Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/02/1969
NRHP Listing Date 02/16/1970
DHR's Virginia Board of Historic Resources easement
NRHP Reference Number 70000887
This example of formal Georgian architecture was built in 1764 for Capt. Jonathan Saunders and his wife, Elizabeth Thoroughgood Saunders. During the Revolutionary War the state confiscated the Pembroke property from Saunders’s son John because he remained an avowed loyalist. Pembroke is related architecturally to such formal mid-18th-century mansions as Carter’s Grove, Wilton, Elsing Green, and especially the George Wythe House, which Pembroke closely resembles. It was long overlooked by architectural scholars because the exterior for years was hidden by surrounding two-story galleries. Despite later interior alterations, some colonial wainscoting, window cases, and door frames remain. The house was given to the Princess Anne Historical Society when the farmland was developed in the 1960s. Since sold, Pembroke has been restored and now serves as a private elementary school.
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: February 20, 2021
