Shirley is one of the James River plantations. It is called “Virginia’s First Plantation” because eleven generations of the same family have lived in the house. The original family name was Hill and in the fourth generation, Elizabeth Hill married John Carter and the house has been in the Carter family ever since. The original land grant given to Sir Thomas West, Baron de la Warr was named West and Sherley Hundred after his and his wife’s family names, she being Lady Cessalye Sherley. The name Shirley has stuck since 1613.

Captain Edward Hill was the first of the family to own the property in 1638. He married the widow of his neighbor and vastly enlarged his holdings. The first family home called Hill House was used by three generations of the Hill family. In the third generation, the eldest son died at the age of 16 and since the two eldest daughters were married and in England, Shirley Plantation went to the youngest daughter Elizabeth. Her husband John Carter was the son of the richest man in America, Robert “King” Carter. After their marriage, the building began for the plantation house that exists today.

The plantation is located down a long road lined with fields; it still appears in many ways to be farm country. We actually stopped and picked up a cotton ball that was still attached to a stem having never seen one before. After parking, you walk up to the gift store where you sign up for the tour of the house. You can visit the outbuildings before or after the house tour, there is no right or wrong way to tour.

Our house guide’s name was Julian Charity and his love and devotion to Shirley were evident from the moment the tour began. You enter directly into the hall from the portico, there is no entrance. Originally almost all guests to the house would have arrived on the river so having the Great Hall on the landside is not the usual setup. We learned a lot about the history of the house in the Great Hall where there are some pictures of the early residents. The square-rigged flying staircase is of particular interest, it appears to be unsupported for three stories. It is original to the 1738 house so has been soaring under the weight of countless family members, visitors, and servants for over 270 years.

The tour of the interior of the house visits the first floor, the current family lives on the upper floors. The ceilings in the house are tall ranging from 11.5 feet on the first floor to nine on the third story. From the Great Hall, the tour moves to the parlor which faces the river. The parlor was removed in 1771 and wonderful woodwork which is still very much in evidence was added. The parlor was also the place where many family events took place. One of particular interest to history buffs was the marriage of Ann Hill Carter to Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee who had a rather famous son, Robert E. Lee. 

Shirley Plantation survived the Civil War literally unscathed but it wasn’t because of its connection to the Lee family, rather it was the women of the house who helped injured Union soldiers who were camped on the grounds of Shirley that led to the order to not hurt the women or the house. Two additional rooms are visited on the tour, the dining room, and a first-floor bedroom. The tour takes between 30 and 40 minutes depending on the number of people, questions asked, and how busy it is. In January, our group was the only ones on the tour and the property so it was a bit longer.

Randy Carter joined us at the completion of the house tour to add some information about the grounds and the running of the property today.  The show “Turn” filmed some scenes on the grounds and in the house at Shirley. The kitchen is certainly interesting and located at a distance from the house to protect it from fire danger. There is also the ice house, smokehouse, laundry, stable, corn crib, pump house, storehouse, and dovecote. The willow oak is a beautiful old tree and there are gardens that were not worth a visit in January. Be sure to browse in Lady Cessalye’s Shop which offers a nice selection of items related to the house and Virginia.

A visit to Shirley Plantation is a lesson in Virginia history. The Hill and the Carter family were all politically active and involved in some of the most exciting and traumatic times in American history.