Tour the Edmondston-Alston House

There are several fully-restored homes in the Battery area one can visit and even take inside tours. The Edmondston-Alston House is on 21 East Battery row.

It was originally built in 1825. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard is said to have stood on the second story piazza on April 12th 1861 to watch the bombing of Ft. Sumter.

One of our favorite items about this house is a painting displayed that pictures a street scene of East Battery street around 1825.

Their web site states:

The stately Edmondston-Alston House was built in 1825 on Charleston’s High Battery and is one of the city’s most splendid dwellings. A witness to many dramatic events in Charleston’s history, the Edmondston-Alston House is a classic example of the city’s changing and sophisticated taste in architecture and decorative arts.

The Edmondston-Alston House is a repository of family treasures, including Alston family silver, furniture, books and paintings that remain in place much as they have been for over a century and a half. There is an exquisite collection of prints and other artifacts collected on Alston family trips abroad. Guided tours of the house give visitors an insight into the lifestyle of merchant Charles Edmondston, who first built the house in 1825, and Georgetown County rice planter Charles Alston, who later bought the house in 1838.

The Andrew Pinckney Inn is a nice place to stay

If you’re looking for a nice cozy yet practical place to stay in Charleston, something beyond the typical chain hotel stay, checkout the Andrew Pinckney Inn. It is located in the heart of downtown old Charleston at the intersection of Pinckney and Church Streets.

They have many different room plans, including a townhouse model that is spacious and relaxing.

Their web site says: “Charleston hotel accommodations located in the center of a living museum; Charleston, SC�s famous historic district. The Andrew Pinckney Inn is a boutique inn coupling old world charm with sophisticated amenities of today’s Charleston hotels. Meticulously restored, the Andrew Pinckney Inn features a three story plant filled atrium, a Charleston courtyard and rooftop terrace overlooking historic homes, church steeples and the Charleston harbor. Hotel guests of the Andrew Pinckney Inn find horse drawn carriage tours, museums, art galleries, antique and boutique shops along with world-renowned dining just outside the front door in Charleston, South Carolina.”

St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Church St.

 

1851
A chime of eleven bells was contributed to the Confederate military cause. They were replaced in 1976 by a group of church women who raised the money to install them in the steeple.

1861
A great fire swept from the Cooper to the Ashley River. Many members of the congregation were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in other parts of the state.

1860-65
St. Philip’s steeple was targeted for shelling by the invading Union Army. One shell exploded in the churchyard during a Sunday service. The service was completed, but worship was moved to St. Paul’s Church on Coming Street.

More on the history of the church

Dusk at St. Philip’s

Churchyard cemetery across from main building