Small core samples from Drayton Hall’s attic were analyzed to help determine the age of the house. Photo courtesy of The Post & Courier.
A recent article in The Post & Courier shows how dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, gives insight into how long it took to build Drayton Hall. Michael Worthington of Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory removed core samples from the main house’s attic and carefully studied the width of the series of rings, matching them to 18th-century weather records. Worthington’s findings show us that it would have taken approximately a decade for the main house to be completed.