Langhorne House, also known as the Gwynn Apartments, is an historic late 19th-century house in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

later enlarged and used as an

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

house. Its period of significance is 1922, when Nancy Langhorne Astor, by then known as Lady Astor and the first woman to sit in the British Parliament, came to Danville to visit her birthplace and promote Anglo-American relations. The original dwelling was built in 1874 as a one-story, central-passage plan structure with a rear ell. It was enlarged in 1878 to add a second story and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

-style porch. In 1921, the house was moved to the next lot and further enlarged, with conversion for use as four apartments. The house was attached to a three-story apartment building constructed at its original site. The front facade features a two-tier porch with fluted Doric columns in the

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

style and multiple entries. In 1990, the structure was restored to its appearance in 1922, when Lady Astor made a speech to 5,000 people from the second-story porch of the house. Named after

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 policies ...

veteran and business magnate

Chiswell Langhorne Colonel Chiswell Dabney Langhorne (November 4, 1843 – February 14, 1919) was an American railroad industrialist. He was the father of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, Nancy Witcher Langhorne and the maternal grandfather of both Joyce Grenfell and ...

, the dwelling was the birthplace of his and his wife's several daughters, all noted for their beauty. Nancy Langhorne (1879-1964) moved to England as a young woman, married

Waldorf Astor Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, DL (19 May 1879 – 30 September 1952) was an American-born English politician and newspaper proprietor. He was a member of the Astor family. He was active in minor political roles. He was devoted to charitab ...

and won his former seat in the British Parliament in 1919. She returned to Virginia in 1922 to visit her birthplace and to promote relations between the important allies. Her visit to Danville received national coverage in the United States and is significant in local history. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> The building 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 ...

in 2006. Owned by the Lady Astor Preservation Trust, it is located in the Danville Historic District and is open to the public on Saturday afternoons or by appointment.

References

External links

Langhorne House
- official Facebook site Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Italianate architecture in Virginia Houses completed in 1922 Houses in Danville, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Danville, Virginia Houses completed in 1878 Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia Historic house museums in Virginia Tourist attractions in Danville, Virginia {{DanvilleVA-NRHP-stub