Gibraltar

In 1844, John Rodney Brinkle, grandnephew of Delaware patriot Caesar Rodney, built the Italianate core of this Brandywine granite home, named for the high, prominent rocky outcropping upon which it sits. In 1909, Hugh Rodney Sharp (1880-1968) and his wife Isabella Mathieu du Pont (1882-1946) purchased and greatly expanded Gibraltar. Marian Cruger Coffin (1876-1957), a pioneering woman in the field of landscape architecture, designed the formal gardens on the property and oversaw their installation in the late 1910’s and early 1920’s. She was responsible for many other well-known gardens and designed landscapes throughout the East Coast, including the nearby gardens of Winterthur, Mt. Cuba, and University of Delaware. Hugh Rodney Sharp was Delaware’s preeminent preservationist, restoring the Historic Houses of Odessa, Old Town Hall, the Academy of Medicine in Wilmington, and many others. His extensive philanthropy benefitted many local cultural and educational institutions, particularly the University of Delaware. In 1998, Gibraltar was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.