Agecroft Hall

What a stunning and unexpected gem! I knew of Agecroft but had no idea its interiors and collections were so authentic and thorough. Our guide was very knowledgeable and really breathed life into both the Elizabethan era and 1920s America. I also loved the relatively recent addition of the replica kitchen. The day was too dreary to visit all the gardens, unfortunately. I do wish the gift shop had more site-​specific merchandise (I’m a fool for Christmas ornaments) maybe based on the stained glass, the wood work, the seal on the pardon — or St. Nicholas Owen (hope I remembered the correct guy). Admission price is a bargain, we will be back!

My wife wanted to stop here while on vacation to fill in some free time we had one day and I thought it looked pretty cool so we said why not? Well when we arrived the tour was full so they gave us the option to wait, and see the gardens, or just do the gardens. We decided to do the garden self guided tour and bought tickets to see the house. We figured 45 minutes would be about the time we’d take to see the gardens anyways.
Well I’m glad we did go ahead and wait to do the last house tour of the day as this house is phenomenal and our tour guide did a fantastic job of answering all of our questions about the time period, including all of my strange questions that I tend to ask. The house is beautiful inside and if you think it looks big from the outside, well it is even bigger than you think inside of it. I took a lot of pictures of the gardens but understandably no pictures are allowed inside the house so none of those were taken. I can say for sure though that the house is definitely worth seeing and this stop turned out to be the highlight of our various stops throughout historic Richmond.
A truly historic house and I’d highly recommend anyone with any interest in this time period, or just plain cool architecture, stop in here and get the full tour!

LOVED our experience! Genuine passion for what they do and you could really feel the «family» owned atmosphere. Great quality and taste! Looking forward to visiting their new location in the fall.

Despite the rainy, cold weather, this estate’s charm really shined through. In fact, I think the weather gave it a sort of charming, gloomy feel that kind of worked for it. Our tour guide was very knowledgable and friendly, and even though I normally hate tours, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I would definitely come back here during a different season to check out the gardens in full bloom.

I’m not certain how many times I’ve been to Agecroft Manor, but at least 6 – 7 times. We’ve been there in the spring, summer and fall. The gardens are really special, as is the herb garden. The overall landscaping is continuously maintained. It is amazing to realize the original structure was as large as it was. I won’t give away too many statistics. When shipped via boat it is genuinely amazing that so little was damaged in shipment. Not one of the magnificent leaded color windows was damaged. The building was almost destroyed prior to coming to America. The interior is an antique collector’s paradise of early English furniture. Pay attention to one brass clock that will be discussed. Note the carved bed. Remember the period the bed was made along w/​the balance of the furniture. My favorite time to visit is Spring. The garden is, in my opinion, bis at its height at that point. Walk the yard. You’ll see beautiful trees and I love the courtyard. If you bring visitors from out of town, they will not have visited anything like it. Just enjoy.

We visited the gardens of Agecroft during late April and thought some of the gardens looked neglected and lacked the sort of display one would expect from an estate of this size and nature. There are better gardens to visit in the Richmond area. Perhaps the house tour is what one needs to focus on when visiting Agecroft — not the gardens.

It was a rainy miserable day that we decided to visit Agecroft. We were sick of sitting around watching Netflix and wanted to do something different that was still mainly indoors. I was very happy with our choice.
We were luckily the only ones visiting this magnificent hall, and therefore were the only ones on the tour. It starts with a brief introductory movie telling about the 2 most prominent families that resided in Agecroft. Then begins the tour. A man named Steven was our tour guide and he was amazing. Every question I had he had an answer for and he was also very friendly and funny. I told him I was interested in «the gross stuff» so he made sure to include as many creepy facts as he could for me. He was awesome.
If you’re a history buff or into (extremely) old fashioned house and room design I highly recommend coming here! I wouldn’t recommend it for kids under maybe 12 years of age unless they have a specialized interest in history because I can see younger children getting bored with it (you really can’t touch anything). But it really is a lovely tour and a lovely piece of history that’s worth checking out.

Can I first say– to the review that someone was upset that it wasn’t child friendly… um…duh…it’s a Tudor Manor home with a historical guided tour. I would pay DOUBLE to not have a whining child on the tour when I’m learning about the life and times of a 16^th century English manor. Maybe it is because I am an academic and anglophile– or maybe because I understand the value of what few things we hold of our past. Either way, this home is a beautiful example of elite living in Richmond and modest living in Elizabethan England, and should be respected. The lights are dimmed inside to preserve the paintings, furnishings and wood– and I get the feeling to achieve a sort of ambiance. In the great hall the dim light shines through the beautiful glass windows. I was really impressed to learn that none of them broke on their long journey from England to Virginia. The furnishings are also impressive in their own right– though I do wish the house would modernize a bit and get rid of the plastic food. I think the house speaks for itself.
It is a gem of Richmond and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in history, architecture or gardening.

Located in a beautiful neighborhood that is worth walking around. House has very interesting history and is impressive to see. Guides were very welcoming and did not push a tour. Costs a few dollars to enjoy the gardens and walk around the grounds, which we felt was worthwhile.
Plenty of parking available.

I’ve been here three times (during autumn, spring, and summer) and each time has been enchanting. I’m head-​over-​heels in love with Agecroft Hall. Visiting is like going back in time. The tour guides and staff are personable and wonderful; every time I go, I learn something new. I can’t wait until my next trip to Agecroft. I recommend going in the spring or autumn so you can take your time and enjoy the gardens in comfort, the Virginia summers can be oppressively hot.

Cool house with a lot of great history. The tour guide was a bit too taken with the subject and it felt very rushed because I think she was trying to cram as much information into an hour as possible. If you’re into this sort of thing (tours of historical houses) then check it out, but I wouldn’t make this one my first stop.

This is a hidden treasure in Richmond and a must for Anglophiles. This is an actual Tudor home from Lancashire that was constructed in the 1500s, dissembled in the 1920’s, shipped to Richmond in boxes, and reassembled. Even more, the foundation has collected a number of period artifacts and furnished the house with them. Beautiful gardens, amazing house. The best part is that they take their time with tours, there is also a nice introductory film. Highly recommend when visiting Richmond.
I do recommend they upgrade their website. It simply doesn’t give a sense of the size and history of the house.

I won’t get into what Agecroft Hall is, as others have already done it. I will just get right into singing its praises.
My boyfriend and I got there just as it opened, we were thrilled to realize that there was a AAA discount and then we were immediately whisked into the video at the entrance, despite the fact that it was just the two of us. From there, we had a private tour with our wonderful guide (I believe her name was Hendree). She took us to every room and answered every single question we had without hesitation. Her knowledge and admiration of the Hall was evident in the way she spoke of the building and the former residents. After our tour had ended, we noticed that the shop wasn’t open and were somewhat disappointed until our guide fetched the supervisor on hand to open it up (again, just for the two of us!).
Such an educational and enriching experience! Can’t wait to go back in the spring to see the gardens!

We came here w our nieces. Unfortunately the 3 ppl at the front desk were so unbelievably rude and snotty to us we immediately left. Not kid friendly or friendly at all for that matter! Apparently a child finishing up eating a poptart on the way from the car to their door is a federal offense.

Agecroft Hall is a rarity among museums, not only in Richmond, but nationwide. There are not many genuine Tudor (as in from the age of the Tudors, not the architectural style) homes in the United States and this could very well be the only one. What most excited me is that the furniture dates from 1485 to 1660, when was the last time you were able to tour a house with furniture THAT old? The estate is perched on a hill rolling down to the banks of the James River… a great place to bring a picnic and enjoy the gardens and scenery.
One current exhibit that would engage the up and coming attorney’s in the family is «Deeds and Misdeeds» which shows the original manuscripts relating to the house and how legal manuscripts were written, witnessed and ratified. An interesting process as they usually were witnessed on «market day» in front of as many citizens as possible so as to have proof of deed. The clergy was also involved in ratifying titles.
If this isn’t your cup of tea there are gardens designed by Charles Gillette who is famous for his work in Virginia to include «Virginia House» next door as well as the campus of the University of Richmond. Of special interest is the «Knot Garden».
I also learned what a Bodkin is. I had heard the term before but had never really known exactly what one was… and I am even going to share it with you. It was a decorative item used to poke holes in fabric but has also been used as a hair pin and a dagger. It was used mainly to pull ribbon through holes and was worn on a chatelaine (another word I hard heard but didn’t know what its meaning was) a decorative chain attached to a belt on which useful or decorative objects were attached. Interesting heh? I bet you can find something interesting here as well.

You would think kids would be bored here… no gadgets or costumed interpreters… just a really old house and its gardens. Not so! I’ve taken my nephew and nieces here several times and they love it. They listen and ask questions on the tour and then blow off some steam running around the garden and watching the pond frogs.

Agecroft Hall is a Tudor house that was built in Lancashire, England in the late 15^th Century. It was the home of the Langley and Dauntesey families for hundreds of years until it fell into disrepair and was sold at auction in 1925. Thomas C. Williams Jr. fell in love with the house and purchased it, had it dismantled, crated and shipped to Richmond where it was painstakingly reassembled in Windsor Farms.
Today you can tour the house. With the exception of one room, the house has been restored to the way it would have looked when a Tudor family lived in it in England. I took a tour and found it very interesting. One neat tidbit I picked up: during that time people didn’t use forks because they believed they looked too similar to pitchforks and represented the devil.
The gardens were designed by famous landscaper Charles Gillette and are packed with beautiful flowers, as well as a living exhibit of medicinal, flavoring and aromatic plants.
On my tour, I learned that Agecroft’s current director is very excited about making the property more educational and is constantly working to add new exhibits there. When I visited, the newest addition was a replica of a working kitchen from the same time period as the house.