Tudor Place : Historic House and Garden

The stories of the Peter family and the people who worked for them create an extraordinary record of life in Georgetown and the nation’s capital as well as reflect major events that shaped the country.

Tudor Place was built by Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Martha Custis Peter, and her husband, Thomas Peter, son of a successful Scottish tobacco merchant. In 1805, Thomas Peter purchased the land comprising a city lot in Georgetown Heights with an $8,000 legacy from Martha Custis Peter's step-grandfather, George Washington. The Peters asked Dr. William Thornton, architect of the U.S. Capitol, to design the stately neoclassical house with its circular domed portico and expansive gardens. Completed in 1816, Tudor Place remained under the ownership of six succeeding generations of the Peter family until 1983.

Martha Custis Peter The Peter family witnessed the birth and growth of the capital, playing active roles in government, business and society. The family entertained the Marquis de Lafayette, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun and others who shaped America’s history.

The story of those who worked at the estate and served the family as slaves and free servants present a fuller picture of life at Tudor Place. From the forced immigration of slaves to the free immigration of English and Irish in the late 19th century, Tudor Place presents a unique window into the lives of those who served and how their lives were shaped by major events.

Following the death of its last owner, Armistead Peter 3rd, the historic site opened to the public in 1988 under the stewardship of the Tudor Place Foundation. Tudor Place brings to life the cultural and social history of over 180 years of the Peter family.

Furniture, silver, ceramics and glass, jewelry, textiles, paintings and drawings, sculpture, photographs, books and manuscripts offer a rate insight into American cultural history.

The Washington Collection
Sevres Porcelain from the Washington Collection A group of objects with history of use at George and Martha Washington’s Mount Vernon home are highlights of the collection. The Washington Collection includes pieces from the Washington’s Sevres porcelain dinner service, Martha Washington’s Chinese Chippendale tea table, a Society of Cincinnati soup plate, a unusual waxwork by Samuel Fraunces of Fraunces Tavern in New York, and one of only three existing letters from George to Martha Washington.

Silver
Covered Soup Tureen, Ball, Black & Co., New York, c. 1860 The Tudor Place silver is one of the finest regional 19th century collections and includes examples from English and Continental makers as well as significant American makers and retailers like Kirk, Tiffany and Gorham.

The Federal period gardens of Tudor Place retain the original expanse of green lawns and plantings developed by the Peter family including a unique boxwood ellipse and original boxwood from Mount Vernon. The 5 ½ acre garden reflects contributions made by each generation of the Peter family to this distinctly Southern landscape. The specimen trees planted in the early 19th century still stand on the sloping South Lawn. In the more formal North Garden, English Boxwood defines the paths and creates form to the Flower Knot. A large collection of period flower and shrubs, including the old roses, are meticulously tended. Family tradition maintains that Martha Peter planted the ever-blooming China rose, “Old Blush”, along the south façade of the house.

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Tudor Place Foundation, Inc., 1644 31st Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202.965.0400 | Fax: 202.965.0164

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