History of Stan Hywet Hall

The estate is named for the Anglo Saxon term for stone quarry, as there was a large sandstone quarry here. The builders, Frank Augustus and Gertrude Seiberling, were industrial and philanthropic leaders in their community. Indeed, Mr. Seiberling was extremely influential in the development of the American rubber industry, being the founder of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Seiberling Rubber Company. He was also involved in a number of transportation enterprises, including railroads, trucking, and blimps.

Stan Hywet remained in the family until 1957 when the Seiberling heirs donated 65 acres of the estate, including the house and three other buildings, to a non-profit foundation. It is now open to the public as a house museum.

Modeled on several authentic British Tudor manors, including Compton Wynyates and Ockwells Manor, Stan Hywet is one of the finest examples of Tudor Revival architecture in America.

Planned around a central rectangle, Stan Hywet was designed to appear as if it had been built over a period of several hundred years, rather than four years. Thus, its wings project asymmetrically and a number of different design traditions are represented on the interior. These include late Gothic (Great Hall and Gothic bedroom), Tudor (master bedroom, reception room, breakfast room, billiard room and blue bedroom), Jacobean (music room, dining room, library, and grand staircase), Adam (bedroom), William and Mary (bedroom), Cromwellian (bedroom), and Georgian (bedroom and morning room).

No effort was spared to create the impression of an English Tudor mansion. Period furnishings, authentic materials, and, in one case, an entire room from a 300-year-old English manor house (which became the master bedroom) were imported. Other pieces were specifically designed to fit the mansion. The interior is distinguished by the lavish use of fine materials, serving practical as well as decorative purposes. Finely hand carved paneling of a variety of woods, including oak and sandalwood, is frequently employed. Flooring materials include wood, sandstone, and slate. Ceilings were often done in elaborately molded plaster or were crossed with heavy, hand carved beams. The designs of the handmade hardware were based on old English wrought iron pieces; each major room's fittings are unique.

Many modern conveniences were incorporated into the mansion in unobtrusive ways. For instance, Stan Hywet is centrally heated but the radiators for the steam heat are concealed in the floors, walls, or under shelves. (The fireplaces, on the other hand, are focal points in each room.) An elaborate telephone system which connects more than 30 telephones throughout the house is also concealed.

The Seiberlings intended Stan Hywet to not only serve as their home but also to be a part of the Akron community. Their collection of decorative arts was partly selected with a view to providing the people of Akron with access to museum-quality paintings, sculpture, textiles, and furnishings. The vast majority of the collection is still intact and is on display to the public.

Originally consisting of 3000 acres, the property now covers 65 acres. The landscaped grounds are enclosed by a stone fence. Most of the property on the east, south and north is laid out in lawns, walkways, terraces, trees, shrubs, and small flower gardens. A formal English garden and a Japanese garden with tea houses grace the west side.

Property Description

The exterior of Stan Hywet Hall is an outstanding example of Tudor-Stuart Revival architecture in America. It is composed of made-to-order brick, hand fashioned sandstone (quarried on the property) and hand carved and hand hewn oak. The roofs are covered in Vermont slate of graduated sizes. The steel casement windows contain leaded panes in various geometric designs.

The general design is a central block with projecting wings, steep roofs, many multi-designed chimneys and dormers with barge boards; the over all appearance is asymmetrical.

Haddon Hall, Compton-Wynyates, and Ockwells Manor, all famous English manors, were the chief inspirations for the original designs of Stan Hywet Hall. The architects traveled to England with Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Seiberling, the builders, in search of suitable designs and ideas for the mansion.

The interior of the mansion was designed to reveal the evolutionary manor house which one can see even today in England. As the manor houses were handed down from generation to generation, various improvements, additions, and modernization occurred. Although Stan Hywet Hall was built between 1911 and 1915, it appears to have been constructed over the years from 1400 to 1750.

The Great Hall and Gothic bedroom are late Gothic. The master bedroom, reception room, breakfast room, billiard room and blue bedroom are Tudor. The music room, dining room, library and grand staircase are Jacobian. Other bedrooms have interior designs from the Adam, William & Mary, Cromwellian and Georgian periods.

Hand carved oak, walnut, sandalwood and chestnut were used lavishly in various rooms and provide in this building one of the finest examples of the wood carver's craft in this county. Elaborate molded plaster ceilings in Tudor and Jacovian designs are in many rooms.

The buildings on the original property (the manor house, gate lodge, carriage house, gardener's cottage and chicken house) were designed by Charles S. Schneider of Cleveland, Ohio. The interiors were done by Mr. Huber of the H. F. Huber Company of New York City and the gardens were done by Warren H. Manning of Boston. The manor house was furnished with a great quantity of antiques, plus furniture and rugs made-to-order for the rooms. Approximately 90% of the original furnishings are intact.

The only alterations to the property, besides those already noted are: Manor House: a/Coal furnace changed to gas furnace. The gymnasium (basement south wing) to a public auditorium. Carriage House: the grease rack and carriage room have been converted to a public auditorium. Gardener's Cottage: the conservatory and greenhouse have been torn down. The chicken house is no longer part of the estate, but was sold to a private individual who has converted it to a private dwelling.