The Deanery
Site: Westhampton Way
Completed: 1925
Architect: Merrill C. Lee of Lee, Smith, and Vandervoort
Orginal Size: 1,200 square feet
Rededication: April 11, 1981
Current Size: 3,776 square feet
Architects: Rawlings, Wilson & Associates
Originally the private residence of the first dean of Westhampton College, May Lansfield Keller, the Deanery was acquired by the University following her death in 1964. The house was built in the Tudor Revival Arts and Crafts style to resemble an English cottage. The original landscaping around the Deanery was designed by Charles Gillette, who also developed the landscape plan for the surrounding campus.
The Deanery was designed by Richmond architect Merrill Clifford Lee. Lee had worked with Ralph Adams Cram at his Boston firm. He arrived in Richmond in 1920 to represent the firm in the construction of Millhiser Gymnasium. Cram approved the design before the Deanery could be built.
When first constructed, the Deanery was smaller than it is today. The ground floor had a living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom. French doors in the living room led to an enclosed porch overlooking the back garden. Over time, the house was filled with the souvenirs of Dean Keller’s many travels, as well as gifts from friends and former students. The house also contained many of Keller’s childhood possessions and items from her parents’ home in Baltimore. Original photographs of Keller as a child and young woman still decorate the house. Dean Keller lived in the Deanery from 1925 to 1964, sharing the house for many of those years with Pauline Turnbull, registrar of Westhampton College and professor of Latin. Keller died at age 86 in the second floor bedroom that is now the office of the dean of Westhampton College.
After Dean Keller’s death, the Deanery was put to various uses. Westhampton College Dean Mary Louise Gehring lived there from 1965 to 1976. During a housing crunch in the 1970s, students resided there.
In the early 1980s, the Board voted to renovate and expand the Deanery, making it into the administrative offices of the dean of Westhampton College and the Westhampton College Alumnae Association. The addition was designed by Scott Rawlings of Rawlings, Wilson & Associates of Richmond, but built by the University’s own physical plant staff. This added 1,000 square feet in a two-story expansion to the side, providing more office and public space. To preserve the Deanery’s architectural integrity, the original rooms were kept the same size and whenever possible, original moldings and doorways were preserved. To furnish the building, members of the Westhampton College Alumnae Association embarked on a “scavenger hunt” to find furniture that had once been in Keller Hall but had been scattered across campus. In addition, some furniture and decorative pieces from former President George Modlin’s home were placed in the Deanery. A bust of Athena, goddess of wisdom, was brought from Keller Hall and installed in the Dean’s office, where it remains.
Three major gifts made the expansion and renovation possible. These were from Elizabeth Camp Smith (WC 1918); the Westhampton College Alumnae Association; and Hannah Coker (WC 1923 and music librarian emerita). Coker underwrote the restoration of the Deanery garden.
In the mid-1980s, the Deanery’s garage was renovated to become the Ruth Wallerstein Thalhimer Guest Cottage. The renovation was funded by Ruth Wallerstein Thalhimer (WC 1922) with the assistance of the Westhampton College class of 1934. The cottage, which was dedicated on January 23, 1985, is used to house visitors, such as guest lecturers and candidates for positions at the University.
Today the Deanery is the administrative headquarters for Westhampton College, including the Dean’s Office, Westhampton College Residence Life, and the Women Involved in Living and Learning (WILL) program.
Sources: Rosenbaum, Claire Millhiser. A Gem of a College: The History of Westhampton College, 1914-1989
Wheeler, Stuart
VBHS building file