Briarwood, Virginia Beach, VA

Briarwood

Overlooking a large field sloping down to Linkhorn Bay, Briarwood, a monumental size Tudor Revival House, serves as an outstanding example of this architectural style. Built in 1932, its scale and site surpasses any other surviving Tudor Revival structures in Virginia Beach. The exterior cladding features herringbone patterned brick and false half-timbering. Three bay windows, each a different shape and with leaded, glass diamond panes, characterize the home’s exterior. The original copper gutters, as well as large chimneys topped with decorative chimney pots, remain intact today.

Briarwood

The Tudor Revival style exemplified by Briarwood was popular in the United States between 1890 and 1940, hitting its peak in the ’20s and ’30s. The house belonged to the Binghams, who joined a wave of Northerners building homes in the budding resort town. Although today the house sits on a four-acre lot, the original parcel was much larger, a site befitting such an expensive construction. Homes built on this kind of grand scale were rare during the Great Depression.

Briarwood was found significant under Criterion C, as embodying the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction. Wickham C. Taylor, a notable regional architect responsible for many prominent Tidewater homes, designed the house.