Brafferton Renewal Project recognized with Preservation Virginia award
Donor Support While Virginia funded $1.4 million of the Brafferton Renewal Project, the remaining capital came from grants and private donations, including $1 million from the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, a $300,000 challenge grant from The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation and support from W&M’s Classes of 1961 and 1962. Additionally, an endowment established by James W. McGlothlin '62, J.D. '64, LL.D. '00 and Frances G. McGlothlin ‘66, and supported with additional estate gifts, will provide for the ongoing preservation of the building.
Namesake Gabriella Page, 3rd from left, front row, is pictured with the 1928 W&M Board of Visitors. Page, along with Mary Cooke Branch Munford (1920/25), Kate Waller Barrett (1921/25) and Lulu D. Metz (1924/43, 1943/52), was among the first women appointed to W&M's Board of Visitors. Page served from 1925 to 1940. Image courtesy of Swem Special Collections Research Center
William & Mary’s Brafferton Renewal Project received this year’s Gabriella Page Preservation Award from Preservation Virginia. The Brafferton is the second oldest structure on the William & Mary campus; it dates to 1723.
“Stewardship of William and Mary’s historic buildings is among our most important duties, and this award from Preservation Virginia is a marvelous acknowledgment of that,” said Susan Kern, executive director of the Historic Campus. “The architects for the project, GWWO, Inc./Architects, should be very proud of their work as they responded to both the exceptional needs of this very special building and the modern day demands of the president’s and provost’s offices housed in the Brafferton.”
The project, completed in the summer of 2013, is the most complete work done on the building since it was restored in 1932 as part of the Rockefeller Restoration of Williamsburg. The $3.65 million project addressed the safety needs of the building, as well as the mechanical and preservation needs of the 291-year-old structure. The Brafferton along with the President’s House (1732) and the Sir Christopher Wren Building (1695) comprise the university’s Historic Campus.
GWWO, Inc./Architects accepted the Gabriella Page Preservation Award last month. According to the Preservation Virginia website, the award recognizes an owner, architect, design firm, contractor or developer for a preservation project that “best exemplifies the use of preservation standards and brings an outstanding building into appropriate contemporary use.” Projects recognized in this category may be residential, commercial or public sector projects.
“The Brafferton Renewal represents an effective partnership between the GWWO and College’s own office of Historic Campus and facilities management, our advisors at Colonial Williamsburg, and also the donors that made the project possible,” Kern said.
In recognizing the project Preservation Virginia noted that it was “a model for how campuses across the Commonwealth should be treating their historic structures.”
The award is among several Virginia Preservation has given annually since 1971 to individuals and groups in the Commonwealth of Virginia for outstanding commitment to preservation. To be eligible for the awards, projects must involve properties that are located in Virginia and more than 50 years old. Other categories include Young Preservationist of the Year, The Katherine Glaize Rockwood Community Preservation Award and The George W. G. Stoner and John Melville Jennings Research and Education Award.
Over the course of its history, the Brafferton has not only served as the College’s Indian School but as a dining hall, faculty residence, dormitory and classroom building.
Preservation Virginia’s Gabriella Page Award is named for the longtime president of the organization’s predecessor, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Page, who was from Richmond, Virginia, was serving as president of that organization when she passed away in 1949. While not an alumna of William & Mary, Page had strong ties with the university. She served on the William & Mary Board of Visitors from 1925 until 1940. Page was honored with the College’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, which recognizes characteristics of “heart, mind and helpfulness to others,” in 1938.
Other recent recipients of the Gabriella Page Award include First National Apartments, Richmond (Commonwealth Architects) and The Captain Timothy Hill House, Chincoteague (Louisa Flaningam & Paul Brzozowski); The Patrick Henry, Roanoke (Commonwealth Architect) and Garrett Hall (University of Virginia), who shared the recognition in 2012. William & Mary was also recognized by Preservation Virginia in 1995 with the Mary Mason Anderson Award for work at Ash-Lawn Highland, the home of President James Monroe.
