Historic Campus

From the east entrance to the Wren Building, you can see the other buildings of the College's colonial campus, including:

The Brafferton, located on the south side of the yard, was constructed in 1723 to house the College's Indian school, which was endowed by funds from the estate of Robert Boyle, the noted English scientist. Income from Brafferton Manor in Yorkshire, England, designated for charitable and pious purposes, was used to educate and prepare Native American boys for the Anglican priesthood. This undertaking met with little success, and at the time of the American Revolution, income from the Boyle estate was discontinued, and the Indian school was abandoned. Today the Brafferton houses the offices of the president and provost of the College.

The President's House,on the north side of the yard, was erected in 1732 and has been used by every president of William and Mary. In the summer of 1781, when British troops briefly occupied Williamsburg, it was used by General Cornwallis as his headquarters. Later that year, French officers occupied it after the siege of Yorktown, and during this time it was damaged by fire. Repairs were made with funds provided by Louis XVI of France.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Brafferton, President's House, and Wren Building were restored to their eighteenth-century appearance through the generosity of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

The Brafferton and the President's House are not open to the public.

The two cannons flanking the east door to the Wren Building were among several captured from the British after the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The initials "GR" stand for George Rex-George III, King of England at the time the cannons were cast and at the time of the American Revolution. The cannon in the yard was taken from Fort Christanna, a trading post which was established by colonial governor Alexander Spotswood south of the James River in 1713.

Take a Virtual Reality look at the Wren Yard.