Fidgewidge Manor is the ancient, colonial-style home of the FidgewidgeWizardry family. It is located at 404 Mills Drive, sitting on top of a hilltop at the egde of the tiny hamlet of Waters End, Virginia, which hugs the Occoquan River. The local hospital is far away from the house.[1]
When Raven Fidgewidge had been murdered by Celina Bane, the property was roped off by local police and surrounded by a small crowd of interested spectators. There was also police cars parked in front.[1]
There has long been a rumor in Waters End that the woods near Fidgewidge Manor are haunted by a wild lion, since a lion's roar was often heard when Mr. Fidgewidge, the father of Raven and Nicholas Fidgewidge, was alive. The true source of the sound was an enchanted doorknocker on the mansion's front door, which is in the shape of a huge lion's head and able to roar as well as speak. Every time the lion head is heard by the neighbors, they would assemble a hunting party and spend a week searching for this supposed lion.[1]
Layout[]
Grounds[]
Fidgewidge Manor sits on a hilltop at the edge of the town of Waters End. There is a circular driveway in front of the house, with tiled stair steps leading from it and the hill to the mansion's front door. After leaving the driveway, one must drive around the house to get to the front, where there is is a pair of gates held by two massive stone pillars. A sign set into the pillars reads "404 Mills Drive". Dry knurled trees line the driveway and the main gate, which is open at all times and barely hangs on its hinges to this day.[1]
Back in the past, the lawns of Fidgewidge Manor were beautiful, but they had not been tended to for years now, and the property had fallen into ruin without proper care.[1]
Just outside the gates there is a large bare tree, behind which Agent Ana Mahgo of the DMCI materialized to investigate the murder of Raven Fidgewidge.[1]
Exterior[]
The house is still visible from the end of Mills Drive. It is enormous and stands alone on its hill. The surface of the house is of stone and worn out, dirty and it has multiple chimney stacks that are covered in soot and ash. The house was once the most elegant house in Waters End, but today it is but a memory of that building. Its style is colonial architecture, and this is all that remains of its past beauty.[1]
The front door of Fidgewidge Manor is massive and of decorative wood. On it there is a door knocker in the shape of a huge lion head, which is enchanted to actually be able roar and talk. It is rather sentimental and called after the family's old butler, Ivan, as he left the house for good, pleading for him to return.[1]
Sitting room / Library[]
There is a vast sitting room that acts as a place to rest and a lirbary, and it looks very elegant with hardwood floors and matching furniture. There is a huge marble fireplace, big enough for two people to stand inside. This fireplace is the main attraction of the room, and it has a pick standing inside of it. Across from the fireplace is a large leather armchair. There is a long pick in the fireplace. There is an ornate area rug on the floor. Inside the sitting room there is also a tray with at least one large glass and a bottle of cognac, however this glass was shattered on the floor by Raven Claw. All four walls of the sitting room is covered in shelves filled with books. One one of the walls there is a huge portrait of an elder wizard, the father of Raven and Nicholas Fidgewidge, standing tall and proud, gazing down. There are long thick drapes in front of the windows, drawn tight to keep the cold air from getting inside. When the fireplace is lit, the shadows dance across the floor, appearing almost like iamges of ghosts and goblins prancing about and hypnotizing anyone who watches them.[1]
Trivia[]
The driveway leading to Rockledge Mansion, Occoquan, VA.
Fidgewidge Manor is inspired by the historic, colonial mansion of Rockledge, which lies at the edge of the town of Occoquan, Virginia, facing the Occoquan River, which the town, like Waters End hugs. Both towns are also rather tiny. Both the fictional manor and Rockledge has a huge fireplace in a sitting room, and both are located at similarly sounding roads as well, with Fidgewidge Manor being at 404 Mills Drive and the real Rockledge being at 440 Mill Street. Rockledge is also at a hilltop, has a stone facade like Fidgewidge Manor, and even shares the chimney stacks and the stone pillars for gates. It does not, however, have a front gate, any walls surrounding it, or a circular driveway. Rockledge was built by the architect William Buckland in 1758 for the founder of Occoquan, John Ballendine. The full adress of Rockledge is 440 Mill Street, Occoquan Historic District, Virginia 22125, United States.
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