History, Art, Nature, Privacy- Historic Escape in 110 Acres of Ancient Woodland

About Cliff and Joy Williams

Lightwood Forest is owned by Cliff and Joy Williams. Cliff began restoring the house in 1978 and its restoration has been a labor of love ever since. We are pleased to share this beautiful and beloved property with guests from around the world.

Why Cliff and Joy Williams chose Spring Grove

Since the age of ten, I had always wanted to restore an historic house. Several years after moving to Williamsburg to work for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, I discovered Lightwood House abandoned and forlorn in rural, unspoiled Surry County, on the south side of the James River. The house was in an advanced state of deterioration, but still had great possibilities. I began the work in 1978 and after ten years had made considerable progress. However, it has been Joy's influence that has truly civilized the old place and turned it into the gem it is today. Having worked for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for many years, I was familiar with the love that visitors to the area have for Colonial American history. With Williamsburg nearby, it seemed appealing that an eighteenth-century house could be enjoyed by guests as a home base from which to discover Virginia's historic sites.

What makes this House unique

Staying at Lightwood Forest is truly a unique and extraordinary experience and visiting the property can be a vacation in itself. Only a few places exist where it is possible to be so immersed at once in both colonial history and nature. Guests enter a different world after passing through the gates leading to Lightwood House, and stepping into the entrance hall is like traveling back in time to the early days of our nation. It can feel like a great English country house in miniature (after all, we only have five bedrooms, not fifty!) And although the feel of history is everywhere at Lightwood, all modern conveniences expected in the twenty-first century are provided, including broadband WIFI, cable TV, whirlpool tub, laundry facilities, air-conditioning and working fireplaces with very realistic gas logs. The extensive grounds and walking trails at Lightwood are a nature lover's (and a dog's) paradise, and many other historic and scenic sites and attractions are close by. Guests can visit Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Busch Gardens, and Yorktown from the comfort and luxury of their own eighteenth-century home.