference in finishes continues inside the house. Rooms on one side have more detailed woodwork and panels than rooms on the other.

Inside Cliveden's Main House

The first floor of Cliveden has an unusual T-shaped hallway. There are small rooms on either side of the wide entrance hall. Larger rooms are on either side of the hallway where the stairs are. The front and back halls are separated by impressive columns.

On the second floor, a "gallery" or hallway is in the middle, with two large rooms on either side. The attic had rooms for servants and children. The cellar has a cooking fireplace and other areas for kitchen work. A hidden staircase connects the cellar to the attic.

Other Buildings and Changes Over Time

Cliveden has two smaller buildings on its sides, called dependencies. These buildings have fronts that look like small temples, matching the main house. Inside, these buildings have simpler designs, like typical small houses in the Delaware Valley.

During construction, the west dependency was made larger to include a cooking fireplace and a well. The other dependency, opposite the Kitchen, was a Wash House and later an office. Both dependencies had second floors and attics with sleeping rooms for servants, both enslaved and free.

In 1776, a covered walkway called a "Colonnade" was built. It connected the main house to the kitchen. The Main House, Kitchen, Colonnade, and Wash House created a work yard behind the house. This was an important outdoor area for chores.

Later records from 1798 mention a stone pantry, a smokehouse, a milk house, and a poultry house. In 1814, the Wash House was made bigger. There was also a record of an ice house, which is no longer there.

In the early 1800s, Benjamin Chew, Jr. inherited Cliveden. He developed it into a gentleman's farm, growing wheat and corn. After a family disagreement, Anne Sophia Penn Chew inherited Cliveden. In 1868, she added a new section to the north. This addition included new rooms and modern updates like gas lighting and indoor plumbing. A furnace for heating and a kitchen stove were also installed.

This new section enclosed the covered walkway, turning it into a butler's pantry. Mary Johnson Brown Chew, a niece-in-law and early supporter of historic preservation, inherited Cliveden next. In 1921, two bathrooms with modern fixtures were added. The last generation of the Chew family moved into Cliveden in 1959. They made some repairs, including changing the floorboards and adding a modern kitchen.

The Chew family, including Sam Chew Jr., gave Cliveden to the National Trust in 1972. This happened 30 years after another famous Cliveden, in England, was also given to the National Trust.

Further Research

The Chew Family Papers are a large collection of letters, documents, and financial records. You can find them at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania if you want to learn more.

Images for kids

Cliveden, southwest view from driveway
Cliveden, south elevation
Cliveden, southwest view