Oldal 498 [498]
STAUNTON HILL
|] TAUNTON HILL is situated in Charlotte County,
about forty miles southeast of Lynchburg, on the
Staunton, really the Roanoke River, for the latter,
as John Randolph of Roanoke once said, passes
| for a considerable distance incog., under the name
of the Staunton.
The tract of some six hundred acres, on which the Staunton
Hill mansion stands, was acquired by James Bruce, in 1803, and
was afterwards enlarged by purchases of adjoining lands, made
from time to time, by James Bruce and his son, Charles. ‘The
former resided at Woodburn, in Halifax County, and it was not
until 1848 that the house at Staunton Hill was erected by Charles
Bruce, on the six-hundred-acre tract just mentioned. his, with the
additions made to it by James and Charles Bruce, in 1896, the
year of the latter’s death, amounted to five thousand and fifty¬
two acres.
The mansion is built in the Gothic style of architecture of
stuccoed brick with towers and battlements. The front porch 1s
constructed of marble, which was imported from Italy to Phila¬
delphia. After being reduced to the proper shapes there, it was
conveyed by sea to Albemarle Sound, and thence by bateaux up the
Roanoke River to the Staunton Hill estate.
One of the most striking features of the house is the well-nigh
perfect proportion of its external details. Extending back from
the rear there is a colonnade about two hundred feet long. The
roof of this is supported by iron pillars painted white, and the
floor is flagged with large granite blocks. Along it are ranged
the kitchen, laundry and service quarters. From the west side of
the house projects a conservatory, and a short distance to the south¬
west of this is a Gothic outbuilding of five rooms. This is known
| 305 |