Royal Orchard

The story of this property begins with the Albemarle Pippin apple, one of the oldest American varieties, popularized by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. In 1837, Afton-native Andrew Stephenson, then US Ambassador to England, presented an Afton-grown Pippin to Queen Victoria. The fruit quickly became a royal favorite — the property took on the name Royal Orchard.

In 1903, the Scott Family of Richmond purchased the Afton orchard. By 1911, they'd fallen in love with the property and commissioned what became Scott Castle: a 25,000sf Tudor Gothic vacation home designed by John Russel Pope and Henry Baskervill.

In October of 1968, the family opened the home to the public as part of a fundraiser for local fire/rescue services. From the Daily Progress: "when people can view a mountain castle type estate from a distance for more than 55 years, a degree of curiosity can be aroused". 4,600 visitors packed the property, blocking Route 250 and parking 1,000 cars at a time between the trees in the old apple orchard. The event made its mark in local memory, fueling decades of tall tales.

Since then, the property has remained closed to the public, and the Scott descendants only request peace and privacy for their beloved family getaway.

By 2009, the 100 year old home was in need of extensive repairs. Alexander Nicholson partnered with John Milner Architects for a full renovation. On the exterior, we repaired and repointed the local stone masonry, and added a new copper roof, along with historically correct lead architectural details. Inside, we carried out extensive repairs to the building's concrete superstructure, performed both asbestos and mold remediation, and installed modern moisture control systems in the basement. Ornamental repairs included crafting replacement oak doors, restoring Gothic stained glass, and repairing decorative plaster walls and ceilings.