About Us
Our History
In 1950, James and Margaret Clifton purchased the property where the The Virginia Cliffe Inn is now located in order to build a family home. The property on Mountain Road held a landmark farmhouse built in 1840. James who was a general contractor, dismantled the farmhouse, reclaimed the materials, and modeled the new home after George Washington’s former military headquarters Newburgh, NY.
After raising their four children, Margaret and James Clifton opened their Georgian-style home as a Bed and Breakfast in 1997.
“My family considered recycling before it became the mainstream thing to do. The Virginia Cliffe Inn is constructed from wood reclaimed from an old farmhouse built on the property in the late 1800’s.”
– Janice Clifton, Owner
The Virginia Cliffe Inn is Janice’s childhood home. She and her family have owned it since 1950. Janice loves to welcome all our guests and wedding couples and make them feel like part of the family. She learned the business of hospitality alongside her parents, working as the business administrator since 1998. Janice took over as CEO in 2007 and established the Inn as one of the region’s best loved wedding and event venues.
Janice also served for many years as director of St. Joseph’s Villa. Her passion is creating an excellent experience for each customer. Janice is very active in the local community and enjoys sharing The Virginia Cliffe Inn with our community partners.
Judey is a Desert Storm Army veteran, through traveling, found her passion at the Virginia Cliffe Inn as the Innkeeper. She enjoys cooking, meeting new people and making people feel welcomed. She has a passion for cooking, restoring antiques and gardening.
She grew up in Ohio where she worked for a bed and breakfast and found her love of the B&B atmosphere. She has been married 30 years with 5 beautiful children. She has traveled throughout the country and has learned many different recipes to share with guests.
One of her favorite quotes (thanks to her husband) is “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” ~George Bernard Shaw
Pat holds a degree in Business Administration but her fondness for the hospitality industry kicked in to full
gear when she helped to open the Bell House in Colonial Beach VA as a B&B in the late 90’s.
After moving to Richmond, she began assisting Margaret Clifton at The Virginia Cliffe Inn on weekends with
breakfast.
After her retirement (2016) she relocated to Memphis TN to be near her family.
Soon thereafter she began working two to three evenings a week as a private chef for a prominent
Memphis family. This led to full time from May to October cooking for them on Cape Cod.
Pat has been an associate Innkeeper at The Virginia Cliffe Inn for the last 20 years. She travels extensively so
she contributes her fantastic cooking skills when she is at The Inn. She also makes a couple of trips each
year to the small Island of Ocracoke NC to assist a friend with the Crews Inn B&B.
She loves spending time with family and friends – and going on cruises with her sisters. She especially loves
being an Innkeeper so she can cook and bake for our guests.
Lierin entered the wedding scene in 2015. She served as an intern for a local bridal boutique in Hershey, PA for a year and fell in love! Lierin has also been doing wedding hair & makeup since high school. After planning her own wedding, she fell in love with all the intricate details that go into a bride + groom’s special day. Lierin relocated to Richmond in August 2021. She joined the Virginia Cliffe Inn team that summer and began training to be a coordinator. Lierin is excited as she begins her first year with Virginia Cliffe Inn as a Venue Planner!
