Mount Fair

Mount Fair

Mount Fair is a historic estate located in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The property comprises five contributing structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as the remnants of former slave quarters and a slave and family cemetery dating to the 1700s, underscoring the site’s complex and significant history.

First commissioned in 2003, Mark Finlay Architects developed a comprehensive master plan for the restoration and adaptation of what would someday become a 2,000-acre estate. The objective was to fully restore the historic property while sensitively adapting it to the lifestyle of the current owners, a family based in Connecticut. Prior to design, the architectural team conducted extensive research to ensure that all interventions respected the site’s historic fabric and preserved its defining character.

The scope of work included the complete restoration of the 19th-century main residence, along with a carefully integrated addition housing a new kitchen, mudroom, breezeway, garage, hunting room, exercise facility, and indoor pool. The addition was designed with clapboard siding and a copper roof to match the existing structure and incorporates modern geothermal heating and cooling systems to enhance sustainability.

Supporting structures across the estate were also restored and reimagined. The original icehouse and spring house were converted into two one-bedroom guest cottages with full baths, while a new barn complex was designed to support equestrian and agricultural functions, including a modern horse barn, hay storage shed, farm buildings, and a caretaker’s cottage.

As part of the broader master plan, a one-acre area was designated for a solar field intended to supply renewable energy across the entire property, reinforcing the integration of historic preservation with forward-looking environmental stewardship.

Photography: Durston Saylor, Eric Piasecki
Interiors: Brian McCarthy
Featured In: Kiawah Island Legends, The Classicist, Westport News, Hyland Magazine, Period Homes, Garden & Gun, Virginia Sportsman