Sword Gate House, Historic mansion in Charleston, United States

Sword Gate House is a two-and-a-half-story house over a high basement, with a slate-covered hip roof and three pedimented dormers on the north side and one on the west. Its brick walls and cornice are covered in stucco; first-floor windows have exterior paneled shutters and second-story shutters are louvered. A high brick wall on Legare Street holds the iron gates that give the house its name.

The main portion of the Sword Gate House was built around 1803, possibly by French Huguenots James LaRoche and J. Lardent, on the site of a demolished house. British consul George Hopley bought and redecorated it in 1849, the year the iron gates were installed in the high brick wall on Legare Street. The house was listed on the National Register on December 18, 1970, and a 2002 restoration reunited subdivided lots into a single-family house.

The house served shifting roles over time as an inn, a school for girls led by Madame Talvande, and a private residence. These varied uses show how the building became woven into different layers of the community.

The property sits centrally in Charleston near other historic landmarks and is easy to locate on foot. The high walls surrounding the gardens allow visitors to appreciate the exterior architecture from the street while respecting the privacy of the site.

The gates were made by Christopher Werner, whom the City of Charleston hired to produce a "pair" of gates for its new police station. He read the order as two matching sets, two left panels and two right panels, so the duplicate went to British consul George Hopley for this house. Werner's other set now stands at the main entrance of The Citadel near Hampton Park.