Bacon's Castle
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Bacon's Castle
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Bacon's Castle in 2006
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| Location | Surry County, Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 37°06′32.4972″N 76°43′20.5824″W / 37.109027000°N 76.722384000°WCoordinates: 37°06′32.4972″N 76°43′20.5824″W / 37.109027000°N 76.722384000°W |
| Area | Hampton Roads |
| Built | 1665 |
| Architect | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Jacobean and Greek revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000849 |
| VLR # | 090-0001 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 1966 |
| Designated NHL | October 9, 1960 |
| Designated VLR | September 9, 1969 |
Bacon's Castle, also variously known as "Allen's Brick House" or the "Arthur Allen House" is located in Surry County, Virginia, United States, and is Virginia's oldest documented brick dwelling. Built in 1665, it is noted as an extremely rare example of Jacobean architecture in the New World.
The house became known as "Bacon's Castle" because it was occupied as a fort or "castle" by the followers of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. However, contrary to popular folklore, Bacon never lived at Bacon's Castle, nor is he even known to have visited it.
Today Bacon's Castle is an historic house museum and historic site open for guest visitation. Bacon's Castle is an official Preservation Virginia historic site and operates under its 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit status.
Soon after Surry County was formed in the Royal Colony of Virginia in 1652, Arthur Allen built a high style Jacobean brick house in 1665 near the James River, where he and his wife Alice (née Tucker) Allen lived. He was a wealthy merchant and a Justice of the Peace in Surry County. Allen died in 1669, but his son, Major Arthur Allen II, inherited the house and property. Major Allen was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.
About mid-September, 1676, a number of the rebel followers of frontiersman Nathaniel Bacon seized the brick house of Major Allen and fortified it. The garrison, commanded at various times by William Rookings, Arthur Long, Joseph Rogers and John Clements, retained control of the house for over three months while their cause declined. The death of Bacon in October left his forces under the leadership of Joseph Ingram, who proved to be unsuited to the command. Ingram dispersed his army in small garrisons, and as the demoralized troops began to plunder indiscriminately, the condition of the colony was soon deplorable.
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Wikipedia