The Year Shakespeare Left Agecroft Hall, the House Became the Show

Agecroft Hall, the Tudor manor at 4305 Sulgrave Road, has long been the home of Richmond Shakespeare's summer festival. In 2026 that changed. The house is marking 100 years in Virginia, and the festival spent the summer at other venues. The rest of Agecroft's centennial calendar runs from this Saturday's archive lecture to a Tudor Christmas tour on December 23, with a free open house on December 13 along the way. Much of it is about the building and how it ended up in Windsor Farms. The house will probably not have this much of its own season to itself again, because the festival is already listed to return next summer.

A summer without the festival

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Richmond Shakespeare took its 2026 festival season away from its longtime home at Agecroft to venues across Richmond and Williamsburg. "As You Like It" played Sabot School's Gillette Garden, "The Importance of Being Earnest" ran at Richmond Triangle Players, and the company added shows at the College of William & Mary's Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre at Lake Matoaka.

Managing director Jase Sullivan told the Times-Dispatch the move came from a new partnership with William & Mary. He also said the company wanted to reach audiences it hadn't served before: "We haven't done a show in the South Side of the city."

Agecroft filled its own summer with shorter performances, family adaptations and outdoor films. The lineup included "Sorry, Most Sorry," a young-audience version of "The Winter's Tale"; the "As You Wish" fairy tale film series; and shows from Elsewhere Shakespeare, a new Richmond-based DIY company. Executive Director Anne Kenny-Urban described the season to the paper this way: "We're experimenting with different ways to bring in Shakespeare lovers."

That experiment continues into the fall, with one difference. Shakespeare is still the subject of several programs, but the house has become the main topic.

What the centennial is counting

The anniversary counts from 1926, when the house came to Richmond. It does not count from the manor's English origins or from the day it opened as a museum. Agecroft's own history gives the key dates:

• 1925: The house's owners auctioned the structure and its interiors, and it was taken apart under architect Henry G. Morse for shipment across the Atlantic.
• April 16, 1926: Elizabeth Williams held a ceremonial groundbreaking in Richmond.
• December 1927: T.C. Williams Jr. and Elizabeth moved into the rebuilt house.
• March 1928: The building was formally completed.
• February 14, 1929: T.C. Williams Jr. died, a little over a year after moving in.
• July 5, 1969: Agecroft opened to the public as a museum, two years after Elizabeth left the house.

Agecroft got ready for the anniversary with a new logo, a new website and a tagline that sums up the story: "Made in England. Remade in America." The April 11 centennial gala raised money for preservation, the gardens and public programs, and it included a Centennial Art Show of work by local artists.

This Saturday, the crates get opened

On Saturday, November 7, Kenny-Urban presents "Unpacking the Crates: A Tudor House Arrives in Jazz-Age Richmond," a lunchtime tea and lecture from 1 to 2:30 p.m. She will use slides and images from Agecroft's archives. Tickets are $49, and museum members get 20% off. Missy Mauck Catering will serve tea sandwiches, scones and small sweets.

The event description shows why a Windsor Farms resident might go, even one who has toured the house before:

"...we'll open the crates on untold stories of the house's rebuilding... and how this centuries-old transplant fit into owner T.C. Williams Jr.'s grand vision for the neighborhood of Windsor Farms."

So the talk covers the neighborhood around the house as well as the house itself.

That evening, the lawn becomes a screening venue. Agecroft is showing Pride & Prejudice outdoors with harpist Erin Roukous and food vendors. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students ages 7 to 18, and children six and under get in free. It is a fall version of the summer film nights that replaced the festival.

The rest of the season, by date

Agecroft runs the rest of the season itself, with talks and tours about Tudor England and the house. "Dining with Shakespeare" includes a talk and a guided look at the Great Hall, Dining Parlor and Tudor Kitchen, and guests take period recipes home. "A House that Wool Built" traces how the English wool trade shaped Agecroft's history.

Mummers & Merriment, on December 23, is the last program before the holiday closure. Agecroft is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and it closes on Mondays all year. Check the events page for current details and tickets before you plan a date around one.

Two days when the gate costs nothing

On a normal visit, the gardens alone cost $6 for an adult. A full house tour costs $12 for adults, $11 for AAA members and seniors, and $8 for students. Regular hours are noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, with the last house tour at 4. Two dates on the calendar remove some or all of that price.

The Sweater Weather Market on Saturday, November 14 brings local artisans, food and drink to the grounds, and garden admission is free. The house museum keeps its regular rates that day. Last year's market ran on November 23 and listed 41 vendors plus three food vendors. This year it comes nine days earlier in the month.

Yuletides, on Sunday, December 13 from noon to 5 p.m., is free and needs no registration. It has period holiday interpretations, crafts, cider, music, Father Christmas, a museum tour and vendors. In December 2024, The Commonwealth Times reported that Yuletides had been running for more than a decade and that attendance had grown over the previous five years. This year's open house is the last big public gathering of Agecroft's 100th year.

Next summer, the lawn fills back up

The 2026 setup looks like a one-time arrangement. Richmond Shakespeare's Season 28 page lists two outdoor productions at Agecroft Hall, 4305 Sulgrave Road, for summer 2027: The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. The company describes The Tempest as "an imaginative outdoor production where the natural world becomes part of Prospero's magic." Performance dates are not posted yet.

Once the festival is back, summer at Agecroft will belong to the plays again. This fall's archive lecture, the wool tour and the Tudor kitchen talk only work because the house itself is the subject. All of them run between now and December 23.

The Windsor Farms around Agecroft came out of the same 1920s plan that "Unpacking the Crates" will cover this Saturday, and many of those houses carry their own century of work and care. If you own a home here and want to know how its character and condition affect its value today, Kelly Blanchard Real Estate offers a free home valuation, with straight answers and no pressure.