Rosewell Mansion featured a formal garden on its south side, where archaeologists found evidence of well-spaced borders in an English style. The south facade differed from the north in its ornamental doorway frame and pediment and lacked the side entrances beside the pavilions. On the first floor, both south rooms had fireplaces and three windows, with one window set in an alcove formed by the nearest pavilion; the southwest room likely served as a bedchamber and had a small closet, while Governor John Page said his father Mann Page II used the southeast room as his library, though it was probably planned as a parlor. Rosewell was most opulent between 1745 and 1765 under Mann Page II, who focused on the estate rather than colonial governance, paid debts from the mansion's construction, completed and furnished the house according to his father's plan, and worked to break the entail so property could be sold to satisfy creditors. He married Alice Grymes in 1748, and their son John and daughter Judith were born at Rosewell; after Alice's death, he married Anne Corbin Tayloe of Mount Airy in 1748, and their seven children were also born there. Because his eldest son by his first marriage would inherit Rosewell, Mann Page II built Mannsfield near Fredericksburg for Mann Page III, his eldest son by his second marriage, and about 1765 he moved there with Anne and their children, leaving Rosewell to John Page and his wife Frances Burwell. John Page grew up at Rosewell and later became a patriot and statesman. He studied law at William and Mary with George Wythe and became friends there with Thomas Jefferson, who spent weekends and holidays at Rosewell and developed a stronger interest in architecture, the arts, and fine living. In 1772, John Page entered public service through appointment to the Council of State. When John and Frances took up residence at Rosewell about 1765, they found the house in great need of repair, and John began costly renovations in 1771. Rosewell remained their main home, and although they spent much time in Williamsburg during the War of Independence, their eight children long remembered life there after John's death in 1808.

Photo: Fairfield Foundation

Photo: Brandon D Cross

Gloucester Courthouse, Virginia · USA