Appearance
The Belmont Manor house sits on the peak of the plantation property and one of the highest points in eastern Loudoun County. It has many panoramic views of the countryside and the Blue Ridge Mountains. This house was traditionally home to a “rich equestrian tradition” — steeplechase racing, and fox hunting.
The main entrance is encased with a portico with two Doric columns on either side, elaborate and decorative detail throughout. The first floor consists of a large center hall, the foyer, which is encased on either side by two large reception rooms that are all decorated with paneled wainscoting. The reception rooms on the East and West side both have their own fireplace with mantels that said to be gifts to Lafayette in 1825. The stairway is an ornamental structure in the center hall section that has a “molded handrail and thin, square balusters, three to a step.” On the second floor, there are bedrooms with ornamental federal style woodwork, along with a fancy bath. The house has been restored to its appearance in the beginning of the 19th century. It was remodeled once in 1907.
The only outbuilding of the Manor house that is still standing today is a small, stone smokehouse. A cemetery is located on the west side of the manor house and holds the grave of Ludwell Lee.
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Famous quotes containing the word appearance:
“When appearance and reality coincide, philosophy and literary criticism find themselves with nothing to say.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“You speak of poverty and dependence. Who are poor and dependent? Who are rich and independent? When was it that men agreed to respect the appearance and not the reality?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“What! Would you make no distinction between hypocrisy and devotion? Would you give them the same names, and respect the mask as you do the face? Would you equate artifice and sincerity? Confound appearance with truth? Regard the phantom as the very person? Value counterfeit as cash?”
—Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (1622–1673)