Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/20/1989
NRHP Listing Date 06/13/1990
NRHP Reference Number 89001933
A handsomely crafted expression the American country place movement, Virginia House symbolizes the predilection of the Commonwealth’s upper classes for identifying themselves with their English heritage. The estate, located in the Windsor Farms neighborhood of Richmond, was the creation of diplomat Alexander W. Weddell and his wife Virginia. The Tudor-style mansion is built largely of architectural elements from Warwick Priory, a late-medieval structure later modified with distinctive Flemish gables. The Weddells purchased the ruined priory in 1925 and had portions of it shipped to Richmond, where architect Henry Grant Morse incorporated them into his design for their Windsor Farms residence, completed in 1928. A Renaissance-style loggia by William Lawrence Bottomley was added in 1945. The extensive gardens, developed between 1927 and 1940, are the masterpiece of Richmond landscape architect Charles F. Gillette. The Weddells bequeathed the estate to the Virginia Historical Society, which has exhibited it since their death in 1948.
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: December 12, 2022
