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35-750: Shirley Plantation is an estate on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia . It is located on scenic byway State Route 5 , between Richmond and Williamsburg . It is the oldest active plantation in Virginia, settled in 1613 and is also the oldest family-owned business in North America, when it was acquired by the Hill family, with operations starting in 1638. White indentured servants were initially used as

70-466: Is in the center, framed by a pair of long rectangular windows on either side. Inside the main hall, the house's famous carved walnut "floating" or "flying" cantilevered staircase rises for three stories without visible means of support and is the only one of its kind in America. The hipped roof rests on an entablature containing dentil moldings. Dormers and two large brick chimneys break up the roof. In

105-523: The Royal Parks if owned by the royal family. The ownership of these estates for hunting was in practice strictly restricted until the 19th century when legal changes to game hunting meant the nobility, gentry and other wealthy families could purchase land for the purposes of hunting. At the administrative centre of these sporting estates is usually a sporting lodge . These are also often known as shooting or hunting estates. In modern British English ,

140-637: The ' Upper Shirley ' portion bequeathed to William Fitzhugh Carter. Upper Shirley is now home to Upper Shirley Vineyards. The house was placed on the National Register in 1969 and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1970. In mid-1979 and mid-1980, teams of archaeologists from the College of William and Mary excavated the site of Hill house, the slave quarters constructed c.  1843 , and indigenous settlements predating European colonization. The upper floors are occupied by members of

175-629: The Hill House, the first mansion at Shirley, which was torn down c.  1870 . The younger Hill sided with Governor William Berkeley , and Bacon's rebels plundered the property, perhaps in part because the King's commissioners who later examined the rebellion found him to be "the most hated man of all the county where he lived". Hill was also the subject of the "Charles City Grievances" of May 10, 1677, which accused him of misappropriating county taxes for his own use. His son Edward Hill III inherited

210-733: The Hill family had operated Shirley and other plantations using a combination of indentured and enslaved labor. However, by this man's lifetime, few Englishmen were willing to emigrate to the colony under indenture contracts, so the labor force was primarily enslaved. According to the first Virginia tax census following the American Revolutionary War , in 1787, Charles Hill Carter owned 67 enslaved people above age 16 at Shirley Plantation . He also paid taxes on another 67 younger slaves, 16 horses, and 70 cattle on that plantation. He had another 16 adult slaves, 22 enslaved children, and additional livestock at his Long Bridge plantation in

245-594: The House of Burgesses in 1758, and continued to win re-election to every subsequent session, until Lord Dunmore suppressed the colony's legislature in 1775. Charles Carter and fellow planter James Selden then represented Lancaster County in each of the five revolutionary Virginia Conventions. During this period, future Virginia governors Benjamin Harrison (also signer of the Continental Association and

280-626: The State of Virginia left by Sir Thomas Dale Knight in May last 1616 . He named it one of six European settlements in the colony and noted that Captain Isaac Maddeson commanded 25 laborers and farmers "ymployed only in planting and curing 'Tobacco', with the profit thereof to cloth themselves, and all those who labor about the generall Busyne" [ sic ]. It survived the native American uprising of March 22, 1622 relatively unscathed, and became

315-491: The Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, and also sat on the first Council of State in 1776. He was born at Shirley Plantation to the former Elizabeth Hill, who had been born to the last of three generations of men named Edward Hill to operate that plantation and represent surrounding Charles City County in the House of Burgesses. His great-grandfather had also served as its Speaker. Around

350-491: The center of the roof is a white pedestal supporting an overturned pineapple . The house is surrounded by several support buildings, including a two-story kitchen with living quarters for the enslaved Africans, a two-story laundry with living quarters, a smokehouse, a stable building, an ice house, a large storehouse, and a dovecote . Estate (house) In the United Kingdom , historically an estate comprises

385-662: The daughter of Sir Peyton Skipwith), Charles B. Carter (1766–1807, who married his cousin Nancy Beale Carter and lived at "Mt. Atlas") and Edward Carter (1767–1806, who married his cousin Janet Carter, daughter of John Carter of "Sudley" and served in the House of Delegates representing Prince William County) and daughter Elizabeth Hill Carter (1767–1832, who married Col Robert Randolph (1760–1825) of Eastern View plantation in Fauquier County). His second wife

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420-518: The eleventh generation of the Hill Carter family, while the bottom floor is open for tours. The three-story "Great House" is constructed in the Georgian style with red brick walls and white trim boards on a square foundation. The house has no actual front door, as both the riverside and courtyard side entrances have a two-story portico with Doric columns supporting a pediment . The entrance

455-625: The family's planter and politician traditions, serving in both the House of Burgesses and later in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Albemarle County. Their sister Elizabeth became the wife of nearby burgess William Byrd III (1728–1777), and among their children was powerful politician William Byrd IV. Charles Hill Carter married twice. His first wife, Mary Carter, was his cousin, the daughter of Charles Carter of Cleve . Before she died in 1770, they had sons: John Hill Carter (1757 until after 1777), George (1761–1788, who married Lelia,

490-406: The great house was supplied with food from its own home farm (for meat and dairy) and a kitchen garden (for fruit and vegetables). A dower house may have been present on the estate to allow the widow of the former owner her own accommodation and household when moved out the primary house on the estate. The agricultural depression from the 1870s onwards and the decline of servants meant that

525-489: The heir, future burgess, and patriot Charles Hill Carter (1732–1806). The construction of the present mansion and outbuildings began c.  1723 . The mansion, called the "Great House", was completed in 1738 and was located close to the original house built by the Hills that became known as the "Hill House". In 1868, owners signed a contract to demolish the Hill House and use its salvaged building materials to construct

560-447: The houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, tenanted buildings, and natural resources (such as woodland) that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house , mansion , palace or castle . It is the modern term for a manor , but lacks a manor's now-abolished jurisdiction. The "estate" formed an economic system where the profits from its produce and rents (of housing or agricultural land) sustained

595-520: The large rural estates declined in social and economic significance, and many of the country houses were destroyed , or land was parcelled off to be sold. An urban example of the use of the term estate is presented by the "great estates" in Central London such as the Grosvenor and Portman , which continue to generate significant income through rent. Sometimes London streets are named after

630-566: The late 1940s and early 1950s, many of these estates had been demolished and subdivided , in some cases resulting in suburban villages named for the former owners, as in Baxter Estates, New York . An important distinction between the United States and England is that "American country estates, unlike English ones, rarely, if ever, supported the house." American estates have always been about "the pleasures of land ownership and

665-636: The main household, formerly known as the manor house . Thus, "the estate" may refer to all other cottages and villages in the same ownership as the mansion itself, covering more than one former manor. Examples of such great estates are Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire , England, and Blenheim Palace , in Oxfordshire , England, built to replace the former manor house of Woodstock. Before the 1870s, these estates often encompassed several thousand acres, generally consisting of several farms let to tenants ;

700-551: The main labor force until the early 1700s, when black slavery became the primary source of Virginian labor. It used about 70 to 90 African slaves at a time for plowing the fields, cleaning, childcare, and cooking. It was added to the National Register in 1969 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. After the acquisition, rebranding, and merger of Tuttle Farm in Dover, New Hampshire, Shirley Plantation received

735-407: The mansion at Upper Shirley . At least eight generations of the Hill Carter family have occupied the house since 1738. Anne Hill Carter was born at Shirley, who on June 18, 1793, married Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee in the mansion's parlor. The couple were later parents of Confederate General Robert E. Lee . The plantation used enslaved people to cultivate cash crops , particularly after

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770-462: The mid-17th century when the flow of indentured servants from England became very few. According to the first Virginia tax census following the American Revolutionary War , in 1787, Charles Hill Carter owned 67 enslaved people above age 16 at Shirley Plantation and another 67 younger enslaved people, along with 16 horses and 70 cattle; and he owned another 16 enslaved adults and 22 enslaved children and additional livestock at his Long Bridge plantation in

805-466: The money for their improvement and maintenance usually comes from fortunes earned in other economic sectors besides agriculture. They are distinguished from ordinary middle-class American houses by sheer size, as well as their landscaping, gardens, outbuildings, and most importantly, recreational structures (e.g., tennis courts and swimming pools). This usage is the predominant connotation of "estate" in contemporary American English (when not preceded by

840-648: The occupation by the Hill family, understood to be the same family as Sir Rowland Hill of Soulton , publisher of the Geneva Bible . Edward Hill's original 450-acre (180 ha) plot was expanded by marriage and gradual land acquisition. In 1660, Hill patented 2,476-acre (1,002 ha) in Charles City County, including the 416-acre (168 ha) island. When he died several years later, the land passed to Edward Hill II , who continued as owner during Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. One of these men built

875-457: The opportunity to enjoy active, outdoor pursuits ." Although some American estates included farms, they were always in support of the larger recreational purpose. Today, large houses on lots of at least several acres in size are often referred to as "estates", in a contemporary updating of the word's usage. Most contemporary American estates are not large enough to include significant amounts of self-supporting productive agricultural land, and

910-550: The property in 1700 and continued its plantation economy. However, Edward Hill III's only son, Edward Hill IV, died at 16 of consumption , leaving no male heirs and only three sisters. Edward Hill III died in 1726, and his will bequeathed Shirley plantation to his youngest daughter, Elizabeth, who had married John Carter (eldest son of Robert "King" Carter ) in October 1723. When he died in 1742, his widow remarried Bowler Cocke, who represented nearby Henrico County and helped raise

945-519: The rural estates of aristocratic landowners, such as in the case of Wimpole Street . From the Norman era, hunting had always been a popular pastime with the British royalty and nobility, and dating from the medieval era, land was parcelled off and put aside for the leisurely pursuits of hunting. These originated as royal forests and chase land, eventually evolving into deer parks , or sometimes into

980-948: The same county. Charles Carter also inherited and acquired plantations in other Virginia counties. Although his distinguishing nickname reflected the Shirley Plantation of his birth, this Carter also inherited his father's (and grandfather's) primary plantation known as Corotoman in Lancaster County. This Charles Carter also bought "Nanzitico" plantation even further north in Virginia's Tidewater region, in King George County from his cousin (and sometime Stafford County burgess) Charles Carter (of Ludlow) . Like at Shirley, this Carter farmed these and other plantations using enslaved labor, and became one of Virginia's wealthiest men of his era. Charles Carter began his political career by representing Lancaster County in

1015-433: The same county. In the 19th century, an annual staff of between 70 and 90 enslaved Africans were forced to labor on the plantation, including plowing the fields, cleaning, and cooking. In 1866, Charles Hill Carter's son and heir, Hill Carter, was forced to retire and divide his estate after he lost the free labor of enslaved people, with the bulk of the estate (the current Shirley Plantation) bequeathed to his son, Robert, and

1050-922: The term "estate" has been generalised to any large parcel of land under single ownership, such as a housing estate or industrial estate . Large country estates were traditionally found in New York's Long Island , and Westchester County , the Philadelphia Main Line , Maine's Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island , and other affluent East Coast enclaves; and the San Francisco Bay Area , early Beverly Hills, California , Montecito, California , Santa Barbara, California and other affluent West Coast enclaves. All these regions had strong traditions of large agricultural, grazing, and productive estates modeled on those in Europe. However, by

1085-563: The time that her brother, also Edward Hill, had died of tuberculosis at age 16, Elizabeth had married John Carter , the colony's secretary of state and son of King Carter , probably the colony's wealthiest and most powerful man. Her father selected her (and her husband) to inherit Shirley plantation, instead of either of her two elder sisters. His elder brother would be named John (and was alive in 1728 and mentioned in King Carter's will) and his younger brother named Edward would also follow

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1120-438: The title of the oldest business continuously operating in the United States. The lands of Shirley Plantation were first settled by Europeans in 1613 by Sir Thomas West , 3rd Baron De La Warr and were named West and Sherley Hundred , probably because this Lord Delaware's wife Cessalye was the daughter of Sir Thomas Sherley (variant spellings being common at the time). Several years later, John Rolfe wrote A True Relation of

1155-536: The westernmost settlement on the north side of the James River for a while. The tobacco was shipped within the colonies and to England. A report in 1623 found the West and Sherlow Hundred had 45 men, women, and children, with an additional 24 (including Francis West) at the "Iland" (modern Eppes Island in the James River, visible from the manor house). In 1638, Edward Hill acquired part of this land, thus beginning

1190-472: The word "real" ), which is why "industrial estate" sounds like an oxymoron to Americans, as few wealthy persons would deliberately choose to live next to factories. Traditional American estates include: Charles Hill Carter Charles Hill Carter (c. 1732 – June 28, 1806) was a Virginia planter who represented Lancaster County in the Virginia House of Burgesses (1758–1775) and all five of

1225-608: Was Ann Butler, daughter of burgess Bernard Moore of Chelsea plantation in King William County . She bore several children. Upon reaching legal age, this Charles Carter initially operated Shirley Plantation, which his father (who died when this boy was ten) then stepfather Bowler Cocke operated (using overseers) until Charles reached legal age. The firstborn son inherited it under entail and primogeniture from his maternal grandfather, Edward Hill III (who died in 1726, before his grandson's birth). Previous generations of

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