The piazza project.
Restoring the mansion’s 18th-century porch.
In 2020, The Naomi Wood Trust, with generous support from the William B. Dietrich Foundation, completed the restoration of the mansion’s 18th-century piazza, or porch. The project received a 2021 Preservation Achievement Grand Jury Award from the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. The restoration addressed an important aspect of how Woodford’s 18th-century occupants likely used the property. Since the house was occupied primarily in the summer months, the piazza would have been an integral place to sit and enjoy the surrounding garden and orchards.
Digging into history.
The first insurance survey for Woodford was prepared in 1769, shortly after Alexander Barclay, the mansion’s second owner, purchased it. The survey notes the presence of a “quite new” piazza, ten feet wide and extending the whole length of the house. A subsequent insurance survey, done in November 1778 for Woodford’s third owner, David Franks, shows major renovations, including the addition of a second floor and a whole new two-story wing extending back from the rear of the original 1756-58 structure. At the back of the house, the surveyor noted a piazza “26 by 10 feet.”
That piazza survived a remarkably long time, but by 1897, it had been demolished and all that remained was a smaller stair and platform. Following The Naomi Wood Trust’s 1927 agreement with the City to move the collection into Woodford Mansion, a new enclosed rear porch was built to link the front and stair halls to the exterior of the house. Though useful, this Colonial Revival porch did not replicate the original 18th-century piazza.
Starting again from scratch.
In 2016, The Naomi Wood Trust commissioned preliminary studies and architectural drawings for a new piazza that would faithfully replicate the 18th-century structure. Archaeological work at the site identified the location of the foundations for the brick piers that upheld the piazza, so the exact dimensions of the original piazza were finally known. The excavation also uncovered other exciting discoveries: ceramic shards and milk bottles dating to the 1927-30 renovations to the mansion.
Unearthing the original piers.
Construction began in August 2019, thanks to a generous William B. Dietrich Foundation grant. The contractor first excavated down to the 18th-century piers that supported the original porch and discovered more ceramic shards dating as far back as the mid-to-late 1800s.
It proved to be impossible to use the original brick piers to support the reconstructed porch, since un-mortared brick-on-brick construction would not have met modern standards. So the original piers were encapsulated in a concrete footer to support the new brick piers holding up the piazza. This method preserved the original brick piers while ensuring that the reconstructed piazza met today’s structural requirements.
Adding the finishing touches.
Next, Tuscan pillars were fabricated to support the roof, replicating the design of the original columns at the front of the mansion. Handrails and spindles were crafted to match the handrails and spindles on the 1772 David Franks staircase inside the house. Finally, yellow pine floor planks were created from reclaimed wood beams and installed.
Today, weather permitting, visitors can relax in four hand-made reproduction Philadelphia Windsor chairs on the piazza and enjoy the lovely garden and orchard, just as Woodford’s early owners and their guests once did.