The 224-year-old property is listed by Long & Foster’s Brandon Brittingham
While the early years of Chanceford Hall are somewhat ambiguous, the Federal-style home has retained its beauty and withstood the test of time. Now, the property is a successful bed and breakfast with six bedrooms and seven full bathrooms in 5,900-square-feet of living space, and is ready for new ownership. Located at 209 W. Federal St., the property is one of the most historic homes in Snow Hill, Maryland, and is the earliest example of a pediment, or temple-front, home in Worcester County. Chanceford Hall is listed with Brandon Brittingham and is being offered for $595,000.
According to the historical plaque on the home, the property was established in 1759, and historical records indicate the structure was completed in 1793. The property was built by James Rownd Morris, a clerk of Worcester County Courts, and his wife, Leah. Leah Winder Morris was the sister of Levin Winder, the 14th governor of Maryland. After her husband’s death in 1795, Leah Morris sold the property to Colonel Levin Handy, a Revolutionary War hero in The Battle of the Barges and former aide to George Washington. In 1801, the property came under the ownership of Judge William Whittington, who called it Ingleside.
Chanceford Hall played an important role during the War of 1812, at which point Levin Winder was acting governor. When the British planned to bomb the town of Snow Hill, the town’s important records were moved to Chanceford Hall for safekeeping within its 18-inch thick, Flemish Bond brick walls.
Whittington passed the property to his children, Sally Tingle and her husband, Judge William Tingle, who added a stucco finish to the brick exterior. The Tingle’s son owned the property for a short time before selling it to Hugh Sanders Stevenson in 1874, and Stevenson’s family sold it to Ella H. Riggin in 1906. The next owner, John Warner Staton, chose the name Chanceford Hall for the property. Additional owners in the 1900s include E. James and Constance Estess, as well as Judge Edward Thomas and his wife, Norma. In 1986, Chanceford Hall’s then-owners opened the property as a bed and breakfast. The inn passed hands once more before being purchased by its current owners, Doug and Fran Wight, in 2013.
Chanceford Hall has a well-recorded history and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2014, the property was chosen to be recorded as one of the 100 Best Buildings in Maryland by the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Society of Architectural Historians. The project identified the most significant historical structures in Maryland’s history with a goal of producing an architectural reference book to be included in the Society of Architectural Historians’ Buildings of the United States series.
In recent years, Chanceford Hall has undergone meticulous renovations with close attention paid to maintaining the home’s historic features. The property had spent a few years empty and in foreclosure prior to being purchased by the Wights, and they spent their first two years of ownership restoring its interior. Its spacious rooms feature original woodwork and molding, 10 fireplaces, high ceilings and oversized windows. Guests can gather in the formal parlor, the solarium, with its cathedral ceiling, in the grand dining room or in the kitchen, which once served as the ballroom. A first-floor bedroom and bathroom suite add convenience, and the grounds include a lap pool and fire pit.
The large kitchen of Chanceford Hall is fully modernized yet filled with period charm. A granite-topped island in the kitchen seats eight and the room is still spacious enough for a dining room table. The restaurant-grade, stainless steel appliances are a chef’s dream and the welcoming fireplace brings a sense of warmth to the space. The cellar below the kitchen has a large cooking fireplace and was used as the home’s original kitchen.
In addition to the home, the property includes a two-story outbuilding with a covered parking area that features electric car charging stations. TripAdvisor ranks Chanceford Hall as the top bed and breakfast in the area. You can learn more about Chanceford Hall and view photos of the property online. You can also see video of the property and town online. For more information about Long & Foster, visit www.LongandFoster.com.
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