British Headquarters at Furley Hall
Seizure of “Elegant Country House” for British headquarters during War of 1812.

On a hill north of Herring Run at what is now Brehms Lane stood an estate named Furley Hall. The property was described by renowned architect and historian Henry Chandlee Forman as “the most elegant country house in the Baltimore area”. Built by Daniel Bowly II around 1775 on 793 acres of land, the house was a clapboard two story Georgian mansion with a hipped roof, brick chimneys, and a front gable. The rear facade had a large outdoor porch with rounded columns. The home featured Ionic pilasters, French wallpaper, and many hand carved adornments.

Furley Hall existed as a working farm only through the labor of enslaved people, who sustained its agricultural operations while living in several small quarters near the main house. The property included a large stone barn, a smoke house, a spring house and an ice house. There was also a summer house and a gazebo.

During the War of 1812, the estate was seized by the British who established a headquarters at Furley Hall. Some 4,000 British soldiers occupied the area of the Herring Run in anticipation of launching an attack on Baltimore. In 1847, Furley Hall was purchased by William Corse who combined the estate with his father-in-law Robert Sinclair’s adjacent plant nursery. Corse frequently entertained his friends Enoch Pratt and Johns Hopkins who enjoyed strolling among the gardens with its many exotic plants.

​In 1906, fire partially destroyed Furley Hall by someone seeking insurance money. The arsonist was caught but the property never recovered. By the middle of the 20th century, the original buildings were largely in ruins. In 1953 bulldozers leveled everything that was still standing of this once grand home.

​Sources: 
 Forman, H. C. (1956). Tidewater Maryland: Architecture and Gardens. New York: NY: Architectural Book Publishing Company,    Historical Marker Database. Retrieved September 30, 2024 https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=242400 
 Holcomb, E. L. (2008). The City and Suburb: A History of Northeast Baltimore. Sante Fe, NM: Center for American Places