Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images


Samuel Seabury

Gertrude Jekyll

Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Built around 1740, The Glebe House was home to Reverend John Rutgers Marshall and his family between 1771 to 1786. Marshall was one of the first Anglican ministers in the area. After the Revolutionary War, a group of Anglicans met at the Glebe House and voted Rev. Dr. Samuel Seabury as their representative, going to London to argue before Parliament in order to become the first Bishop in the new country.
The house changed hands several times, and by the 1920s was in a state of disrepair. The house was scheduled to be torn down but was saved by the Samuel Seabury Society for the Preservation of the Glebe House. The house was restored and opened as one of the first historic house museums in 1923.
In 1926, Gertrude Jekyll, known as one of the greatest gardeners of the twentieth century, was commissioned to design an "old-fashioned" garden on the Glebe House grounds. Although her design was not implemented, Jekyll designed a classic English-style mixed border garden with foundation plantings and a planted stone terrace. The plans were found again in the 1970s, and began to be implemented in the 1980s.
Cite This Entry
Knipp, Hallie. "Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden." Clio: Your Guide to History. March 3, 2021. Accessed April 18, 2025. https://theclio.com/tour/1848/8
Sources
History of the Glebe House Museum, Glebe House Museum. Accessed March 2nd 2021. https://www.glebehousemuseum.org/about_us.
Glebe House Museum, Connecticut's Historic Gardens. Accessed March 2nd 2021. https://www.cthistoricgardens.org/glebe-house-museum.
https://www.glebehousemuseum.org/events-news
https://www.glebehousemuseum.org/events-news
https://www.episcopalct.org/Find-Resources/archives-of-the-episcopal-church-in-connecticut/diocesan-bishops/samuel-seabury/
https://www.janehamelgardendesign.co.uk/gertrude-jekyll-an-inspiration-for-gardeners-and-garden-designers/