Eyre Hall

Eyre Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Virginia Landmarks Register
Eyre Hall
Nearest city	Cheriton, Virginia
Coordinates	37°18′35″N 75°58′29″W
Area	1000 acres
Built	1796
Architectural style	Plantation
NRHP reference No.	69000265
VLR No.	065-0008
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 12, 1969
Designated NHL	March 2, 2012
Designated VLR	September 9, 1969

Eyre Hall is a plantation house located in Northampton, Virginia, close to Cheriton. The property has been owned by the Eyre family since 1668. The plantation was placed on the National Register on November 12, 1969. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on March 2, 2012.

History

The property where Eyre Hall is located was first patented to the three sons of Thomas Eyre I in 1668 and included 1,600 acres (6.5 km²). A 700-acre (2.8 km²) tract was purchased by Littleton Eyre, a great grandson of Thomas, in 1754 with the purpose to build a family seat and a working plantation. The original structure built in 1760 was a 41-foot (12 m)-square structure and was a 2½ story wooden home. The house was expanded, an intermediary section was raised to two stories in 1790 and a two story unit was added in 1807. The house was modernized in 1930 and included a large kitchen, a breakfast room, and a storage building.

The property grew periodically over the years too, as a dairy was built in 1760 and a smokehouse was built around 1806. The house is surrounded by boxwood gardens, and formal lawns and fields that melt away into the Cherrystone Creek. On the grounds is also a walled garden from the 1800s, the Eyre family cemetery, and the ruins of an orangery from 1819.

The estate is currently owned by H. Furlong Baldwin, a retired bank executive who is a descendant of Thomas Eyre.

Exterior

The house as viewed from its drive is dominated by a large two story wood frame front section with a door on the far left and framed by a portico. The bottom half is white weatherboard with the top covered with dark shingle. The large rectangular windows sit in a pair on each floor, with a window located above the entrance. A pair of large red brick chimneys pierce the roofline on the right.

The next section is offset from the drive and is covered with white weatherboard from top to bottom. Another portico juts from the side of the front section and mirrors the front entrance. A small courtyard lies in front. A door is also located to the right of this back section and is framed by a window to either side with windows in direct line above. Large red brick chimneys pierce the roof in the center and on the far right.

The entire house is set behind a white picket fence the runs its entire facade and perimeter. The dairy is located to the right of the house with the family cemetery and orangery ruins behind.

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Northampton County, Virginia

Further reading

• Masson, Kathryn and Brooke, Steven (photographer); Historic Houses of Virginia: Great Plantation Houses Mansions, and Country Places; Rizzoli International Publications; New York City, New York; 2006 ISBN 0-8478-2861-1

External links

• Brief Description of Eyre Hall
• Eyre Hall, U.S. Route 13 & State Route 636 vicinity, Cheriton, Northampton County, VA at the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)
• Eyre Hall, Dairy, U.S. Route 13 & State Route 636 vicinity, Cheriton, Northampton County, VA at HABS
• Eyre Hall, Smokehouse, U.S. Route 13 & State Route 636 vicinity, Cheriton, Northampton County, VA at HABS
• Eyre Hall, Overseer's House, U.S. Route 13 & State Route 636, Cheriton, Northampton County, VA at HABS
• Eyre Hall, Graveyard, U.S. Route 13 & State Route 636 vicinity, Cheriton, Northampton County, VA at HABS
• Eyre Hall, Orangery (Ruins), U.S. Route 13 & State Route 636 vicinity, Cheriton, Northampton County, VA at HABS
• Oxford Tree-RIng Laboratory
• Houses Virginians Have Loved Excerpt