Photos courtesy of the Hammond-Harwood House Association

Historic Wye Hall on Wye Island near Queenstown, Md., is the setting for the annual Hammond-Harwood House Garden Party, Saturday, Sept. 19, from 5 to 8 p.m.

The event will take place on the mansion grounds. Guests will be served a light supper to music by the Shore Strings. A silent auction will be held as well.

Tickets are $125 each, a portion of which is tax deductible and includes a one-year membership in the Hammond-Harwood House Association.

All proceeds from the event are designed for the preservation and conservation of the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis, known as an outstanding example of anglo-palladian architecture.

Wye Hall was rebuilt in 1936 as a home for former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom and his wife, the former Wallis Warfield Simpson of Baltimore, on the foundation of the country house built by patriot William Paca, signer of the Declaration of Independence and Maryland's third governor. The original house built for Paca by White House artchitect James Hoban was destroyed by fire in 1879.

The grounds of the Wye House were designed by landscape architect Jay Graham, who used archeological research to design a site plan overlooking the Wye River.

The grounds include lush, green terraces, intimate gardens, a garden of native plants and a series of meadows that flow into open fields and end in a forest.  

It is a rare opportunity to see the house and grounds, now owned by former Freddie Mac chief Leland Brendsel and his wife, Diane. They purchased the 27-acre historic estate in the late 1990s for an estimated $5.1 million and have overseen a multi-million-dollar restoration.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.hammondharwoodhouse.org, over the phone @ 410-263-4683 x10, or at the museum (19 Maryland Ave). The cost is $115 per person for members and $125 per person for non-members (this includes an introductory membership to HHH). $70 per ticket is tax deductible.