Historic London Town and Gardens, Maryland

The Anne Arundel County Library offers family passes to Historic London Town and Gardens. Patrons can request a pass which is good for four admissions. We requested one back in the summer. The queue was long. We finally received a pass in October 2022 and were able to visit.

London Town was a small town south of Annapolis that operated as a port for shipping tobacco and other goods. It was on the King's Highway that stretched from Boston, Massachusetts, to Charlestown, South Carolina. The ferry that ran from Annapolis to London Town had regular business and kept the town of approximately 300 citizens prosperous until the trade routes changed. The town fell into disrepair and eventually vanished, with only the William Brown House lasting to the present day. That house was built in 1760 and served as a tavern for travelers. Brown eventually lost the house to creditors and in the 1820 the county made it an almshouse. The almshouse closed in 1965. The area was turned into an outdoor historic museum in the 1970s.

London Town grounds

Our first stop was the modern visitor's center which has exhibits about the town's history and various industries. The first display we saw talked about a skeleton found buried under one of the buildings, though the identity of the person is unknown and the guesses about why he or she was buried there seemed a bit random.

Recreation of the discovery

The museum has the typical artifacts from colonial life: floor and wall tiles, household items like cutlery and bowls, metalwork, and the star of the museum, a delft plate with a mermaid design.

Tiles functional and fashionable

Bowls, knives, fork, and spoons

Keys, locks, scissors, and beads/buttons?

The delft mermaid

Our kids enjoyed the educational activities in the museum.

Questions about the King's Highway

Wearing a hat

More dress-up

After the historical exhibits, we explored a bit of the gardens, including the Sound and Sensory Garden, which has various musical instruments to play.

Concert time!

Mid-October may not be the best time to visit a garden. Not much was in bloom but we were amazed by the variety of berry colors on the same plants.

Red and blue

Purple, blue, and white?

At 11 a.m., we took the guided walking tour which started at a tenement house recreated on the footprint of an 18th century house. These buildings served as homes for the poorer citizens. People who came to London Town could buy an acre of land cheaply but had to building a structure on the land in the first six months or lose the property. The colony wanted to encourage towns to diversify the economy. The area already had plenty of tobacco farms.

Tenement house

The house has two rooms downstairs, the main one being the kitchen. 

Fireplace

The second floor has an open room that would have been used as a sleeping area or, as it was laid out, rented to someone like a spinster or a young couple to live in.

Spinster and her wheel

A hutch

Another recreation is the carpenter's shop. This building has also been recreated on the same spot from 250 years ago. 

Carpenter's shop

Inside are many tools of the trade. The docent leading us around told us about various jobs the carpenter would have, including making finished products (thus giving him the title "joiner"). The shop has an attic where the museum has been storing extra lumber for future projects.

Tools of the trade

More work tools

Someone's upstairs!

View out the window (the camera is tilted, not the window frame)

The star of London Town is the William Brown House. William Brown was the town carpenter and was successful enough to buy the ferry (a very profitable business) and built a brick tavern overlooking the landings of London Town. The House was Brown's home and also served drinks and food, as well as providing a place to sleep for travelers on the Kings Road.

William Brown House

Seal of historicity?

One of the noteworthy things about the house is how the brick have been placed with the short end out, making the walls thicker and requiring a lot more bricks. Brown was showing off his wealth!

Inside, they have recreated some of the features of the 1700s era.

Bar

Meeting room

A cozy bedroom

A fancier bedroom

Fireplace and desk for the best room

Dressing table and chair

The basement was used for storage and for cooking. The slaves also lived down here.

Storage

Kitchen fireplace

The view from the William Brown House is still impressive. The South River still has some docks right by the museum.

South River

Boats of various sizes can come

My kids coming when we said it's time for lunch

The grounds are lovely and can be rented out for special events like weddings. We loved the visit and would recommend it.