The ruins of Rosewell in Gloucester County conjure up an unforgettable romantic vision of colonial Virginia. Perhaps our largest colonial mansion, Rosewell was begun in 1726 for Mann Page I, and likely was designed by an English-trained architect. The house remained uncompleted at Page’s death but was finished by his son, Mann Page II. It stood three stories high and was crowned by twin octagonal cupolas. Most of the interior woodwork was removed after the Page family sold Rosewell in 1838. Its richly-carved staircases survived the alteration but were lost when the house burned in 1916. The walls, considered to be the country’s finest colonial brickwork, gradually crumbled so that only portions remain. The surviving sections were stabilized by the Gloucester Historical Society in Virginia after the Greaves family donated the ruins in 1979. The property is now maintained and exhibited by the Rosewell Foundation.