This elegantly finished mansion is one of Virginia’s grandest works of Federal architecture. Erected in Clarke County ca. 1790, Annefield was the home of Matthew Page, who named the place for his wife, Anne Randolph Meade Page, sister of Bishop William Meade. Annefield was later owned by Thomas Carter, whose son William Page Carter was a Virginia poet. Mary Custis, wife of Robert E. Lee, was born at Annefield in 1808 while her mother was visiting here. The house epitomizes the high architectural quality of the plantation houses built in Virginia’s northern counties by members of Tidewater families, who moved into this fertile region in the late-18th-century. The delicate Ionic portico and its Chinese lattice railing are set off by the rugged limestone walls. The elaborate woodwork and composition ornaments of its spacious interiors are based on designs in 18th-century English pattern books by William Pain.  The Annefield property contributes to the listed Chapel Rural Historic District.