Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 03/17/1999
NRHP Listing Date 06/29/1999
NRHP Reference Number 99000726
North Wales is a 1,288-acre estate in the hunt country of central Fauquier County. Falmouth merchant William Allason established a thriving plantation and built the Georgian-style stone house on the property sometime between 1776-1796. North Wales remained a working plantation for six generations of the Hooe/Allason families. Beginning in 1914, however, it was transformed into a gentry estate for thoroughbred horse breeding by its two prestigious owners, Edward M. Weld and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. Weld and Chrysler bred horses for steeplechase, foxhunting, and high-stakes Kentucky Derby racing. They hired nationally renowned architects Arthur Little and Herbert W C. Browne of Boston to design the Colonial Revival-style stone additions to the mansion as well as the carriage house, equestrian center, outlying stables, tenant houses, and landscaping. In 1947, Chrysler probably consulted Washington Reed of Williamsburg for improvements to the buildings and grounds. North Wales remains today a well-preserved horse farm of the early- to mid-20th-century.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: March 3, 2022
