Tickets on sale now for UR Christmas House Tour

Four houses and two UR buildings will be decorated for the season and open for tours December 11th.

October 6, 2014; 8:56 AM • by Trevor Dickerson

I know it’s just now beginning to feel like fall, but Christmas will be here before you know it! Tickets are already on sale for the University of Richmond Chapel Guild’s Christmas House Tour, which will take place December 11th.

The tour is comprised of four open houses at homes along River Road, along with the Bottomley House and Cannon Memorial Chapel.

The homes will be festively decorated for the holidays by their owners and will be open from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. Lunch will be served from 11:00 AM until 1:30 PM at the Jepson Alumni Center on the Richmond campus.

Tickets are $35 and include admission to all five homes, the Bottomley House and lunch. Cannon Memorial Chapel will be open with UR students serving as hosts.

The Chapel Guild includes volunteer alumnae and friends of the university. Proceeds from the tour help support Chaplaincy programs, including the candlelight service and student internships.

For more information and tickets, call the Office of the Chaplaincy at 804.289.8500.

More information on the homes included in the open house from the University of Richmond:

23 Willway Avenue, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Harvey J. Hogue, is located within Willway Garden, a charming neighborhood between Cary Street Road and Grove Avenue. The 1920s house, built in the English Tudor style, boasts a lovely light-reflective interior achieved with the use of neutral and pastel colors. Mrs. Hogue is a graduate of the University of Richmond’s Westhampton College.
20 River Road, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Rose Jr., is one of the few remaining houses of the Cool Spring Farm, which is now the Country Club of Virginia. This house, circa 1831, was once owned by Richmonder John B. Cary.

207 Lakewood Drive, owned by Mr. and Mrs. William F. Schumadine III, is a beautiful 1940s Cape Cod in the Old Westham neighborhood. This home, furnished with a family in mind, is filled with wonderful bright colors of pinks, blues and greens.

8305 Paigley Place, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jack E. Fockler Jr., is located in Windsor on the James, minutes away from the university. Built in 1997, the home is built in a Colonial revival style with a twist. Artwork and furnishings are a mixture of antiques, reproductions and collections from the couple’s travels.

517 Raleigh Manor Road, owned by Mr. and Mrs. William J. Bugg Jr., is a cottage style home that sits on a hill in an area of Sleepy Hollow known as Raleigh Manor. The open floor plan is decorated in a traditional fashion, blending family antiques and collections from their travels.

Bottomley House, located at the Jepson Alumni Center and built in 1915, was designed by the noted New York architect William Lawrence Bottomley. Originally located across the street from University of Richmond, the Bottomley House was moved in 1995 to its present location and now houses the university’s Alumni Center.

Cannon Memorial Chapel was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in January 2013. This 1920s chapel hosts regular religious services for students and is in use daily at the university. It has been recommended for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

Brad Fults/Flickr