The historic Bacon’s Castle, the oldest building in Virginia and the oldest brick dwelling on the continent, is set to undergo a rare series of repairs to help preserve it.

Bacon’s Castle was built in 1665 in Surry for the family of Arthur Allen. It was known as Allen’s Brick House prior to its involvement in Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 when a group of Nathanial Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during an uprising that is considered to be an early sign of revolutionary sentiment in America, according to the National Park Service. The building was acquired at auction in the 1970s by the private nonprofit Preservation Virginia, which last restored the building in the 1980s.

The request for proposals issued last month seeks construction bids for work that includes stabilizing the masonry and framing, installing drainage and a fire suppression system. The deadline for bids is Feb. 27. The architect for the project is the Albany, New York-based MCWB Architects, which also has an office in Williamsburg.

Patton Roark, project architect for MCWB, said their firm primarily works on historic buildings and has completed restoration projects across the country including at Mount Vernon, Monticello, Montpelier, and buildings on the campuses of the University of Virginia, William & Mary and Hampden-Sydney College — but of course, none as old as Bacon’s Castle.

Roark said balancing maintaining the historical elements of the building while also improving the structure is “always a challenge.”

“Preserving the history there is always the most important thing, seeing its age and importance, however Bacon’s Castle has always interpreted itself as not being ‘stuck in 1665,’ ” Roark said. “They’ve always interpreted it as an evolving structure. … But on the other hand we work with them to incorporate these modern systems or modern repairs in a way that’s as least visually obtrusive as possible.”

He said each undertaking with a historic building involves engaging with the “fabric” of the building — the moulding, the paint, the support beams — to interpret what time has done to it before deciding on solutions.

The planned repairs are preventative, Roark said, noting that there were no extreme issues threatening the building. One example is installing underpinning to stabilize one of the chimneys which has had a noticeable lean in it going back many years in historical photographs.

Phase II of the project will deal mostly with the roof and work on the other chimneys of the building, said Roark.

The building is an example of High Jacobean architecture, according to Preservation Virginia. The property includes a slave dwelling dating back to 1830, a smokehouse to the 1820s, and a barn that is estimated to have been built in 1700.

Contractors were able to walk through the building last week.

“We had a good showing, so we’ve had a lot of interest,” Roark said.

An architectural drawing of Bacon’s Castle included in the request for proposals. (Courtesy MCWB Architects)

Substantial completion of the entire project is to be done roughly six months after a contractor is chosen, and final completion is to be done 30 days after that, according to the project manual.

“When the property was offered at auction in the 1970s, we took on Bacon’s Castle knowing it was a unique opportunity to restore and preserve this rare architectural survivor and tell the stories of the people who are associated with its history,” Preservation Virginia CEO Elizabeth S. Kostelny said in a news release. “Caring for a (361)-year-old structure and associated cultural landscape never stops.”

The nonprofit uses the site for educational purposes including “haunted history” tours, African American history tours, architectural tours, genealogy workshops, archaeological events and vendor fairs. Surry County students attend free of charge, according to Preservation Virginia.

Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com

Women in period dresses gather in front of Bacon’s Castle in Surry before the start of the Regency Society of Virginia’s duel re-enactment and picnic on Saturday, September 20, 2014. (Steve Earley/The Virginian-Pilot)

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