Wards Corner Now – Wards Corner, Norfolk, Virginia

Talbot Hall

At the end of Talbot Hall Road, along the banks of the Lafayette River, you will find a plantation by the name of Talbot Hall.  Talbot Hall is owned by The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia and it includes four buildings and the plantation.    Residents, mostly from the surrounding Talbot Park neighborhood, are concerned about the future of this property as the Diocese is considering a sale of the Talbot Hall.  The concerned residents have set up a website, a Facebook page, and have a writeup in the newspaper.

The Diocese has scheduled two Town Hall meetings to get public feedback on the Talbot Hall property.  The first meeting is scheduled for June 30, 2010 at 6:30pm at the Church of the Ascension and the second is on July 15 at 6:30pm at the same Church, located at the corner of Talbot Hall Road and Newport Ave.

From the “Save Talbot Hall!” website:

This historic site sits squarely in the Lafayette River watershed, a key tributary of the Elizabeth River, and less than 10 miles from the Chesapeake Bay. Not only does this site provide an ideal contemplative home for the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia, it also serves as a rare urban habitat for countless waterfowl, fish, and other marine flora and fauna. It also provides open recreation space for residents of the local neighborhood. The crown jewel of the property is Talbot Hall, the plantation house after which the local neighborhood take its name, completed in 1803 and still largely intact and unchanged since then.

In conjunction with local civic and environmental organizations, we urge the Diocese and its members to preserve this fragile and essential part of Norfolk’s heritage, and Save Talbot Hall!

The meetings are being held by the Talbot Hall Properties Committee:

The Talbot Hall Properties Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia is charged with conducting a comprehensive study of the Talbot Hall property. This study includes, but not limited to, usage, location, maintenance needed to improve the property to meet today’s standards and to provide for future strategic goals of the diocese.  Intertwined is the recognition of the long term financial stress of both the diocese and its parishes in having the diocese continue to own and maintain these properties.  The committee’s review includes the original bequeath by the Talbot family, roofing and other major maintenance needs of the Manor House and office buildings, the annual operating costs of owning these properties, neighborhood concerns relating to the property and its use, and the effect on diocesan and parish finances if the property was sold versus continued ownership.

As part of this study, the committee is encouraging interested community and diocesan members to gather at the Church of the Ascension in Norfolk to discuss in an open forum, thoughts and concerns relating to the property in an effort to brainstorm ideas that will meet the needs of the diocese as well as the community of which the diocesan office has been a part.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 2:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.