Kent-Valentine House

12 East Franklin Street

Richmond, VA  23219

804-643-4137

info@gcvirginia.org

The Kent-Valentine House was designed by Isaiah Rogers for Mr. and Mrs. Horace Kent in 1845. Rogers designed "a three-bay Italianate dwelling skirted by an intricate cast-iron veranda" for the Kents. The house was sold in 1875 to Charles Talbott, a successful manufacturer, and in 1904, new owners Mr. and Mrs. Granville Gray Valentine modified and enlarged it significantly. They replaced the cast-iron veranda with Ionic columns, using the original railings, between them, and added a two-story wing on the west side of the house. The Garden Club of Virginia bought it for its headquarters and the offices for Historic Garden Week. Downstairs, the house is furnished with 18th and 19th century antiques, some of which came with the house, the rest bequeathed and donated by garden club members and generous friends. It has one of Virginia's largest collections of bird and botanical prints by 18th century naturalist Mark Catesby. In the Library, a growing collection of books on horticulture, garden history and design, and flower arranging is useful to the members. A complete structural renovation of the house was undertaken 1996-98. A two-story wing was added to the east side of the house, providing handicapped access, elevators to the third floor and other needed amenities. The Garden Club of Virginia’s restoration of the Kent-Valentine House includes appropriate landscape plantings, all enclosed by the original cast iron fence and brick walls. A small parking area blends into the landscape and becomes the coach house forecourt.