Fnglish village on the Ihames, is one of the
most fertile of the many famous plantations lying
along the banks of the lower James River. ‘The
place was originally known as the Indian town of
Paspahegh. In 1700, when it became the property
of Captain Phillip Lightfoot, the first of the name in Virginia, it
contained about five thousand acres. Captain Lightfoot was a
man of prominence and wealth in his day, a member of the Coun¬
cil of Virginia, a lieutenant-colonel and justice of the peace.
Beneath an armorial tomb he now sleeps in the family burying¬
ground at Iedington.
For many generations the estate remained in the Lightfoot
family and, according to old chronicles, they lived there in “great
splendor.” They drove a coach-and-four and dispensed royal
hospitality to friends and relatives. [he old house was built in the
year about 1717, and 1s a fine type of the frame dwellings of that
period. It contains ten rooms, with a high pillared front porch,
and stands about forty yards from the river in a beautiful shaded
lawn that slopes gradually to the low, sandy beach.
The interior of the dwelling is very attractive. Most of the
rooms are large and high pitched with wainscoated walls. A huge
chimney, which is nine feet thick and solid brick, runs through the
center of the house.
The flower garden and borders at Tedington are noted for
their beauty. The old box-hedge, on the north side of the garden,
is at least twenty feet high.
Though the original lines of a formal garden have been oblit¬
erated by time, quantities of shrubbery and tangles of roses still
charm the visitor to the historical spot. The chief interest of this