– 05/26/2014 Thank you for a wonderful Spring Celebration

What a great night we had at the SaveTheBarclayGrounds Spring Celebration – held at The Barclay on Wednesday night (5/21). The event was held inside the part of The Barclay that was the original Hartshorne Mansion – and on the elegant, spacious covered-porch that overlooks the Barclay Grounds. With the mansion’s pink and grey marble fireplaces, 12-feet high arched doorways and 14-foot ceilings with decorative medallions, this was the perfect venue for such a gathering.

For the 160 people who attended, it gave a vivid sense of the historical importance of the estate that occupied the whole of this block (bounded by N. Nigh, W. Marshall, N. Church and W. Virginia) from 1866. On permanent display in a hallway of the Barclay was a copy of an illustration of the Hartshorne Estate from Futhey and Cope’s 1881 book “The History of Chester County, Pennsylvania”. The Hartshorne Estate was one of only two West Chester estates chosen to be illustrated in the book and is the only West Chester estate of this era not to have been subdivided and built on. Throughout the evening there were expert-led tours of the historic trees on the property.

For much of the evening guests socialized over hors d’ouvres and beverages, and browsed the 81 items in the silent auction. At 8:30, when the silent auction closed, the guests moved out to the porch and grounds where auctioneers from the Smith Auction House conducted a live auction of 11 impressive auction packages. Those who won items in the silent and live auctions got some really good deals – and, like everyone who attended, had the satisfaction of supporting the preservation of the Barclay Grounds.

The Barclay Grounds Preservation Alliance would like to say a special “Thank You” to:

Everyone who supported the Barclay Grounds by purchasing tickets
Tony Stancato & Vic Abdala of StanAb LP, and Allan Steenhausen of John Milner Associates for the use of the Barclay Mansion and Grounds
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant for its donation of beer and other beverages
Linda Collier of Collier’s of Centerville for catering arrangements and wine selections
Sarah Hutchins and Rick Ray for guided tours of the historic trees
Anette Smith of Smith Auction House for conducting the live auction
Chaddsford Winery for the loan of the tables
West Chester Friends School for the loan of equipment and assembly space
The many businesses and individuals (soon to be listed on our website) who donated auction items
And last but certainly not least, the Spring Celebration “Committee Members” who worked so hard to make this a memorable evening for all …

Co-Chairs: Eric Lorgus; Arlene Rengert
Committee Members: Martha Carson-Gentry; Julie Cottage; Kristin Gerling; Karen Hamilton; Tandy Joy Hufford; Karen Jackson; Barb Lynch; Lee Miller; Larry (Parker) Parke; Donna Pyne; George Rengert; Liz Sweeney; Anarie Terezo; Margueritte de Wet; Kathryn Wood; Renny Wood

Thank you for your help.