An example of Palladian architecture in North America and the only plantation house on the Ashley River to survive intact through both the Revolutionary and Civil wars, it is a National Historic Landmark.The portico resembles a similar feature at the Villa Cornaro near Venice, Italy, designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in 1551.The floor plan of Drayton Hall is Palladian-inspired as well, perhaps derived from Plate 38 of James Gibbs' A Book of Architecture,[3] the influential pattern-book published in London in 1728.[7] As the third son in his family, he knew he was unlikely to inherit his own nearby birthplace, now called Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.Because the attic framing would have to have been in place well before the completion of the interior finishes, the house is now thought to have been occupied by the early 1750s.
The
John Drayton House
at 2 Ladson St. in downtown Charleston, South Carolina was built after 1746 by John Drayton, the builder of Drayton Hall, and shows his preference for the Georgian Palladian style.