Long before we settled in Mt. Airy, Henry Cope, a Quaker shipping merchant and prominent Philadelphia civic leader and abolitionist, purchased Awbury in 1852 and named the estate after the village of Avebury, England, from which his family originally emigrated. Awbury first served as a summer estate and soon became a year-round home for members of the extended Cope-Haines family. The Copes also went on to own considerable acreage in Dimock, Pennsylvania, including the original orchards and house known as "Woodbourne." In 1956, Francis R. Cope, Jr. donated more than 600 acres of this land to the Nature Conservancy, which became Woodbourne Forest and Wildlife Preserve. Jerry, Shea's father, was the resident naturalist at Woodbourne for many years, which means that Shea grew up on the Dimock wildlife preserve that holds this shared history with the Cope family and our wedding venue. We're overjoyed to spend our special day with friends and family in this historic house and preserved greenspace, where we can join in shared appreciation for history and the conservation of natural resources and beauty.