Exeter was a late 18th-century

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

house near Leesburg, Virginia, that was 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 artistic v ...

from 1973 to August 1980, when it was destroyed by fire and subsequently de-listed from the National Register. The house and its dependencies were unusually elaborate for northern Virginia.

History

The house was built about 1790 by Dr. Wilson Cary Selden of the

Selden family The Selden family has a long history both in the United States and in England. The name originated from the ancient location of Selkeden in Eccleston, Sussex, England. The first known Selden in this family was John, born about 1210. A subsequent J ...

on a property that he had inherited from his first wife, Mary Mason Selden, who was a niece of George Mason. Selden and his second wife, Eleanor Love Selden, expanded the property as the centerpiece of a plantation. In 1835, Selden's son Wilson Cary Selden, Jr. inherited the property, but sold it in 1846 to General

George Rust George Rust (January 4, 1788 – September 18, 1857) was Virginia plantation owner, soldier and politician. During the War of 1812, Rust helped defend Baltimore, Maryland (where he later owned property and died), and rose to become a general in ...

, who expanded the house to the rear. The property played a role in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

when the

Battle of Ball's Bluff The Battle of Ball's Bluff was an early battle of the American Civil War fought in Loudoun County, Virginia, on October 21, 1861, in which Union Army forces under Major General George B. McClellan suffered a humiliating defeat. The operation was ...

was fought on the plantation's lands, with Confederate General Jubal Early using the house as a headquarters. The house had fallen into disrepair by the 1970s, and was destroyed by fire in August 1980.

Description

Exeter was a seven-part house. It was dominated by a two-story

tetrastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

Ionic portico with

Chinese Chippendale Thomas Chippendale (1718–1779) was a cabinet-maker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs in a trade catalogue titled ''The Gentleman and Cab ...

railings on the upper level, added in the 1830s to replace a one-story pedimented portico. The portico was flanked by single recessed bays, then by hyphens recessed farther back, and finally by small pavilions on either end. The mass of the house was reduced by a gambrel roof on the upper story. The interior featured an entrance hall with a stair hall behind, with a parlor to the south and a dining room to the north. Three main bedrooms were upstairs. The house retained most of its original woodwork. An 1850s addition housed additional rooms to the rear. A number of outbuildings surrounded the house, one of which has been restored as a community center. A barn was demolished to construct the bypass for

U.S. Route 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...

. Exeter was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 14, 1973, and was de-listed after its destruction by fire in August 1980.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Former National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses completed in 1790 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses in Loudoun County, Virginia Georgian architecture in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Loudoun County, Virginia Buildings and structures demolished in 1980 1980 fires in the United States Leesburg, Virginia Demolished buildings and structures in Virginia