Staunton Hill

Brookneal vicinity, Charlotte County, Virginia

Charles Bruce built Staunton Hill in the late 1840's with the help of architect John E. Johnson (Mills Lane, in his book Architecture of the Old South: Virginia, p. 214, claims that the probable design for Staunton Hill was from Samuel H. Brooks, Designs for Cottage and Villa Architecture, London, 1829, Plate XCVII).

Agnes Rothery wrote that, "Charles Bruce spared neither money nor effort to make Staunton Hill as imposing as possible, according to the standards of the day. He had the thick brick walls stuccoed, and across the front raised a marble porch with fluted pillars and granite steps. The marble was quarried in Italy, cut to specifications in Philadelphia, transported by boat to Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, and thence by bateaux up the waters of the Roanoke and Staunton Rivers to the landing at the foot of the plantation grounds." (Agnes Rothery, Houses Virginians Have Loved, Bonanza Books, New York, 1954, pp. 155, 156.)

Staunton Hill is an excellent example of Castellated Gothic design.

Staunton Hill, Charlotte County by Louise Este Bruce, included in Edith Dabney Tunis Sale, editor (compiled by The James River Garden Club), Historic Gardens of Virginia, The James River Garden Club, Richmond, VA, 1923.

Staunton Hill by William Cabell Bruce published in Frances Archer Christian and Susanne Massie, editors, Homes and Gardens in Old Virginia, Garrett and Massie, Incorporated, Richmond, VA, 1931.

The Library of Congress has 12 sketches of Staunton Hill. To view, go to the Historic American Buildings Survey Search Page and search for "Staunton Hill."

Today Staunton Hill is the Staunton Hill Country Inn, with 20 rooms available. (Note: Phone number given on website is incorrect. The new number 434 376 4048.)

For more information on Staunton Hill, see:

Roger J. Kennedy, Architecture, Men, Women, and Money in America, 1600-1860, Random House, c. 1985
Mills Lane, Architecture of the Old South: Virginia, Beehive Press
Agnes Rothery, Houses Virginians Have Loved, Bonanza Books, New York, 1954

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