{"nrhp_refnum":"69000352","name":"Leigh, Benjamin Watkins, House","other_names":["Wickham-Leigh House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1000 E. Clay St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.54210751100004,"lon":-77.43095370799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-04-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story stuccoed townhouse at 1000 E. Clay Street in Richmond, Virginia, built by John Wickham between 1812 and 1816. It is also known as the Wickham-Leigh House.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Benjamin Watkins Leigh, a noted jurist and lawyer who helped revise the Virginia Constitution in 1831 and served in the U.S. Senate. It is also described as a fine Federal townhouse that plays a significant architectural and historical role in one of Richmond's oldest neighborhoods.","narrative":"This three-story townhouse at 1000 E. Clay Street in Richmond was built by John Wickham between 1812 and 1816. It has a rectangular form, a four-bay facade and an off-center front door. Wickham gave the house to his daughter Julia, who married Benjamin Watkins Leigh, and the couple lived there. Leigh was a noted jurist and lawyer who helped revise the Virginia Constitution in 1831, supported states' rights, and served in the U.S. Senate during the Jackson administration. After his death in 1849 the house was sold to Lieutenant Governor John M. Gregory, and it was later sold to Sheltering Arms Hospital in 1932. Over time it gained an Italianate bracketed cornice and small porch, stucco, and a large three-story east wing joining it to the Grant House. Inside, the original stair and some woodwork survive. It is valued as a fine Federal townhouse in an old Richmond neighborhood, and it is now used for offices.","period_of_significance":"1812-1816","architect_builder":"John Wickham (builder)","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the Medical College of Virginia and used for offices; condition listed as deteriorated, with interior alterations and a later wing added when it was part of Sheltering Arms Hospital.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.032262-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/6828/41682872/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/69000352.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000352/22a22f07ff-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000352/22a22f07ff-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Morgan Riley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Watkins_Leigh_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Morgan Riley</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Watkins_Leigh_House.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682872","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Watkins_Leigh_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15615812"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/leigh-benjamin-watkins-house-69000352/"}