Brooke's Bank, human settlement in Virginia, United States of America
Brooke's Bank is a brick house from the mid-1700s in Virginia, completed in 1751 and built in Georgian style. The two-story building has a hipped roof, two large chimneys with a glazed diamond pattern, five bays across the front, and original woodwork preserved inside.
The house was built in 1751 for Sarah Taliaferro Brooke on land granted by King George II in honor of her late husband, a Royal Navy officer. During the Civil War, the Union gunboat USS Pawnee shelled the house from the Rappahannock River but caused no severe damage.
The name Brooke's Bank refers to Sarah Taliaferro Brooke, who unusually for her time supervised the building process. The property reflects colonial life, with its main house and working grounds that formed the center of daily plantation life.
The house is private and not freely accessible, but it can be seen from nearby viewpoints without disturbing the owners. The property sits about one mile east of the town of Loretto near Virginia Route 17 and is listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
Sarah Taliaferro Brooke personally supervised the building of the house, an unusual role for a woman in colonial times. The land was granted to her by the king with the intention of honoring her late husband, a naval officer who died in battle.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
