photo: Jason Dietrich www.jasondietrichphotography.com
Pavilion in the Gibraltar Gardens, Delaware
A Mansion & Garden named “Gibraltar”
words | Reg Reynolds
The wealthy merchant built a mansion to woo fair maid but she spurned his ‘Gibraltar’ and the heartbroken man lived his long life alone. John Rodney Brinckle of Philadelphia had earned a fortune in the cotton trade and was nearing middle age when he fell in love with a younger woman who worked at a store he owned at Wilmington, Delaware. He courted her but she responded with reluctance. Hoping to bring her around, he purchased 100 acres of land at Wilmington with the idea of building her a home she would be proud of. By 1844 the mansion was complete. As a cotton trader Brinckle had travelled frequently to Britain and the Mediterranean and consequently stopped at Gibraltar on several occasions. He named the new home Gibraltar because it was built on a high rocky promontory that resembled the real ‘Rock’. In spite of his efforts the woman of his dreams turned down his proposal of marriage and poor Brinckle settled into a solitary life. After four years of living solo he invited his brother Reverend Samuel Brinckle, his wife Julia, and their eight children to live with
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him. A few years later John sold the house to Samuel and moved on. Bachelor Brinckle died in 1883 aged 89. There was a Brinckle living on the Gibraltar estate until 1909 when the mansion and 6.11 acres were sold to Rodney Sharp and his new bride, Isabella, an heiress of the fabulously rich du Pont family. Sharp made numerous additions to the mansion, including a library
The redoubtable Coffin was one of the first women to become a professional landscape architect. Unable to find work with all-male firms she started (in 1905) her own practice
and solarium and in 1916 arranged with Marion Cruger Coffin to design a garden on the acreage. The redoubtable Coffin was one of the first women to become a professional landscape architect. Unable to find work with all-male firms she started (in 1905) her own practice. Coffin went on to become one of the most sought-after landscape architects in the eastern United States, working on over 130 commissions. Her clientele included some of the wealthiest and most famous families in the country, including the Fricks (industry), the Vanderbilts(shipping, railways), the Huttons (Woolworths), and the du Ponts(chemicals). Coffin, who would work right up until her death in 1957 aged 80, spent seven years designing Gibraltar Gardens finishing in 1923. For the next 70 years the Sharp family maintained them to the highest standards, employing 17 full-time gardeners. After the death of Rodney Sharp Jr. In 1991, however,
GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JULY 2013