The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1933-06-01

L II r Calverts' rule over Maryland being
ended as result of the Revolution of 1858
which seated William and Mary on the Brit
ish throne, Sir Lionel Copley, first royal Gov
ernor of Maryland stepped ashore in the
early part of the year 1902 and set foot for
the first time on the soil of the province over
which he was to rule for the next eighteen
months
Waiting on the shore to meet him and Lady
Cooley were some of the newly arisen leaders
OF the Protestant faction then in control of
the government and knot of the merely
curious, both animated by a desire to lay
eyes on the new ruler who had come among
them and to hazard shrewd surmise con-
corning his temper. When the stilted formali-
ties of greeting were over, little procession
formed and followed the new Governor up the
steep bank to the plateau and across the plain
to the finest house in St. Mary's which had
been Communicated for their residence. 1t
previously had been occupied by Governor
Philip Calvert and later by his nephew,
Charles the third Lord Baltimore, who en-
larged and embellished it, so that it formed
fitting residence for the chief executive of
the colony
Under Governor Copley's regime it became
known as the Governors Castle and the name
stuck long after St. Mary's City had fallen
into desuetude and nothing remained of its
own grandeur save only the broken walls, the
sturdy chimneys and fragments of the tiled
cellar floors
THE CASTLE stood in Mattapany street, on the
east side and near the head of Governors
run. The house faced the west and overlooked
pleasant expanse of land and water, though
its site was not as felicitous as some of those
upon which lesser lights of the colony had
built their homes Its description is set down
by J. P. Kennedy in his ''Rob of the Bowl"
an amazing yarn of early Maryland, said to
I have been written in 1888 from descriptions
furnished by living witnesses of the time when
the castle, if not at the height of its splendor,
was still intact. Apparently it was built at
! time when the Tudor influence in architecture
still was strong and the place seems to have
been quite different from the modern Cross
! Manor, home of Sir Thomas Cornwaleys, the
Croesus of the colony. This is standing today,
the oldest brick house in Maryland, but
radically altered by late occupants.
Dark red brick, ornamented with black,
formed the material of its walls, which were
two stories high, penetrated by narrow
windows" The main body of the mansion
was
| capped by a wooden balustraded parapet,
IL terminating at each extremity in scroll
,1,stl inin nrHfo
II ture that rose to summit on which was
nd mounted q weathercOck. From the central
Ek structure, right and left, a series Of ar
EE cades and corridors served to bring into
If line a range of subordinate buildings.
/ In the rear a circular sweep of wall and
f. paling reached as far as group Of stables
Et and sheds. Vanward, the same kind of in
BIZ closures, more ornate in their fashion,
IF shut in a grassy court. Ancient trees
ne shaded the whole mass of dwelling house,
FL court and stables and gave the place both
III q lOrdIy and comfortable aspect. 1t was
IF a pleasant group Of roof and bower, Of
< = spire and tree to look upon from
4 the fair village city, studding the level
plain with its scattered dwellings.
W
LORD BALTIMORE, summarily deposed from the
administration of his palatinate by the re-
cent revolution and the recognition of the
insurgents by the King, fought tooth and nail
to regain his authority and the rights and
privileges which were his under the charter
issued to his ancestor. With every available
resource he opposed the appointment Of Sir
Lionel as Governor of Maryland and it took
all the kings minions and all the kings men
to produce a commission which would hold
water in the courts.
The Commissioners of the Privy Seal en-
tertained strong doubts of the legality of
the warrant issued by King William and
refused to confirm the commission until they
were ordered peremptorily by the Privy
Council to do So Still apprehensive, the
Ministers thought it prudent to obtain the