Bekeby
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Skipwith Academy (Bekeby)
1927. 7344 Townes Rd.
This well-designed Tudor–Jacobean Revival house, built in 1927 for Grey Skipwith, Sr., has outstanding brickwork and extensive decorative detail. The building that houses the garage and chauffeur's quarters, which now almost blends in with the surrounding brick tract houses, is sited behind Bekeby facing onto Harlow Road (drive south on Townes Road until it curves around into Harlow Road). Bekeby stands on a small part of the tract Grey Skipwith, Sr., divided between his sons, Grey, Jr., an admiral of the U.S. Navy, and Hugh, a tobacco industry executive. Bekeby features an irregular plan with a projecting stair tower on the rear. The brick exterior showcases cut stone, inlaid panels with the Skipwith crest, wrought iron Jacobean-style lamps, and false wooden timbering. The house is entered from a lowwalled cobblestone court. The slate-roofed garage and servants' quarters are built of similar materials. Today Bekeby provides an unusual contrast to the small 1950s subdivision houses that surround it.
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