Bacon's Castle, also variously known as "Allen's Brick House" or the "Arthur Allen House" is located in

Surry County, Virginia Surry County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,561. In 1652, Surry County was formed from the portion of James City County south of the James River. For more than 350 years it has depende ...

, United States, and is the oldest documented brick dwelling in what is now the United States. Built in 1665, it is noted as an extremely rare example of

Jacobean architecture The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James VI and I, with whose reign (1603–1625 in England) it is associated. At the start of James' reign th ...

in the New World. The house became known as "Bacon's Castle" because it was occupied as a fort or "castle" by the followers of Nathaniel Bacon during

Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American ...

in 1676. However, contrary to popular folklore, Bacon never lived at Bacon's Castle, nor is he even known to have visited it. Today Bacon's Castle is an

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a v ...

and historic site open for guest visitation. Bacon's Castle is an official Preservation Virginia historic site and operates under its 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit status.

History

Soon after Surry County was formed in the Royal Colony of Virginia in 1652, Arthur Allen built a high style Jacobean brick house in 1665 near the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Ches ...

, where he and his wife Alice (née Tucker) Allen lived. He was a wealthy

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

and a Justice of the Peace in Surry County. Allen died in 1669, but his son, Major Arthur Allen II, inherited the house and property. Major Allen was a member of the Virginia

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...

. About mid-September, 1676, a number of the rebel followers of frontiersman Nathaniel Bacon seized the brick house of Major Allen and fortified it.National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Bacon's Castle, p. 2. The garrison, commanded at various times by William Rookings, Arthur Long, Joseph Rogers and John Clements, retained control of the house for over three months while their cause declined. The death of Bacon in October left his forces under the leadership of Joseph Ingram, who proved to be unsuited to the command. Ingram dispersed his army in small garrisons, and as the demoralized troops began to plunder indiscriminately, the condition of the colony soon became deplorable. Royal Governor Sir William Berkeley began to conquer the isolated posts one by one, some by force and some by persuasion. On December 29, a loyal force aboard the vessel ''Young Prince'', captured an unidentified "fort" which many historians have identified as Bacon's Castle. After withstanding a brief siege early in January, 1677, the loyalists used the "fort" as a base of operations for the last engagements of the rebellion, which ended before the month was out. The Allen family's brick home became known as "Bacon's Castle" because it was occupied as a fort or "castle" by the followers of Nathaniel Bacon during

in 1676. However, contrary to popular folklore, Bacon never lived at Bacon's Castle, nor is he even known to have visited it. Bacon was the proprietor of

Curles Neck Plantation Curles Neck Plantation (also known as Curles Neck Farm) is located between State Route 5 and the north bank of the James River in the Varina district of Henrico County, Virginia. One of the great James River Plantations, Curles Neck has remain ...

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is inc ...

, about 30 miles upriver on the northern bank of the James River. Many historians believe the name "Bacon's Castle" was not used until many years after Bacon's Rebellion. In 1769, the ''

Virginia Gazette ''The Virginia Gazette'' is the local newspaper of Williamsburg, Virginia. Established in 1930, it is named for the historical ''Virginia Gazette'' published between 1736 and 1780. It is published twice a week in the broadsheet format. Historica ...

'' newspaper in the capital city of Williamsburg used that name when it published several articles about Bacon's Rebellion. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

, Private

Sidney Lanier Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...

(2nd Battalion, Macon Volunteers), later one of the "Poets of the Confederacy", was stationed at nearby Burwell's Bay from May 1863 to October 1864 with the Confederate signal corps. He and his brother Clifford were devoted friends of the Hankins family, then owners of Bacon's Castle, and the brothers often visited the estate when they were on duty at Burwell's Bay. Virginia Hankins, or Ginna, as she was called, rejected Sidney Lanier's May 1867 proposal of marriage solely because of the obligation she felt towards her motherless younger brothers and sisters, but they remained lifelong friends. Ginna's brother, James DeWitt Hankins, was a law student at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...

at the outbreak of the war. He was a member of the Jefferson Society, a literary society at the university. He was commissioned June 22, 1861 as

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

of artillery, Fourth Regiment, Virginia Militia. Later, he was promoted to Captain of the Surry Light Artillery and served through Appomattox. Captain Hankins was killed by William Underwood in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

on October 18, 1866, at

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

Courthouse over insults previously exchanged between the two men while drinking in a tavern. The tragedy created intense excitement throughout the

Virginia Tidewater Tidewater refers to the north Atlantic coastal plain region of the United States of America. Definition Culturally, the Tidewater region usually includes the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, southern Ma ...

where the families of both parties were prominent and well known, and started a long running feud between the Hankins and Underwood families. Despite the fact that dueling had been outlawed in Virginia in 1810 following the famous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and the fact that the so-called "duel" was essentially a shootout, Underwood pleaded not guilty at his murder trial on May 16, 1867. On May 30, the jury unanimously voted to acquit. At the request of Virginia Hankins, Sidney Lanier wrote "In Memoriam" for her brother who had been his friend. Like other

James River Plantations James River plantations were established in the Virginia Colony along the James River between the mouth at Hampton Roads and the head of navigation at the Fall Line where Richmond is today. History The colony struggled for five years after its ...

, Bacon's Castle faced the problems of loss of manpower due to the emancipation of slaves, and insurmountable debt following the Civil War. Financially strapped, Ginna's father John Hankins had mortgaged the property prior to his death in 1870. Unable to raise money to pay the mortgage, Virginia Hankins sold the 1,200 acre estate in 1872 to the mortgage holder to pay off the debt and provide for her brothers' and sisters' education. The family moved to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

where she became a schoolteacher, learned in Latin, French, and German. She also wrote poetry and an unpublished novel. She never married. She died December 24, 1888, and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery. William Allen Warren, purchased the estate in 1880 and sold it to his son Charles Allen Warren in 1909. When Charles died in 1931 the estate passed through inheritance to his son Walker Pegram Warren who had been born in the mansion. Walker Warren and his wife used Bacon's Castle as a second home until their deaths in an automobile accident in 1973. The Warrens had no children and, the mansion and outbuildings and 40 acres of the plantation were acquired from their estate by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. The remaining 1,130 acres of the plantation were acquired by Virginia State Senator

Garland Gray Garland Gray (November 28, 1901 – July, 1977, nicknamed "Peck" after Peck's Bad Boy) was a long-time Democratic member of the Virginia Senate representing Southside Virginia counties, including his native Sussex. A lumber and banking execu ...

and later passed through inheritance to his son Elmon T. Gray and remain devoted to agriculture.

Preservation and current operations

Bacon's Castle was acquired by

Preservation Virginia Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 the organization adopted the new name APVA Preservation Virginia to reflect a broader focus o ...

(formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) in the 1970s and restored. Preservation activities continue while guests visit the Site. Bacon's Castle now operates as a house museum and historic site with 40-acres of outbuildings and dependencies including barns, slave and tenant quarters, smokehouses, and a rare example of a 17th-century English formal garden. Visitors may self-tour the grounds, outbuildings and gardens throughout the year. Between March and November guests may tour the Castle and purchase merchandise in its gift shop on Fridays and Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and Sundays between 12 and 4 p.m. Group tours are available with advance reservations. In 2015 the

Virginia Outdoors Foundation The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is a quasi-state agency formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966 "to promote the preservation of open space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the nat ...

received a $257,996 grant from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation to help the group purchase a conservation easement on 1,260 acres of privately owned farmland surrounding Bacon's Castle. The easement ensures the land will be permanently protected from residential and commercial development.

Architecture

Bacon's Castle is a rare example of American

and the only surviving "high-style" house from the 17th century. It is one of only three surviving Jacobean

great house A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...

s west of the Atlantic—the other two are in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...

. They are

Drax Hall Estate Drax Hall Estate is a sugarcane plantation situated in Saint George, Barbados, in the Caribbean. Drax Hall still stands on the site where sugar cane was first cultivated on Barbados and is one of the island's three remaining Jacobean houses. ...

and the Great House at St. Nicholas Abbey Plantation. Notable

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

features include the triple-stacked chimneys, shaped Flemish

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

s, and carved

compass rose A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their int ...

s decorating the cross beams in many of the public rooms. The house is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1960. Between the mid to late-nineteenth century, Bacon's Castle underwent several modifications. An original one story service wing was replaced by a taller

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

wing. Around this time, the entrance was moved from the center of the main block to the

hyphen The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. ''Son-in-law'' is an example of a hyphenated word. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes ( figur ...

between the original house and addition, and diamond-pane

casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a ca ...

s were exchanged for double-hung

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

s. Moving the door left a scar in the location of the original

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

ed surround. All of these changes were maintained in the restoration. Bacon's Castle from the front, 2014.JPG, Bacon's Castle, 2014 Bacon's Castle, perspective showing chimneys. 2014.JPG, Bacon's Castle, perspective showing chimneys. 2014

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Bacon's Castle webpage on the Preservation Virginia websiteBacon's Castle Facebook webpageBacon's Castle, State Route 617, Surry, Surry County, VA
46 photos, 3 color transparencies, 22 measured drawings, 8 data pages, and 2 photo caption pages at

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...