by James Rada, Jr. photography by Amy McIntyre Devilbiss
When Dorothy and Richard Mollett bought the Antrim in 1987, their friends said it was in the best shape of any of the houses they previously purchased to restore. Best shape, however, is a relative term. When Richard tried to plug in two spotlights to showcase the mansion on New Year’s Eve, he blew every fuse in the house.
The Molletts then began their work updating the house. Richard said that because of the brick interior walls, they virtually had to take the house apart and put it back together in order to run the hidden duct work and wiring. Dorothy made a lot of the interior design choices, hung all of the wallpaper and made all of the drapes. Richard, who is a construction manager, coordinates the larger projects and buys all of the furniture and wine.
Because of the hard work, Antrim 1844 is now a premier small hotel or large bed and breakfast, depending on how you look at it.
“It’s built on the same structure of hospitality and breakfast that you see in B&Bs, but it is really too large to be one,” said Amanda Stein, marketing manager for Antrim 1844.
Antrim 1844 is actually a complex of buildings and gardens on 24 acres that includes 40 unique guest rooms and suites. The carriage house, ice house, post house, summer kitchen, brick kitchen, overseer’s wing, barn and spring house are buildings that were originally part of the plantation and have now been converted into guest suites.
The main house features tall columns in front of a double front door. Inside, you’ll find large rooms with 14-foot-tall ceiling, plaster medallions and crown moldings. The wine cellar has a long table with leather chairs surrounding it where guests can try out a multitude of offerings. There is also a restaurant and pub where you can delight in six-course award-winning meals.
“This is a lost gem of Maryland,” Richard said.
Besides being a popular stop for overnight guests, Antrim 1844 hosts corporate events and more than 150 weddings a year.
Earlier this year, Antrim 1844’s Smokehouse Restaurant and the Country House Hotel were awarded TripAdvisor’s 2015 Certificate of Excellence and inducted into TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame inductees are for businesses that have consistently been awarded TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence. For 2015, only 9 percent of businesses that received a certificate of excellence were eligible for the Hall of Fame.
BUSINESS BITS:
Antrim 1844 www.antrim1844.com • 410/756-681230 • Trevanion Road, Taneytown, Maryland 21787
- Antrim is named for original owner Col. Andrew Ege’s father-in-law’s ancestral home in County Antrim, Ireland.
- The glass cupola is said to have been used as a lookout for troop advancements prior to the Battle of Gettysburg.
- Antrim 1844 is listed in the book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.
- The Antrim Mansion is 17,000 square feet large.
- The three-story grand staircase is cantilevered so that if even one stair is removed the entire staircase would collapse.
- Dorothy and Richard Mollett had restored six historic homes in Baltimore before beginning the restoration of the Antrim.
- When the Antrim first opened as a bed and breakfast in 1988, it had four guestrooms with private baths.
- The Antrim has a charging station for electric cars and Teslas.
- Plans are in the works to convert a newly acquired historic house on the property into a day spa.
- Distinguished Restaurants of North America has said that Antrim 1844 Smokehouse Restaurant is “In the top 1 percent of restaurants in North America.”
- The Molletts didn’t start out to make Antrim into a hotel. Starting a B&B generated cash that they then rolled into making the continued improvements.
