Music Room

As furnished now, the Music Room reflects the taste of the high Victorian era, 1870-1890. Margaretta Howard Ridgely (1824-1904), widow of Hampton's fourth master Charles Ridgely (1830-1872), was then mistress of the household.

The southwest parlor at Hampton has been known as the Music Room since at least the 1840s, though it served other purposes including that of the principal library in the house.

Musical instruments, including the piano and the harp, were always present and often used to entertain guests. The harp purchased for Eliza Ridgely (1803-1867), Hampton's third mistress, from Erard of London in 1817 still stands in the Music Room today.

Historic photographs, some dating as early as the mid-1880s, show the Music Room filled with furnishings from previous periods and the walls were densely hung with paintings.