The Scrutons, Roger and Sophie and their two children currently live in England, but are making plans to relocate to Rappahannock County once renovations are complete in their new home. The work began shortly after the September purchase, with Washington contractor Butch Zindel overseeing the transformation.

"We want to keep the historic nature of the home," Scruton said, "we simply need to make some adjustments for modern conveniences."

The Scruton's have already invested in electrical wiring throughout the house as well as central heating. At the top of the grand staircase which winds through the center of the home, they are adding a bathroom and will put in additional bathrooms in what was once used as closet-type space.

Otherwise, the home will remain basically the same as it was when additions were made during the late 1800s, including two upstairs bedrooms.

Scruton also expressed a desire to find someone to copy the ornate paintings on the ceilings which were done by Hessians who remained in the area after the American Revolution once the ceilings and walls have been replastered.



Historical home

Montpelier, which means "little mountain," was built in a time when most of Rappahannock County was still rolling wooded mountains, circa 1735.

The house was one of three homes built for Francis Thorton II and his wife, Mary, and their sons.. Two of the homes, Thornton Hill and Montpelier, were built in Rappahannock County, while the third, Champlain, was built in Madison County.

Montpelier, built for William Thornton, was used as a summer home for the family to escape the onslaught of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes that plagued their Fredericksburg home.

For this reason, Montpelier was built with no hallways. The stately home is long but it's width is about as wide as one room, allowing for cross-ventilation during the hot Virginia summers.

Champlain, according to Rappahannock native William Fletcher III, burned in the late 1700's.

Fletcher has considerable history about the homes since his mother Mildred "Milly" Fletcher was born into the Thornton family.

Francis Thornton II, who was originally from Caroline County, acquired land grants for 4,452-acres in northern FT Valley and then his son, Francis Thornton III acquired land grants for 2,631-acres in southern FT Valley.

A land grant was a land purchase made with an initial cash payment, followed by annual rent until the land value was paid in full.

According to Fletcher, two of the Thornton women became aunts to the country's founding father, George Washington. Washington is said to have visited often at Champlain as well as Montpelier.

While there is some record of history in the 1700's of the home, most of the history was documented after 1812, when Dr. Philip Thornton took Miss Caroline Homassel as his bride, returning to the Rappahannock mansion.



Rappahannock romance

According to numerous historical accounts, Homassel was engaged to Alfred Madison, the nephew of President James Madison.

However, before they could be married, Alfred died with complications related to tuberculosis.

On December 26, 1811, Homassel, who had been orphaned during her youth by her parents, was attending the Richmond Theater with her uncle, who had raised her.

That fateful night found Homassel at the mercy of Dr. Philip Thornton when fire broke out in the theater, resulting in the death of approximately 100 people.

Thornton reportedly lowered Homassel by her hair into the large crownd gathered outside a window, to safety. Her uncle, who fled the building, also through a window, injured his ankle.

Homassel asked Thornton how she could repay him for saving her life and later taking care of her uncle until he was well again, to which he requested her hand in marriage.

According to Fletcher, she told Thornton that her heart had died with Alfred Madison, but she would give her hand in marriage to Thornton.

It was in her legendary diaries that much of the Montpelier history was preserved, including the renovations she made to the mansion, including changing the fireplaces from wood burning to more efficient coal burning units.

Also included in her diaries was recount of the invasion of the Union Army during the Civil War.

"The Northern army of 60,000 under Generals Seigel and Milroy, came to Sperryville and Woodville, made me a prisoner in my own yard, took possession of my mill, my flour, wheat, rye and oats, carried away twelve wagon loads of corn, nearly all my bacon, with seven horses and all my stock nearly, except for a few sheep they could not drive out and two cows that got into the woods," Homassel-Thornton recounted in an 1872 legal proceeding.

During recent renovations of the home, several forks that were hidden in the walls of the house were found, presumably hidden from those troops. A union shell was also found in one of the exterior walls as well as an 1807 inventory of William Thornton, Jr.'s estate that was found in one of the interior walls.



Plans for Montpelier

The Scrutons are hoping to have the renovations of their new home completed by the fall of 2005 and are in the decision phase of deciding when to make the move to the United States.

An avid horseman and foxhunter, Scruton anticipates being able to stand on the veranda that expands across the entire back of the house, overlooking the farm, watching horses graze in the pasture to the right and cattle in the back.

Surveying the panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the top of his newly found "little mountain," Scruton said, "we have a lot of work to do here, lots of fences to build and work inside, but it is so beautiful."

Jeanne Spath may be reached at jspath@timespapers.com