Virginia Beach historic home reopens Sunday

VIRGINIA BEACH

When the Adam Thoroughgood House reopens Sunday, visitors shouldn’t expect to see the ivy-covered bricks and boxwood shrubs that have long greeted visitors of the historic house. In the interest of preserving the house, the plants were removed. This was just one of the changes made during a nearly two-year restoration that kept the 1719 building closed to visitors.

In addition to purging the greenery, which was interfering with drainage near the foundation and damaging the mortar surrounding the exterior bricks, some of the structure’s bricks have also been replaced with ones similar to those used in the house’s original construction. Nearly all of its mortar was also replaced to more closely replicate the original mortar used in the 1700s.

Mark Reed, the city’s historic resources coordinator, said the main goal of the update was to reduce moisture levels inside the building and fix a few structural issues. New door casings, doors and sills were added to solve the moisture problem.

Visitors to the newly restored property may also notice the absence of two sets of stone steps underneath the house’s east and west doorways that were added in the 1920s. Those stairs have been replaced with wooden steps more in keeping with the house’s history.

Starr Donlon, educator for Thoroughgood House as well as Lynnhaven House and Francis Land House, said all the changes and restoration work should help preserve the house for future generations to enjoy and learn from.

Previously, the date of construction long assigned to the structure was around 1670, but recent archeological research indicates it was built in 1719. In keeping with the new time period, Donlon said changes were also made to the house’s decor to more accurately reflect the time period.

“The collection has been changed, so we’ve added some things there,” Donlon said. “This all gives us a different picture of what the home would have looked like. This is a very new interpretation of the home, so we’re anxious to present it to the public.”