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Goodwood Plantation
- Louisiana State University Press
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127 Goodwood Plantation is located in Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, near present-day Independence Park. It was built for Dr. Samuel G. Laycock (1811–1884), apparently completed in 1856, on the two-thousand-acre plantation granted to Thomas Hutchings (d. ca. 1800) in 1776 by King George III, through Peter Chester , governor of West Florida. Hutchings was described as a “reduced paymaster,” and the patent contained some unusual conditions about forfeiture should Hutchings fail in the performance of his duties. Laycock had moved with his family from Ohio. One of the later plantation houses, Goodwood reflects the influence of English Georgian architecture relatively uncommon in Louisiana, being a straightforward replica of Goodwood House, home of the Duke of Richmond, in West Sussex , England. It is constructed of brick covered with cement and reflects an English approach to Greek Revival style, characterized by a restrained decorative program and rigid geometric symmetry. A notable feature is running water, carried to washstands in each room by a system of wooden pipes. Laycock’s English roots may have influenced the architectural design program. The plantation was later owned by Charles Lewis Mathews (1824–1864) and his wife, Penelope (née Stewart, d. 1897). Louis U. Babin (b. 1873) purchased the home in the 1930s and developed the property as Goodwood Place, an upscale community, with his partners, Cyrus J. Brown (1875–1952) and John T. Laycock (b. 1890). Tebbs may have been prevented from entering the site, for his only photographs of the plantation are three exposures from the gate, showing the house in the distance. Members of the Babin family continue to reside in the home, which is the centerpiece of a Baton Rouge neighborhood known as “Old Goodwood.” Scenes from the 1967 film Hurry Sundown, directed by Otto Preminger and starring Jane Fonda and Michael Caine, were shot at Goodwood. GOODWOOD PLANTATION 1852/1856 Goodwood Plantation (entrance gate), vintage gelatin silver print, Louisiana State Museum, 1956.087.174 128 Belle Grove Plantation (three-quarter view from the front), vintage gelatin silver print, Louisiana State Museum, 1956.087.025b ...