Agecroft Hall, Richmond (must see)

Agecroft Hall is a Tudor manor house and estate located on the James River in the Windsor Farms neighborhood of Richmond. The manor house was built in the late 15th century, and was originally located in the Irwell Valley at Agecroft, Pendlebury, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England, but by the 20th century it was unoccupied and in a state of disrepair.

Mr. Thomas C. Williams, Jr. of Richmond, Virginia, a wealthy entrepreneur, purchased Agecroft Hall. During the Country Place Era, when many wealthy American families were building extensive country estates emulating those they had seen in Europe, Mr. Williams, whose business interests included tobacco, banking and shipping wished to build a true English manor house on his 23-acre estate overlooking the James River. The manor house was dismantled, crated, transported across the Atlantic, and reconstructed in Richmond's Windsor Farms neighborhood - then a fashionable new neighborhood being developed by Mr. Williams on the Williams' family farm site, which had long been known as 'Windsor.'

The intention was not to replicate Agecroft as it had stood in Lancashire, but rather to create a functional and comfortable mansion reminiscent of its English predecessor. The original floor plan was abandoned and many 20th century conveniences were included. The project was completed during the spring of 1928.

The following year Mr. Williams died, having stipulated in his will that upon his widow's death or relocation, Agecroft Hall would become a house museum.

Today this historic English manor house is a top attraction in Richmond. Both the interior and its garden are open year round for guided and self-guided tours and special events. Here you can see what a 16th century wealthy English family lived like without leaving the US.