In Hanover, Pa., there’s an inn and restaurant where the owners take the locavore philosophy very seriously. The owners, Heather Sheppard Lunn and her sister, Kathryn Sheppard Hoar, took over their grandmother’s old mansion after years of it being empty. They renovated it but kept many of the objects and furnishings, all of which had been preserved beautifully while no one was living there. And by doing so, they took full advantage of their family’s rich local heritage.
Then they hired a chef to cook by the seasons and from the garden he works with his father. Plus, the Lunns, with their father, started raising Scottish Highland Cattle on their farm property just outside of town. See! I’m not kidding! They take this very seriously indeed.
First, a tour of the mansion, which, although is quite old with many period details, is a very comfortable place to spend a night.
The mansion is on a busy street right in downtown Hanover.
But it’s like a little oasis there:
A comfortable patio where they have Friday night events and outdoor dining:
An herb garden for the restaurant:
More landscaping:
A grand entrance:
And you see this grand staircase upon entering:
To either side of me are two dining rooms.
To the left of those stairs is a bar area:
With a piano!
And also a charming kitchen for serving breakfast to overnight guests:
Then you go upstairs for the rooms. Here is the second floor center hall:
Yeah.
One of the second floor bedrooms:
(That’s Heather giving us the tour.)
The third floor center hall:
Some of her grandmother’s purses and hats:
And here is our stunning room, which I believe might be bigger than our apartment on Burd Street was:
The ceiling:
And the huge bathroom:
That’s right, Hunna!
Impressive, indeed.
The 411 on Sheppard Mansion on its web site here: www.sheppardmansion.com.
