Garden Club of the Middle Peninsula's Historic Garden Week Tour for 2025 will take place on May 2, 2025 in Middlesex County. Check back for details!
Historic Garden Week 2024
Essex County
Below is a slideshow of many of the flower arrangements from the 2024 Tour
WHERE HISTORY, HOSPITALITY AND
BUCOLIC LANDSCAPES CONVERGE
Rich in history and lying along the scenic Rappahannock River, the Middle Peninsula’s tour showcases Tappahannock and the pastoral northern part of Essex County. Visitors will enjoy ancient trees, lush farmland, four centuries of architecture as well as beautiful river vistas and gardens. Tour highlights include four lovely homes and a historic Inn. In addition, tour goers can pre-purchase boxed lunches prepared by the owners of the oldest tavern in Virginia which has been recently restored.
Little Egypt
515 Faulconer Road, Tappahannock
Two-hundred-year-old cedar trees, gracefully planned gardens, and mature shrubbery make this three-acre property a place of serenity and beauty whether you are sitting by the pool’s edge or walking from the house to the barn turned library. Little Egypt was built in the 1750s and may have served as a tavern at some point. The earliest structure was a “one-over-one” with a main hall and fireplace housed under a Queen Anne style gambrel roof. A second room and upstairs bedroom with fireplaces were added in the 1770’s. In the late 1980s, the house was saved from ruins. Noteworthy features of early construction include sawn lumber with hand-wrought nails, rafters joined with wooden pegs, heart-pine flooring, Cross and Bible doors, and eleven original windows. The current owners redesigned the barn on the property to create a library with soaring shelving, hand wrought ironwork, and thousands of books. They have filled their home with beautiful paintings and interesting furniture, all blending seamlessly into the colonial fabric of Little Egypt. The entire property will be open for strolling and enjoying the gardens.
Wes Pippenger and David Henderson, owners
Two-hundred-year-old cedar trees, gracefully planned gardens, and mature shrubbery make this three-acre property a place of serenity and beauty whether you are sitting by the pool’s edge or walking from the house to the barn turned library. Little Egypt was built in the 1750s and may have served as a tavern at some point. The earliest structure was a “one-over-one” with a main hall and fireplace housed under a Queen Anne style gambrel roof. A second room and upstairs bedroom with fireplaces were added in the 1770’s. In the late 1980s, the house was saved from ruins. Noteworthy features of early construction include sawn lumber with hand-wrought nails, rafters joined with wooden pegs, heart-pine flooring, Cross and Bible doors, and eleven original windows. The current owners redesigned the barn on the property to create a library with soaring shelving, hand wrought ironwork, and thousands of books. They have filled their home with beautiful paintings and interesting furniture, all blending seamlessly into the colonial fabric of Little Egypt. The entire property will be open for strolling and enjoying the gardens.
Wes Pippenger and David Henderson, owners
Thornbury
653 North Church Lane, Tappahannock
Situated on a broad, green expanse of lawn that overlooks the Rappahannock River, Thornbury is a stately two-story Greek Revival home built between 1915 and 1920. It was named after the original owner’s mother’s home in Thornbury, England. At the entrance, stand two lions weighing 700 pounds each and constructed from cast stone. In the back of the house on the riverside, there is a two-story columned porch and a patio inviting visitors to enjoy the view of the river. When entering Thornbury, visitors are awed by the expansive entrance, the antiques, and the Chinoiserie wall panels. A piano (circa 1955) with ivory keys sits in the living room and a hand-painted ceiling in the sunporch has a treasured family pet painted in the clouds that can be discovered if you look closely enough. The grounds of Thornbury include an oyster house, a guest house, and a well-manicured yard.
Patricia and Joe Gallagher, owners
Situated on a broad, green expanse of lawn that overlooks the Rappahannock River, Thornbury is a stately two-story Greek Revival home built between 1915 and 1920. It was named after the original owner’s mother’s home in Thornbury, England. At the entrance, stand two lions weighing 700 pounds each and constructed from cast stone. In the back of the house on the riverside, there is a two-story columned porch and a patio inviting visitors to enjoy the view of the river. When entering Thornbury, visitors are awed by the expansive entrance, the antiques, and the Chinoiserie wall panels. A piano (circa 1955) with ivory keys sits in the living room and a hand-painted ceiling in the sunporch has a treasured family pet painted in the clouds that can be discovered if you look closely enough. The grounds of Thornbury include an oyster house, a guest house, and a well-manicured yard.
Patricia and Joe Gallagher, owners
The Essex Inn
203 Duke Street, Tappahannock
This imposing brick Georgian mansion in the heart of historic Tappahannock was built in 1850 by Dr. Roane and enjoyed a long history and many owners until it underwent significant renovations and opened as the Essex Inn. The distinguished Greek revival style structure of white stucco over brick sits atop a high English basement. The home has twelve original rooms, each with its own fireplace, surrounding large central hallways on each floor. The front and back porches are original with fluted columns also in the Greek style; original heart -of-pine hardwood floors can be found throughout the house. Twice this house was occupied by Union troops; another time it is rumored that a young man climbed one of the chimneys to fasten a white bedsheet to signal neutrality and saved the house from bombardment. The property sits surrounded by enormous crepe myrtles and century old boxwoods and includes a lovely patio as well as an 1840s two-story brick structure behind the main house which were servants' quarters and housed the original kitchen and laundry. Today, the Essex Inn serves the Tidewater area as a bed and breakfast and event venue.
Greg and Jennifer Huff, owners
This imposing brick Georgian mansion in the heart of historic Tappahannock was built in 1850 by Dr. Roane and enjoyed a long history and many owners until it underwent significant renovations and opened as the Essex Inn. The distinguished Greek revival style structure of white stucco over brick sits atop a high English basement. The home has twelve original rooms, each with its own fireplace, surrounding large central hallways on each floor. The front and back porches are original with fluted columns also in the Greek style; original heart -of-pine hardwood floors can be found throughout the house. Twice this house was occupied by Union troops; another time it is rumored that a young man climbed one of the chimneys to fasten a white bedsheet to signal neutrality and saved the house from bombardment. The property sits surrounded by enormous crepe myrtles and century old boxwoods and includes a lovely patio as well as an 1840s two-story brick structure behind the main house which were servants' quarters and housed the original kitchen and laundry. Today, the Essex Inn serves the Tidewater area as a bed and breakfast and event venue.
Greg and Jennifer Huff, owners
Wheatland
1154 Wheatland Road, Loretto
Sitting on lush farmland overlooking a deep bend in the Rappahannock River is Wheatland, a historic plantation home built in 1848 by an early ancestor of the current owners. The lovely drive onto the property brings you into a lush setting of ancient Pecan and Poplar trees which also includes an ancient Osage Orange tree once designated as having the largest circumference in Virginia. A stately English boxwood Allee leads down to the river’s edge, where a historic steamboat wharf, that was originally constructed in 1890s to handle river traffic and rebuilt in 1916 after a fire still stands. It is the only one still in existence in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A beautiful flower garden, an old smokehouse and kitchen complete the scene. The house, now on the National Historic Registry, is a two-story, five-bay, frame dwelling with a hipped roof in the Greek Revival style that sits atop an English basement. It has a double—pile central hall plan and features two identical facades, each proudly greeting river or road with a two-story entry. The home has changed very little in 175 years; it has original furniture, books, and oil portraits and over time, the family has added period-appropriate pieces.
Peter and Susan Bance/Teddy Bance owners
Sitting on lush farmland overlooking a deep bend in the Rappahannock River is Wheatland, a historic plantation home built in 1848 by an early ancestor of the current owners. The lovely drive onto the property brings you into a lush setting of ancient Pecan and Poplar trees which also includes an ancient Osage Orange tree once designated as having the largest circumference in Virginia. A stately English boxwood Allee leads down to the river’s edge, where a historic steamboat wharf, that was originally constructed in 1890s to handle river traffic and rebuilt in 1916 after a fire still stands. It is the only one still in existence in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A beautiful flower garden, an old smokehouse and kitchen complete the scene. The house, now on the National Historic Registry, is a two-story, five-bay, frame dwelling with a hipped roof in the Greek Revival style that sits atop an English basement. It has a double—pile central hall plan and features two identical facades, each proudly greeting river or road with a two-story entry. The home has changed very little in 175 years; it has original furniture, books, and oil portraits and over time, the family has added period-appropriate pieces.
Peter and Susan Bance/Teddy Bance owners
Mountcastle House
829 Brooks Bank Road, Loretto
This modern farmhouse, completed in 2022 as a vacation home, sits high above the Rappahannock River. From the land’s edge, you see a peninsula and a wide expanse of the river; and from the home’s riverside, a flower bed follows the contour of the home. The interior is bright and airy and features earthy, nature-inspired tones and textures with pops of bold colors. Over 100 words of art, including paintings and sculptures, are found throughout the home and include pieces by nationally recognized and local artists in styles ranging from traditional landscape, contemporary, to abstract. There are several paintings by the owner’s grandfather, William F. Walter, who studied with Charles Hawthorne and the Hudson River School as well as works by prominent artists Eliot O’Hara, Robert Rauschenberg and Sam Francis. Furnishings include contemporary pieces as well as many early American antiques and old-world architectural fragments converted into new uses. The property includes a tennis court and pavilion. The day of the tour, plein air painters will be on site capturing the natural beauty of the setting on canvas.
Lisa and Ken Mountcastle, owners
This modern farmhouse, completed in 2022 as a vacation home, sits high above the Rappahannock River. From the land’s edge, you see a peninsula and a wide expanse of the river; and from the home’s riverside, a flower bed follows the contour of the home. The interior is bright and airy and features earthy, nature-inspired tones and textures with pops of bold colors. Over 100 words of art, including paintings and sculptures, are found throughout the home and include pieces by nationally recognized and local artists in styles ranging from traditional landscape, contemporary, to abstract. There are several paintings by the owner’s grandfather, William F. Walter, who studied with Charles Hawthorne and the Hudson River School as well as works by prominent artists Eliot O’Hara, Robert Rauschenberg and Sam Francis. Furnishings include contemporary pieces as well as many early American antiques and old-world architectural fragments converted into new uses. The property includes a tennis court and pavilion. The day of the tour, plein air painters will be on site capturing the natural beauty of the setting on canvas.
Lisa and Ken Mountcastle, owners
To view past historic garden week house tours, click on the links below.
|
Like us on Facebook for more information about the GCMP Historic Garden Week tour. |
