An architectural exploration of Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg will appeal greatly to architecture enthusiasts. In this small town in Virginia, in fact, private residences and wooden warehouses were built both before and after the Civil War, and most of them have survived to the present day. Once you’ve booked a room at the Craddock Terry Hotel, along the Lower Bluffwalk overlooking the River James, you’ll already feel part of a long architectural history: it used to be a shoe factory, which is why the pipework is still exposed today, the walls are of stone and brick, whilst the soaring ceilings and furnishings are all themed around shoemaking. At the Carriage House Inn Bed & Breakfast in the Daniel’s Hill neighbourhood, too, the nineteenth-century style has been preserved, from the large original fireplaces and period furnishings to the exquisite wood and stonework. The Virginia Hotel also boasts majestic vaulted ceilings, arched windows, a curved skylight, a marble staircase and wrought-iron balustrades. The following day will be devoted to the architectural tour proper, perhaps beginning with Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson’s famous octagonal country retreat in Bedford County, whilst at the Anne Spencer House Museum & Garden, in the Pierce Street neighbourhood – historically home to the African-American community – you’ll discover the personal story of Anne Spencer, the celebrated poet and civil rights activist: the house is built in the Queen Anne style, with wooden shingle cladding, a cosy front porch and a roof featuring a slightly projecting gable. She used to write in the garden, where her husband built the so-called ‘Edankraal’ for his beloved – a small retreat made of brick and stone. A burger lunch at Depot Grille, in the surviving wing of Lynchburg’s old railway station, a visit to pick up a map at the Visitor Centre housed in a former 1940s petrol station, and you’re ready to head to the Miller-Claytor House, a distinctly colonial residence, whilst Point of Honor is a Federal-style house with keystone lintels, slatted shutters and a single-storey porch: a visit here is invaluable for understanding how a doctor lived two centuries ago and, above all, the conditions of the enslaved staff. The Lynchburg Museum, housed in the historic Greek Revival-style courthouse at the top of Monument Terrace, is undoubtedly also of great interest, as it traces the history of local colonisation, offering a glimpse into the nation’s history.