Joseph Aiken Mansion Carriage House

Joseph Aiken
Mansion Carriage House
~ History ~

This three story brick structure was constructed circa 1848 as a wedding gift by Robert Martin, who brought the property in 1837 when his daughter, Ellen Daniel Martin married her second cousin, Joseph Aiken, a native of Winnsboro SC. Aiken, a planter and a prominent lawyer in Charleston, and later a financial agent for Governor William Aiken, was also interested in architecture and the design of the house maybe attributed to him as well as Russell Warren, who is believed to have designed the similar Kerrison Mansion at 138 Wentworth. However, an early photograph of the structure suggests that James M. Curtis may have been the architect.

The structure features two stories of gracious rooms with lofty ceilings, and includes a central hall which runs back to a circular staircase. The exterior and interior of the structure embrace the Greek Revival style, with a full height unpedimented portico, full length doors and windows, egg-and-dart and waterleaf door trim, thumb-mold marble window lintels and dentil cornice work. The anthemion pattern and Greek fret are repeated in the cast-iron balconies and original front gate. Additionally, the capitals of the four front columns were a variation of the "tower of winds" design with acanthus and lotus leaves, which are now missing. The bare, broad surfaced approach of the Greek Revival style are evident in the unadorned marble mantels and the limited decoration of the plaster cornice and high baseboards.

Aiken was a talented artist and many of the rooms may have been furnished with his work. Oil paintings of birds, fishes, etc. may have been displayed in the dining room while the parlor may have featured waterfalls and landscapes. Additionally, pedestals may have been displayed with busts of his wife and daughters.

First Floor:
The east side consists of a drawing room, dining room, pantry , kitchen and a service staircase to the rear. An unusual feature is the elaborate pediment over the double doors leading from the parlor to the dining room which repeats a modified anthemion (honeysuckle ornament) pattern which may be considered Egyptian in expression.

The west side consists of two large chambers, one of which may originally have been a library, and a connecting recessed Italian loggia, which has now been renovated and is as it should have been, an open porch overlooking a formal garden.

Joseph Aiken Mansion Carriage House
20 Charlotte Street
Charleston, SC 29403
843-720-8811 or 843-478-8808
info@charlottestcarriagehouse.com

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