Lowland Cottage
Why it's listed
Lowland Cottage sits in a park-like setting beside the Ware River on Ware Neck, Gloucester County. Its oldest part, a one-and-a-half-story gambrel-roofed frame house about forty by twenty feet, was built between 1666 and 1676 for Robert Bristow, a planter and merchant whose Home Plantation covered the western half of the neck. The house originally had two main rooms around a massive central chimney, a plan like that of New England farmhouses. The chimney was removed between 1831 and 1840. Wings were added between 1783 and 1831, and William Godfrey remodeled the house in 1854 to look two stories tall. A 1935 remodeling restored the gambrel roof and exposed the original beaded ceiling beams. The house was listed because few Virginia frame buildings can be dated with certainty to the seventeenth century, and its original frame survives. The undisturbed surrounding land may also hold archeological evidence of early settlement.
Significance in brief: The form argues it is one of a handful of Virginia frame structures that can be dated with certainty to the seventeenth century. The original frame survives, including beaded ceiling beams, and its early central-chimney plan has no known surviving counterpart in Virginia. The largely undisturbed land may also hold significant archeological remains.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 71001104, listed September 22, 1971. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | SW of Ware Neck, 0.5 mi. S of VA 623, Ware Neck |
|---|---|
| County | Gloucester County |
| Listed | September 22, 1971 |
| Reference number | 71001104 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 17th and 18th centuries |
| Architect / builder | Robert Bristow (original portion); later remodeling by William Godfrey (1854) |
| Architectural style | Seventeenth-century frame house with gambrel roof |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied as a private residence; condition listed as altered, with a 1935 partial restoration of the original roof shape. |
| Acreage | 40 |
| Coordinates | 37.40132, -76.46796 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 71001104.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14712755
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.