Rokeby is a Georgian house near

Leesburg, Virginia Leesburg is a town in and the county seat of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. It is part of both the Northern Virginia region of the state and the Washington metropolitan area, including Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. European se ...

, built in the mid-18th century. The house is the best example of Georgian architecture in

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. The county seat is Leesburg, Virgi ...

. Rokeby served as a repository for U.S. Government documents during the British occupation and

burning of Washington The Burning of Washington, also known as the Capture of Washington, was a successful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British Amphibious warfare, amphibious attack conducted by Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, Georg ...

in 1814 during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

was reputedly kept in the basement.

Description

The main house is a two-story five-bay brick building standing on a low basement, with prominent end chimneys. The plan is two rooms deep with a central stair hall. A rear wing was added in 1886, using detailing that matched the original house. The main house is notable for its basement, in which the central portion features a brick

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

. A large kitchen was located in the basement; its hearth survives. Renovations have altered much of the interior detailing, adding

Colonial revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

trim and plaster detailing. The exterior is built entirely in

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

History

Rokeby was built around 1765 by Charles Binns, Sr., the first clerk of the circuit court of Loudoun County on a tract. His son inherited the house in 1801. Although William Binns did not live there when British forces threatened the new national capital in 1814, the empty house was used to store U.S. government documents at the direction of then- Secretary of State

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

. In 1830, Benjamin Shreve, Jr. purchased the house and remodeled, altering the earlier clipped gables to their present form and who changed the interior trim details. Circa 1886, under the ownership of O.E. Breese, the house was first called "Rokeby." The Breese family made the additions to the rear of the house. It was restored in 1958. Rokeby was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on May 30, 1976.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Loudoun County, Virginia Georgian architecture in Virginia Houses completed in 1765 Houses in Loudoun County, Virginia Leesburg, Virginia Brick buildings and structures in Virginia