The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Middlecourt

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Middlecourt (front facade, from the north), Hampden-Sydney College

Middlecourt (view from the west), Hampden-Sydney College

Middlecourt (herb garden), Hampden-Sydney College

Institution Name: Hampden-Sydney College
Original/Historic Place Name: Boston House
Location on Campus: Via Sacra
Date(s) of Construction:

1829	original construction
1977	restoration

Designer: unknown
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Federal (Glossary)
Significance: culture, education, history
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: brick

Walls: brick

Roof: tin, metal

Function:

1829-1895	private residence (house for Seminary professors)
1895-1938	private residence (professor's house)
1939-present (2006)	president's house

Narrative:
Middlecourt was built with funds raised by Presbyterians and Congregationalists. They may have influenced the design, since it is more like a New England house than a Virginian one. It was restored in 1977, and the coeval kitchen quarters were restored as a guest cottage in 1981. It has been described by Virginia Landmark historians as "a significant outbuilding survival."

It was built as a home for professors at the Seminary. When the Seminary moved to Richmond in 1895, the campus was bought by Major Richard Venable and given to the College. It became a professor's house, and in 1939 it became the president's house.

References:

Brinkley, John L. On This Hill: A Narrative History of Hampden-Sydney College. Hampden-Sydney, VA: Hampden-Sydney College, 1994.

Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. Hampden-Sydney College Historic District. National Register of Historic Places designation report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service, 1970.