Historic Garden Week Essex County 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
The tour, “18th Century Charm and Coastal Splendor of Essex County,” features five homes in Essex County---four of which were built in the 1700s. The tour will feature interior floral designs by garden club members, elegant furnishings and historic collections, 18th century and English inspired gardens, native gardens, and restored outbuildings that reflect colonial life.
The tour, “18th Century Charm and Coastal Splendor of Essex County,” features five homes in Essex County---four of which were built in the 1700s. The tour will feature interior floral designs by garden club members, elegant furnishings and historic collections, 18th century and English inspired gardens, native gardens, and restored outbuildings that reflect colonial life.
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Shelba
763 Dunbrooke Road, Millers Tavern
Shelba is a modest 18th century Virginia planter's house situated on a working farm. The earliest part was completed during the Revolution and consisted of a side hall and large room with a sleeping loft above. In the 1790s, a parlor and loft were added to the hall. In the early 1800s, a separate kitchen was constructed; there is a penciled date of August 1815 in the English basement of the kitchen. Today, the old outside wall of the back is exposed in the connecting passageway between the dining room and the kitchen. A full English basement with brick floor is located beneath the main part of the house. High ceilings, a built-in bookcase lined with old wallpaper, a magnificent fireplace mantel with over mantel paneling, and mostly original heart of pine flooring are downstairs. There are eight fireplaces; seven of them are functional for word burning. Sheba contains Southern, mostly eighteenth century, furniture and a collection of period engravings related to Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Lafayette, and other founders of the republic. The owners' love of music, books, and art is readily apparent. Outdoors, eighteenth-century inspired gardens as well as contemporary ones designed by Cynthia Carter speak to her passion for gardening. Shelba is open for the first time. Richard and Cynthia Carter, owners.
Shelba is a modest 18th century Virginia planter's house situated on a working farm. The earliest part was completed during the Revolution and consisted of a side hall and large room with a sleeping loft above. In the 1790s, a parlor and loft were added to the hall. In the early 1800s, a separate kitchen was constructed; there is a penciled date of August 1815 in the English basement of the kitchen. Today, the old outside wall of the back is exposed in the connecting passageway between the dining room and the kitchen. A full English basement with brick floor is located beneath the main part of the house. High ceilings, a built-in bookcase lined with old wallpaper, a magnificent fireplace mantel with over mantel paneling, and mostly original heart of pine flooring are downstairs. There are eight fireplaces; seven of them are functional for word burning. Sheba contains Southern, mostly eighteenth century, furniture and a collection of period engravings related to Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Lafayette, and other founders of the republic. The owners' love of music, books, and art is readily apparent. Outdoors, eighteenth-century inspired gardens as well as contemporary ones designed by Cynthia Carter speak to her passion for gardening. Shelba is open for the first time. Richard and Cynthia Carter, owners.
Woodlawn-Sandy
2009 Dunbrooke Road, Millers Tavern
Woodlawn-Sandy, also referred to as the “Circus House,” is a late 18th c. frame, three-bay home with dormered gambrel roof and a large chimney at each end. The front doors, original to the house, open to a center hall with three foot high wainscoting. Originally believed to have been built by the Wood family from Woodville, the house was acquired by Captain P.A. Sandy in 1859. The home is complete with period antiques, including European bird themed prints and the owners' collection of antique clocks. During the 1940s, Woodlawn-Sandy was a winter resting place for a traveling circus known as the Johnny J. Jones Exposition. Folklore tells that a side show member known as “Monkey Woman” lived in the house and that an elephant is buried on the property. The English basement, which serves as a tavern room and wine cellar, has circus memorabilia on display. Behind the house sits a large barn with high-pitched roof where circus carriages were stored. Notable is a summer kitchen house containing pottery and kettles indicative of the period and an antique Virginia farm table. A unique guest house repurposed from three chicken houses is adorned with 1940s New England cottage furniture, paying homage to the owner's roots. Stepping on crushed clam shells, one approaches English style gardens that align a brick pathway and include perennials and numerous native plants. Steven and Elsbeth Wyatt, owners.
Woodlawn-Sandy, also referred to as the “Circus House,” is a late 18th c. frame, three-bay home with dormered gambrel roof and a large chimney at each end. The front doors, original to the house, open to a center hall with three foot high wainscoting. Originally believed to have been built by the Wood family from Woodville, the house was acquired by Captain P.A. Sandy in 1859. The home is complete with period antiques, including European bird themed prints and the owners' collection of antique clocks. During the 1940s, Woodlawn-Sandy was a winter resting place for a traveling circus known as the Johnny J. Jones Exposition. Folklore tells that a side show member known as “Monkey Woman” lived in the house and that an elephant is buried on the property. The English basement, which serves as a tavern room and wine cellar, has circus memorabilia on display. Behind the house sits a large barn with high-pitched roof where circus carriages were stored. Notable is a summer kitchen house containing pottery and kettles indicative of the period and an antique Virginia farm table. A unique guest house repurposed from three chicken houses is adorned with 1940s New England cottage furniture, paying homage to the owner's roots. Stepping on crushed clam shells, one approaches English style gardens that align a brick pathway and include perennials and numerous native plants. Steven and Elsbeth Wyatt, owners.
Cherry Walk
2459 Dunbrooke Road, Millers Tavern
Built c. 1780 by Carter Croxton of Revolutionary War fame, Cherry Walk is an intact Eastern Virginia Plantation complex. The property remained in the same family until 1982 when it was purchased by its present owners. The house is a four-bay brick dwelling with a dormered steep gambrel roof atop a high English basement. American and English antiques, period wallpapers, 18th c. prints, watercolors and other collected pieces grace all of the rooms, together with the owner's art work. Of particular interest are the eight supporting outbuildings which also have been carefully restored: two dairies, smokehouse, summer kitchen/guest house, four holed privy, an enlarged early barn, plank corncrib, late 19th c. blacksmith's shop. In 1998, the owner designed a formal period garden behind the house. An entrance arbor leads to a central shell walk and cross walk which divides the area into four symmetrical gardens, each with a designated purpose: a swimming pool with surrounding perennial beds; a vegetable garden; an area for small and large fruits; an herb/native plant garden. The wide variety of old native trees and shrubs, along with the gardens and evolving meadows hum with the activity of birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Cherry Walk is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register, the National Register of Historic Places and the entire property has been placed under a conservation easement with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Walter and Beverley Rowland owners.
Built c. 1780 by Carter Croxton of Revolutionary War fame, Cherry Walk is an intact Eastern Virginia Plantation complex. The property remained in the same family until 1982 when it was purchased by its present owners. The house is a four-bay brick dwelling with a dormered steep gambrel roof atop a high English basement. American and English antiques, period wallpapers, 18th c. prints, watercolors and other collected pieces grace all of the rooms, together with the owner's art work. Of particular interest are the eight supporting outbuildings which also have been carefully restored: two dairies, smokehouse, summer kitchen/guest house, four holed privy, an enlarged early barn, plank corncrib, late 19th c. blacksmith's shop. In 1998, the owner designed a formal period garden behind the house. An entrance arbor leads to a central shell walk and cross walk which divides the area into four symmetrical gardens, each with a designated purpose: a swimming pool with surrounding perennial beds; a vegetable garden; an area for small and large fruits; an herb/native plant garden. The wide variety of old native trees and shrubs, along with the gardens and evolving meadows hum with the activity of birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Cherry Walk is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register, the National Register of Historic Places and the entire property has been placed under a conservation easement with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Walter and Beverley Rowland owners.
Goldberry
1023 Goldberry Lane, Tappahannock
Overlooking the Rappahannock River and neighboring Blandfield Plantation is Goldberry, a sprawling coastal style home with an open floor plan, heart of pine floors and vaulted ceilings. Originally built in 1996, the home makes the most of its waterfront setting with a view of the river from each room. The interior of the home is eclectic, blending the old with the new, and formality with informality. Inside is a mix of antiques and family portraits from Virginia and South Carolina, a historic map, and artifacts from the owners’ travels, resulting in elegant and comfortable living spaces. Of particular interest is the stone fireplace and hearth within the recently built fully modern kitchen/living room addition. The paneling, overhead beams, and cabinetry are of pecky cypress from South Carolina. The mantel is a 150 year old hand-hewn beam of solid chestnut. Unique to the fireplace are several fossils inlaid in the stone, each found by one of the owner's children. On the riverside of the home is a grand porch sweeping the front of the house which steps down to a patio featuring a cannon from the French Napoleon era and brought back from Haiti. Charles and Linda Gilchrist owners.
Overlooking the Rappahannock River and neighboring Blandfield Plantation is Goldberry, a sprawling coastal style home with an open floor plan, heart of pine floors and vaulted ceilings. Originally built in 1996, the home makes the most of its waterfront setting with a view of the river from each room. The interior of the home is eclectic, blending the old with the new, and formality with informality. Inside is a mix of antiques and family portraits from Virginia and South Carolina, a historic map, and artifacts from the owners’ travels, resulting in elegant and comfortable living spaces. Of particular interest is the stone fireplace and hearth within the recently built fully modern kitchen/living room addition. The paneling, overhead beams, and cabinetry are of pecky cypress from South Carolina. The mantel is a 150 year old hand-hewn beam of solid chestnut. Unique to the fireplace are several fossils inlaid in the stone, each found by one of the owner's children. On the riverside of the home is a grand porch sweeping the front of the house which steps down to a patio featuring a cannon from the French Napoleon era and brought back from Haiti. Charles and Linda Gilchrist owners.
Woodlawn-Trible
4431 Richmond Highway, Tappahannock
Built around 1750, Woodlawn is a classic example of a New England style saltbox house with one and a half stories, five rooms, two chimneys, and four fireplaces. It is the only extant saltbox house in Essex County. The roof rafters are continuous indicating the house was built as a saltbox. In the late 1860s, three feet were added to the back of the house. Despite the age of this house, all baseboards, chair rails, and most of the window trim inside are original. The interior doors are original as well. They have five raised panels and a single panel at the top. Two of the doors have string latches. Much of the window glass is also original. The majority of the first floor and all of the second floor have the original flooring. The English basement is made of handmade bricks. Access between floors was by ladders until the 1860s when narrow, steep steps were added. Outside there are beds of vegetables and flowers that reflect the life of a farming family. The smokehouse in the yard is believed to be from the 1750s. Woodlawn is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Brother Mark Jenkins, OSF, currently makes Woodlawn his home. It is open for the first time for Historic Garden Week.
Built around 1750, Woodlawn is a classic example of a New England style saltbox house with one and a half stories, five rooms, two chimneys, and four fireplaces. It is the only extant saltbox house in Essex County. The roof rafters are continuous indicating the house was built as a saltbox. In the late 1860s, three feet were added to the back of the house. Despite the age of this house, all baseboards, chair rails, and most of the window trim inside are original. The interior doors are original as well. They have five raised panels and a single panel at the top. Two of the doors have string latches. Much of the window glass is also original. The majority of the first floor and all of the second floor have the original flooring. The English basement is made of handmade bricks. Access between floors was by ladders until the 1860s when narrow, steep steps were added. Outside there are beds of vegetables and flowers that reflect the life of a farming family. The smokehouse in the yard is believed to be from the 1750s. Woodlawn is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Brother Mark Jenkins, OSF, currently makes Woodlawn his home. It is open for the first time for Historic Garden Week.
To Purchase Tickets to Our Tour:
Advance tickets are $25 per person and are available until April 15 at the following locations: Lowery’s Restaurant and the Crying Shame in Tappahannock, Divin’ Off the Dock in West Point, Cyndy’s Bynn in Urbanna, and The Wild Bunch in Kilmarnock.
Advance tickets are also available by mail until April 15. Please send a check for $25 per person payable to the Garden Club of the Middle Peninsula along with a self-addressed legal size envelope to Kelly Gwalthmey, 6357 W. River Road, Aylett, VA 23009.
Internet tickets are $27.24 per person and are available until April 22 at www.vagardenweek.org/main/tickets.
On tour day, you may purchase tickets for $30 per person for all homes or $15 per site at any of the five houses and at St. Paul's Church, Millers Tavern.
All proceeds from this tour support the mission of the Garden Club of Virginia: restore historic gardens and landscapes; conserve Virginia's natural resources; inspire a love of gardening; and provide education for members and the general public.
Advance tickets are also available by mail until April 15. Please send a check for $25 per person payable to the Garden Club of the Middle Peninsula along with a self-addressed legal size envelope to Kelly Gwalthmey, 6357 W. River Road, Aylett, VA 23009.
Internet tickets are $27.24 per person and are available until April 22 at www.vagardenweek.org/main/tickets.
On tour day, you may purchase tickets for $30 per person for all homes or $15 per site at any of the five houses and at St. Paul's Church, Millers Tavern.
All proceeds from this tour support the mission of the Garden Club of Virginia: restore historic gardens and landscapes; conserve Virginia's natural resources; inspire a love of gardening; and provide education for members and the general public.
