Richmond -- Virginia House

Object Details

General: The house, dating to 1125, was relocated from Warwickshire, England to Richmond, Virginia between 1925 and 1929. Called the Priory of St. Sepulchre, it served as a monastery for four hundred years. During the 1540s, the house was reconstructed as a manor house. Once moved to Richmond, Gillette designed the landscape with "pleasances," a series of small terraced gardens, pools, and paths. The pleasances include a water garden, perennial bed, azalea garden, tea garden, wildflower meadow, woodland walk, bog garden, pergola, and Sulgrave Garden.; Persons associated with the property include: Alexander Wilbourne and Virginia Chase Weddell (former owners, 1925-1928); Virginia Historical Society (owners, 1929-present); Charles Gillette (landscape designer, 1928-1940); and Henry Grant Morse (architect, 1925).

Place: Virginia House (Richmond, Virginia); United States of America -- Virginia -- Richmond County -- Richmond

See more items in: The Garden Club of America collection; The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / Virginia

Sponsor: A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Collection Citation: Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Collection Rights: Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Bibliography: Garden has been featured in Derek Fell, "Roots of Traditionalism," in Southern Accents (March-April 1989). Garden has been featured in "Virginia House Gardens," Better Homes and Gardens America's Gardens (New York: Meredith Press, 1964), p. 25.

Scope and Contents: Folders include work sheets, brochures, and copies of articles.

Collection Restrictions: Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Related Materials: Virginia House related holdings consist of 2 folders (16 35 mm. slides); Charles Gillette Photograph Collection, Library of Virginia.