Mayfield (Willaim Ebbs House), West Chester Pennsylvania
, West Chester Pennsylvania)
William Ebbs, who built the house, died in 1861. His widow continued to live there until her death in 1878. Her daughter, Elizabeth Ebbs, was married in 1879 to Henry Pepper Norris, who died in 1892, leaving a son, Henry Pepper Norris. John Chatley, Jr., bought the house from Mrs. Henry Neel, a relative of Henry Pepper Norris, in 1970.
A kitchen wing was added to the north of the house in about 1915. The original kitchen was located in the basement. Also at that date the original conservatory, located on the west wall of the house, was rebuilt. In 1972, the glass sides and roof of the conservatory were removed, leaving only the brick walls. The porch to the east was enclosed in the 1950's.
The home is two-and-a-half stories, main block is 48 feet (five-bay south front) x 45 feet, not including the porches and wing.
A wide center hall runs through the house. On the east side of it is a large drawing room with two original marble fireplaces. The west side of the house has rooms to the north and south with the stairway between. Behind the north room (presently a dining room, historically the library) is the kitchen. All the first floor rooms, with the exception of the kitchen, have fireplaces. Those in the east drawing room have original marble mantles, those in northwest and southwest rooms have wooden mantles.
The second floor has four bedrooms off of a wide center hall. The third floor has three rooms, two with fireplaces.
The house faces south in the middle of a lot, separated by a high hedge from the housing development around it. There is a circular drive in front of the house. Some lawn and gardens remain. Until the 1950's when most of the land was sold for a development, extensive well-planted lawns and gardens were maintained.
