Runnymede

Runnymede, Lansdowne, Pa.

Lansdowne, Drexel Hill, Pa. 1890-1939. MC.00.001 Drexel Family Collection. Drexel University Archives. 2007029box17_001.

Purchased by Anthony J. Drexel circa 1882 from George Fallon, Runnymede (also spelled Runnemede) was located on Lansdowne Avenue, Drexel Hill. Drexel often spent early summer and early fall at the estate.

Discover more of Runnymede in a family photo album.

The estate eventually came into the hands of Drexel’­s daughter Sarah Van Rensselaer and her husband Alexander, who decided to make Runnymede available to the Drexel Institute community around 1910. Students and alumni from the Institute used the grounds for outdoor sports and recreation, seen in the photos below, for about a decade.

Learn more about the family’­s contributions to the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry.

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Runnymede, Spare Room (second floor). Drexel Family Photo Album, Volume 2, digital resource page 16. MC.00.001 Drexel Family Collection. Drexel University Archives. 2007029box17_015.

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A line of cars on the Runnymede driveway. Circa 1910-1920. PC.00.003 Early Photographs of the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry. Drexel University Archives. 20050850515.

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Audience watching an open air play at Runnymede. Circa 1910-1920. PC.00.003 Early Photographs of the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry. Drexel University Archives. 20050850516.

Oil painting of the Wissahickon Valley titled "Ripening of the Leaf" by Thomas Moran.

See this painting of the Wissahickon Valley in situ in Runnymede’­s library, below. View this item on the Drexel Founding Collection website. Ripening of the Leaf. 1863. Moran, Thomas, 1837-1926. Painting. Oil, on canvas. Bequest of Anthony J. Drexel. The Drexel Founding Collection, Drexel University. 31.

Runnymede, Library, p. 58. 1890–1939. Drexel Family Photo Album, Volume 2, digital resource page 13. MC.00.001 Drexel Family Collection. Drexel University Archives. 2007029box17_012. View this item in Drexel University’s digital repository.