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Accessibility

Kensington Mansion has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1971. Certain structural changes would threaten or destroy the historical significance of the property, and as such the mansion does not have an elevator or wheelchair access to the primary floor.
Parking

Please park at Eastover Park, located at 1031 Main Street, Eastover, SC 29044.

No cars will be allowed to park at Kensington Mansion. Free parking for this tour is located at Eastover Park - 1031 Main Street Eastover, SC 29044. Visitors will then board a motor coach for transportation to the site. Please arrive 15 minutes before your tour time to check in at the park. Entry will be denied to anyone who drives directly to Kensington Mansion.
Refunds

Refunds are available until 48 hours before the tour date. If the tour is postponed due to inclement weather, you will receive an email with the rescheduled date and be given the option to receive a refund.
Questions?

Contact Us

Heather Bacon-Rogers, Visitor Experience Manager
(803) 252-1770 ext. 23

Kensington

History

Kensington Historical Photo — Kensington Mansion, 1971. *Image courtesy Sam Waters*

Kensington Mansion is a Renaissance Revival Villa style mansion built between 1852-1854 as part of the Headquarters Plantation. It has 29 rooms and 12,000 square feet of floor space. Stylistically, Kensington is a contradiction. At its most basic, the home is a wooden farmhouse. The construction materials and design reflect the owners’ need for functionality. The Italianate and Second Empire flourishes, on the other hand, are lavish and wedged whimsically into the design. While both styles are significant in their own rights, the combination found at Kensington makes the site unique in South Carolina. They reflect its owners’ experience in the antebellum South: existing in a culture entirely dependent upon slave-based agriculture while simultaneously seeking luxury and wealth on an international scale. 

Kensington’s owners, Colonel Richard Singleton and later his son Matthew R. Singleton, enslaved several hundred people across a network of plantations in Richland, Orangeburg, and Sumter districts at the time of the mansion’s construction. Much of what is known about Kensington Mansion and Headquarters Plantation on topics ranging from indoor plumbing to horse training to the heart wrenching separation of enslaved families comes from letters written by the Singleton family, the memoir of Jacob Stroyer–who was enslaved at the site as a child– and the inventory and appraisals of both Richard and Mathew R. Singleton, who died at the beginning and end of the mansion’s construction, respectively.

Sylvamo, formerly International Paper and Union Camp, purchased the Kensington property in the early 1980s and restored the mansion after it had been used as a storage area for farm equipment, fertilizer, and feed for animals. Over the years, Sylvamo has used the property for a variety of company and community purposes and the property has had varying levels of public access. At this time, Kensington will be opened for select tours one to two times per year to offer the community a chance to learn about the site.

Kensington Mansion Tours

Tour Overview

More Information

Accessibility

Parking

Refunds

Questions?

Contact Us

History

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