glencairn museum

We would like to go back again and highly recommend this, especially for anyone in the area. Beautiful!!

Spent a beautiful Fall afternoon at Glencairn Museum and it was an incredible day. The museum tour was interesting and informative and the small group size (6) made for lots of interaction. The tour guide (Chris) was great and we covered a lot of rooms in the museum. Beautiful architecture throughout and wait until you get up to the tower room. Over 100 feet high, the 360 degree views are amazing! The museum offers special things like complimentary specialty coffee on the weekends from 1-4:30pm. Twice a year, the mansion/museum is completely open to the public and you are free to stroll around at leisure. Nice.The grounds surrounding the museum are also amazing. It's peaceful and serene here. The historic New Life church is across the street and tours are also available. It's an interesting place as well and highly recommended to round out a lovely day.For the price of admission, this is well worth the trip. Free parking and a tranquil setting make for a perfect place to visit.

I grew up in the greater Phila. area and had NEVER heard of this place (save for quick blurbs on WRTI when some musical performance linked it to them, but the blurbs never said what Glencairn was). I am SO PISSED I didn't know about this place my whole life until now! That is how freaking awesome it is!The first floor has amazing mosaics all over the place with brilliant metallic gold that throws light around in a mesmerizing way. The metal front doors, even, are crazy-gorgeous, and look almost Art Nouveau (like Guimard) as opposed to the more Gothic look going on. The medieval motifs blend seamlessly with authentic period relics, which once made up an unforgettable home. The ceilings on the first floor are not only beautifully covered in art, they are 2+ stories high, and create a breathtaking atmosphere. Photography is allowed, with some restrictions, so I recommend bringing a camera. The antique furnishings are also quite nice, and the rugs are all my style, with the more tribal or Arts & Crafts looks to them (instead of those Bijars found reproduced at Home Depot). The other wood furnishings were nicely crafted. I was amazed they let us sit on some of the furnishings while the guide spoke to us in whichever room.The tour we took began with a short bio/history film, which gives an adept background of the family who built the home: Raymond Pitcairn (1885-1966) and his wife, Mildred Glenn (?-1979). It outlines the Pitcairn family and the fortune they made as Raymond grew up, and then what he did with his life, + his money. It outlines the inspiration, architecture, and construction of the building itself as well. It also explains the family religion, the New Church, which had a strong basis in Bryn Athyn, where this was all created. There is currently a college of the New Church faith, located across the street, with a campus as beautiful as the grounds for the museum.After the film, you are led through the fabulous mosaic-tiled entrance, and into the grand hall, with the 2+ story ceilings, and original Medieval stained glass (plus amazing replicas commissioned at the time the home was built: 1928-1939). Obviously history about the family's use of the space, and details about the architecture, furniture, artwork, is all given by the guide, and questions are graciously answered. You are then taken through various other rooms, including the library, the family chapel, bedrooms, a room with Egyptian artifacts (which also interestingly ties into the religious beliefs of the New Church), a room with old Christian relics (Virgin and child, etc.) and amazing illuminated manuscripts. You also get to see a bedroom and bath, and you even get to go up the tower to get a 360-degree view of the immediate area, which spans as far as the Phila skyline, and places equally far in all other directions. (It has a monel metal railing.)It is a fabulous, fabulous experience, and I recommend it over even the Liberty Bell or any of that Colonial crap downtown (no offense, and I don't mean to sound unpatriotic, but it is crap compared to the artistic experience at Glencairn).I remember taking a field trip for my Humanities class in high school to The Cloister's (part of the Met) in NYC. It was amazing, and a perfect illustration of the material we were studying in class at the time. My teacher was wonderfully knowledgeable (he is now a docent at the PMA in his retirement), and even led a special trip to Europe each summer, which was equally wonderful. So why the heck didn't he take us to Glencairn? Grrrr! (In fairness, he did offer a lot of extra credit for visiting places on a list he had, so this could have been on there, I don't remember.)In any event, everyone I know who comes to visit will now be offered this excursion at the top of my hostessing list, because it is something this area needs to be very proud of, and to MAKE KNOWN on a larger scale. We spoke to our guide while we were there and told him all this; he was very receptive to our feedback. I suggested they advertise through Funsavers, which is yet another means of access to the public (we'd found them through Groupon). Our guide hadn't heard of the Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern, which is another treasure this area needs to know more about.These places need to get together and create a book rack for their gift shops, entitled "Local Cultural Hotspots," where they sell each other's books, and offer just a little hint at how much more there is to see around here. There is a great book covering the Brandywine Valley ("The Brandywine Valley: An Introduction to Its Cultural Treasures" by James Wamsley), and someone needs to make more references like these. When I worked for a museum downtown, I had a master directory of all the cultural orgs in Phila, and it was WONDERFUL, but it was just a wire-bound list, not a reference book, with essays and beautiful photos. Anyway, just my two cents there. Can't do Glencairn enough justice!

Went to the Glencairn Museum on an August weekend. If you want a tour, you need to call ahead, especially on weekends....the tours fill up fast cause they're small in size and last 90+ minutes. They start you out in a classroom for a video that explains the place...there's a lot of history to it that most folks aren't aware of. They then run you through the major rooms of the home/museum. This is a combo of family spaces and galleries that were converted from family spaces. The place is stunning...it reminds you somewhat of Fonthill, the Mercer mansion in Doylestown. But Glencairn is more polished, being built in the 1930's, it's designed to look medieval, but doesn't quite totally feel like it. I found the most interesting aspect of the tour to be the family rooms you get to see. There is a ton of little passages, weird staircases, and strange features to this place...it must have been neat to live here. The tour gives you a little taste of this, but I really feel they could explore more of that angle....it's almost like they're a little disdainful of the quirkiness of the mansion. They really emphasize the galleries of the stuff the guy collected, which is first rate, but after a while not as interesting as the house itself.The mansions at Newport have begun to modify their tours to reflect this angle, I feel Glencairn could do the same. Our guide was great...friendly and knowledgable. Highlight of the tour is the tower, which is accessed by this tiny elevator. Up there is a glassed-in room where the family used to hang out...even watch TV. It has a great view and is perfect for pictures. After the tour, we walked over to the Cathderal. it was open for walkthroughs and is well worth a 1/2 hour or so. All in all, a great place to spend a summer afternoon.

We toured Glencairn on our honeymoon trip to the area and the collection, building and grounds were amazing. Gorgeous stained glass throughout ~ amazing to imagine when it was someone's private residence. Excellent tour guide ~ a highly recommended trip :)

This is a Medieval Romanesque styled castle built as a family residence and now a museum. There are total 90 rooms (tour only shows several rooms). There is fantastic view from the tower, an impressive Main Hall, and museum collections housed in former BRs. Reservation is a must esp during wknds. Our tour guide Reed was enthusiastic & knowledgeable, and he said if visitors want unhurried time to go through each gallery with museum displays, ck websitefor Festival days - that's the only time that visitors tour at own pace and can spend as long as like to fully read up about each room's displays.

Enjoy Gothic Architecture set in a magnificent landscape that is breathtaking. Enjoy how these structures were built using techniques from medieval times and duplicating them on site. Stained glass windows each telling a bibical story.

This visually-stunning museum is housed in what used to be a seven-story private residence. The museum shows religious life through the ages with interesting collections in the various rooms of the house. The house itself, though, is the most incredible work of art of the museum. The house is filled with remarkable handcrafted ornamentation everywhere. I especially enjoy the Great Hall which is filled with gorgeous stained glass windows and the tower which on a clear day allows for a view of Philadelphia. The museum often has special exhibits as well, so be sure to check out their schedule. The day I went they were displaying a Buddhist mandala, which was really cool.

We found ourselves here on a Sunday afternoon with nothing else to do. It was very informative and the view from the top of the tower was wonderful, especially with the fall colors. While this family history is somewhat odd for building castles, it was still interesting detail and they also have some neat artifacts in their basement museum. Worth it to see.

I bought tickets from groupon as a stocking stuffer for my boyfriend and his nine year old daughter this past Christmas. We went a few weekends during their Medieval Festival 2014. We took the pilgrimage tour, survived, and were rewarded for our adventure. We watched medieval instruments played aloud for us and helped decorate a castle. Many people were dressed in medieval costumes and received free admission. It was a fun, educational, and inexpensive way to spend a family day.

Such an amazing home! Thankful that the family chose to share it. We went during Christmas and only saw a small portion of the rooms. We will definitely be going back when the entire house is fully open. The staff is very friendly and open to answering any questions and had the answers to many that seemed off the wall.The vision of the founders for the cathedral and the surrounding area is inspiring.

A well kept secret ----this little gem north of Phila. is just waiting for you to come and discover it. There is a Castle called Glencairn which was Raymond Pitcairn's private residence and is now a museum with world class artifacts, a breathtakingly lovely Gothic Cathedral that was built using ancient art and hand crafted throughout and a wonderful mansion built at the turn of the 20th century called Cairnwood. This was owned by John Pitcairn, a self-made millionaire. Take a day and come visit this incredible National Historic District----you won't regret it!!!

We booked this attraction through Groupon never knowing this place existed even thought it is only about one hour from our home. We first toured Carinwood, the home located right next door to this museum. When you go be sure to do both homes and I recommend doing Carinwood first, then Glencarin museum and if there are no events taking place, the cathedral (we could not visit the cathedral due to a wedding taking place). This former home is magnificent! Although many of the rooms are set up to display outstanding artifacts, you can still get a sense of wonder of this home. It reminded me of a European castle. An elevator takes you to the top of the tower where you have a birds eye view for miles; even able to see the Philadelphia sky line. I'm sure the grounds are breathtaking, but since we were there in November, most plants were done for the season. Our guide, a college student I believe, wasn't top notch. She had note cards which she read from and didn't seem to be able to answer about half of the questions asked. I just cannot express the wonder of the architecture. We plan to return as it was hard to take in everything and hope to be able to see some different exhibits.

Bryn Athyn is a modern Garden of Eden. When you visit this place your soul is lifted to the heavens. It is magnificent according to our 81 year aunt who visited this garden for the first time. She was completely taken by the beauty and grandeur of this castle and nearby Bryn Athyn Cathedral. I have back here 3 times in the last month. I am drawn to the serenity of this place. I can commune with the Lord here. It is a gentle peace of heaven. If you do not experience the majesty of this place, it is your spiritual loss. Raymond Pitcairn was a visionary who left his artwork and collections for future generations to enjoy. I have and will continue to discover new wonders each time I visit.

We arrived early for our tour of Glencairn Museum and walked over to the cathedral and got a nice tour there first. The cathedral is beautifully landscaped and the interior rivals any large cathedral in the area in beauty. We got an excellent tour of the Glencairn home and museum. The artifacts are in separate rooms throughout the home, and it is an interesting walk thru the building. I especially enjoyed the spectacular view of the Philadelphia skyline from the tower.