Historic Garden Week Middlesex County 2016
Don’t miss our Historic Garden Week tour which will take place on Friday, April 29, 2016 from 10 am to 4 pm in Middlesex County!
This year's tour features 6 homes with exquisite waterfront locations, lovely gardens and landscaping, and one with a land grant that dates back to 1642. Step back in time to enjoy historic homes and architecture. Christ Church Parish will also be open for the tour as they celebrate their 350th year with a Festival of Flowers.
Tour Chairmen: Cean Cawthorn
Marilyn South
middlepeninsula@vagardenweek.org
This year's tour features 6 homes with exquisite waterfront locations, lovely gardens and landscaping, and one with a land grant that dates back to 1642. Step back in time to enjoy historic homes and architecture. Christ Church Parish will also be open for the tour as they celebrate their 350th year with a Festival of Flowers.
Tour Chairmen: Cean Cawthorn
Marilyn South
middlepeninsula@vagardenweek.org
Tickets
$40. Tickets will be available on the day of the tour at headquarters at Christ Church Parish, 56 Christ Church Lane, Saluda, or at Urbanna Baptist Church 121 Watling Street, Urbanna, or at Wilton, 1425 Twiggs Ferry Rd. (Rt. 3), Hartfield.
$35. Advance tickets may be purchased locally before April 15 at Cyndy's Bynn in Urbanna and Wilton Cottage and Garden in Hartfield. Available by mail before April 15 by sending a check payable to Garden Club of the Middle Peninsula with a self-addressed, stamped, legal size envelope to Kelly Gwathmey, 6357 W. River Rd., Aylett, Va. 23009 (804) 769-2601. Available online at www.vagardenweek.org.
$35. Advance tickets may be purchased locally before April 15 at Cyndy's Bynn in Urbanna and Wilton Cottage and Garden in Hartfield. Available by mail before April 15 by sending a check payable to Garden Club of the Middle Peninsula with a self-addressed, stamped, legal size envelope to Kelly Gwathmey, 6357 W. River Rd., Aylett, Va. 23009 (804) 769-2601. Available online at www.vagardenweek.org.
Lunch
Pre-ordered box lunches for $15 will be served at the Urbanna Baptist Church, 121 Watling Street, Urbanna from 11 am to 2 pm. Payment required by (757) 897-6088. Complimentary refreshments served at Christ Church Parish, 56 Christ Church Lane, Saluda. Facilities available at Christ Church Parish Hall and Urbanna Baptist Church.
The Tour
Ticket prices include admission to the following six properties:
Kelly House
16966 General Puller Highway, Deltaville
This private home is a typical Virginia planter's home of the 1840s. The original frame home is described as a center hall with four rooms, measuring only 32 x 16 feet. It is two stories with a central stairway featuring dual brick chimneys. This style of architecture was popular in the Tidewater region of the colonial south dating back to 1750. The addition of a rear kitchen, sunroom, and brick terrace utilizing old flooring and local bricks is surrounded by landscaped grounds with crepe myrtle trees and boxwoods. After more than 75 years of neglect and decline, the home was refurbished in 2006 by descendants of William Henry and Nancy Mitchell Hancock Kelly. Mr and Mrs. Paige Basheer, owners.
16966 General Puller Highway, Deltaville
This private home is a typical Virginia planter's home of the 1840s. The original frame home is described as a center hall with four rooms, measuring only 32 x 16 feet. It is two stories with a central stairway featuring dual brick chimneys. This style of architecture was popular in the Tidewater region of the colonial south dating back to 1750. The addition of a rear kitchen, sunroom, and brick terrace utilizing old flooring and local bricks is surrounded by landscaped grounds with crepe myrtle trees and boxwoods. After more than 75 years of neglect and decline, the home was refurbished in 2006 by descendants of William Henry and Nancy Mitchell Hancock Kelly. Mr and Mrs. Paige Basheer, owners.
Woodport
352 Woodport Lane, Hartfield
Historic Woodport-on-the-Piankatank is a Georgian style four bedroom home located on the site of a Pre-Revolutionay War plantation. During the restoration work in the 1970s, workmen uncovered a brick dated either 1763 or 1783 under the exterior cement waterproofing. Prior to 1948, Dr. John R. Blake, the owner of the house at the time, applied a cement coating to the entire outside of the house. At one time, a large cannon ball, possibly from the War of 1812 or the Civil War, had been lodged in the riverfront exterior brick wall, but was removed by former owners. During the 1970s renovation, a cannon ball was found on the property and was replaced in the indenture. The four story home enjoys solid brick walls, 17 inches thick at the base and 14 inches thick at the top. Eight feet of water and a protected harbor in front of the home allowed lumber schooners traveling to Baltimore to moor there. Thus the home acquired the name "Woodport." Mr. and Mrs. Fitzhugh C. Moore purchased the home in 1967. Now their daughter shares the home with her husband and their three children. Vintage furniture and unique collections acquired on overseas trips are found throughout the home. James and Beverly Barnhardt, owners.
352 Woodport Lane, Hartfield
Historic Woodport-on-the-Piankatank is a Georgian style four bedroom home located on the site of a Pre-Revolutionay War plantation. During the restoration work in the 1970s, workmen uncovered a brick dated either 1763 or 1783 under the exterior cement waterproofing. Prior to 1948, Dr. John R. Blake, the owner of the house at the time, applied a cement coating to the entire outside of the house. At one time, a large cannon ball, possibly from the War of 1812 or the Civil War, had been lodged in the riverfront exterior brick wall, but was removed by former owners. During the 1970s renovation, a cannon ball was found on the property and was replaced in the indenture. The four story home enjoys solid brick walls, 17 inches thick at the base and 14 inches thick at the top. Eight feet of water and a protected harbor in front of the home allowed lumber schooners traveling to Baltimore to moor there. Thus the home acquired the name "Woodport." Mr. and Mrs. Fitzhugh C. Moore purchased the home in 1967. Now their daughter shares the home with her husband and their three children. Vintage furniture and unique collections acquired on overseas trips are found throughout the home. James and Beverly Barnhardt, owners.
Lent Home in Mariners Woods
379 Sunset Vista, Hartfield
Nestled on the Piankatank River, this lovely home has multiple informal gardens and a pristine salt marsh and navigable creek on 7.5 acres. The elegant copper clad entry to this cedar shingle style home was built in 2007. A custom mahogany entry door opens to the river room with a lighted cupola that rises 30 feet, a staircase anchored by a vintage newel post and views of the water. Vintage pine flooring throughout the home is estimated to be 400 years old and was reclaimed from a riverfront warehouse. The interior trim, dentil molding, and custom fireplace were handcrafted by a local master carpenter using 17th century techniques and hand planes. The home is surrounded by winding paths with woodland and riverside gardens of native trees, flowering shrubs, bog gardens and perennial gardens. Over 15,000 bulbs are planted throughout the landscape. A thriving beehive along one of the marsh nature paths is residence to thousands of little pollinators. Several trenches, gun pits, and ground impressions believed to be from the Civil War era lie peacefully around the barn and woodland paths. Sandi and Tim Lent, owners.
379 Sunset Vista, Hartfield
Nestled on the Piankatank River, this lovely home has multiple informal gardens and a pristine salt marsh and navigable creek on 7.5 acres. The elegant copper clad entry to this cedar shingle style home was built in 2007. A custom mahogany entry door opens to the river room with a lighted cupola that rises 30 feet, a staircase anchored by a vintage newel post and views of the water. Vintage pine flooring throughout the home is estimated to be 400 years old and was reclaimed from a riverfront warehouse. The interior trim, dentil molding, and custom fireplace were handcrafted by a local master carpenter using 17th century techniques and hand planes. The home is surrounded by winding paths with woodland and riverside gardens of native trees, flowering shrubs, bog gardens and perennial gardens. Over 15,000 bulbs are planted throughout the landscape. A thriving beehive along one of the marsh nature paths is residence to thousands of little pollinators. Several trenches, gun pits, and ground impressions believed to be from the Civil War era lie peacefully around the barn and woodland paths. Sandi and Tim Lent, owners.
Wilton House
1425 Twiggs Ferry Rd., Hartfield
Wilton was completed in 1763 when it became the seat of the Churchill family and the center of their extensive landholdings in lower Middlesex County. This story-and-a-half gambrel roofed, T-shaped brick dwelling may not have been among the grandest of 18th century Virginia plantation houses, but it has its bragging rights. Wilton is a study in Georgian elegance and simplicity. Today, as a survivor, it boasts commanding authenticity. It retains much of its early historic fabric and is virtually unchanged in its external footprint and interior layout. Original heart pine floors---all in unvarnished condition---adorn six of its eight rooms. Early paint surfaces abound. Since being acquired from Preservation Virginia in 2011, the house has been ever so gently modernized. It is furnished with period American and English antiques, numerous "turkiye" rugs, and an array of American and European paintings c. 1900. The slave cabin to the east of the main house dates from the 1840s. The 19th century log cabin to the west was moved to its present site in the 1970s. Stephen M. Foster, owner.
1425 Twiggs Ferry Rd., Hartfield
Wilton was completed in 1763 when it became the seat of the Churchill family and the center of their extensive landholdings in lower Middlesex County. This story-and-a-half gambrel roofed, T-shaped brick dwelling may not have been among the grandest of 18th century Virginia plantation houses, but it has its bragging rights. Wilton is a study in Georgian elegance and simplicity. Today, as a survivor, it boasts commanding authenticity. It retains much of its early historic fabric and is virtually unchanged in its external footprint and interior layout. Original heart pine floors---all in unvarnished condition---adorn six of its eight rooms. Early paint surfaces abound. Since being acquired from Preservation Virginia in 2011, the house has been ever so gently modernized. It is furnished with period American and English antiques, numerous "turkiye" rugs, and an array of American and European paintings c. 1900. The slave cabin to the east of the main house dates from the 1840s. The 19th century log cabin to the west was moved to its present site in the 1970s. Stephen M. Foster, owner.
Foley Home
356 North Shore Rd., Locust Hill
This waterfront home, situated high on a bluff overlooking the Rappahannock River, was built in 1994 and was purchased by the current owners in 1995. They have enlarged the house, built a pool, pool house, outdoor kitchen, and an atrium. Inside the two story contemporary home, they have added granite countertops and maple floors. A stained glass door and windows were created by an artist from the community. Their home is decorated with many works made by local craftsmen. The main house boasts oversized windows with a view of the Rappahannock River towards Urbanna and the Chesapeake Bay. Its open floor plan creates light filled rooms decorated with casual furnishings. The pool house provides an eclectic mix of neon signs, souvenirs, and memorabilia. The gardens include native, annual, and perennial specimens and statuary. The environmentally friendly hardscaping, which protects the shoreline from erosion, serves as a model for other "Rivah Country" home owners. Bea and Tom Foley, owners.
356 North Shore Rd., Locust Hill
This waterfront home, situated high on a bluff overlooking the Rappahannock River, was built in 1994 and was purchased by the current owners in 1995. They have enlarged the house, built a pool, pool house, outdoor kitchen, and an atrium. Inside the two story contemporary home, they have added granite countertops and maple floors. A stained glass door and windows were created by an artist from the community. Their home is decorated with many works made by local craftsmen. The main house boasts oversized windows with a view of the Rappahannock River towards Urbanna and the Chesapeake Bay. Its open floor plan creates light filled rooms decorated with casual furnishings. The pool house provides an eclectic mix of neon signs, souvenirs, and memorabilia. The gardens include native, annual, and perennial specimens and statuary. The environmentally friendly hardscaping, which protects the shoreline from erosion, serves as a model for other "Rivah Country" home owners. Bea and Tom Foley, owners.
W.H. Sandwich
131 Virginia St., Urbanna
The "Old Customs House" built between 1754 and 1758 in what was the new town of Urbanna was the county seat and port of entry along Wormley's Creek. The Flemish bond brick walls below the water table are 18 inches thick. An interior window in the living room wall through which custom business may have been transacted remains. Until 1935, there was an 18th century vault in the basement. Around 1805, the building was remodeled and embellished with the current living room woodwork. The English basement with a brick floor is used as a kitchen, pantry, and dining room. After Governor and Mrs. Andrew Jackson Montague purchased the property in 1934, the dormers and slate roof were added. Sometimes this property is referred to as Fort Lott, thought to be the site of a Pre-Revolutionary earthen fort. There is a formal English boxwood garden transplanted from Gunston Hall, the plantation home of George Mason.
Sandwich, as the house is known today, was named after the Earl of Sandwich, the inventor of the sandwich and First Lord of the Admiralty during the American Revolution. His real name was John Montague. This home has been in the Montague family since 1934 and is in the fifth generation of use by the family. Information will be available related to the ongoing archaeological dig taking place at Sandwich. Bob Montague III and Bob and Patricia Montague IV, owners.
The tour is not handicap accessible except for Christ Church Parish, the Deltaville Maritime Museum, and the Middlesex County Museum. In case of rain and/or wet conditions, a home may be cancelled due to difficult parking. Tickets are not refundable.
131 Virginia St., Urbanna
The "Old Customs House" built between 1754 and 1758 in what was the new town of Urbanna was the county seat and port of entry along Wormley's Creek. The Flemish bond brick walls below the water table are 18 inches thick. An interior window in the living room wall through which custom business may have been transacted remains. Until 1935, there was an 18th century vault in the basement. Around 1805, the building was remodeled and embellished with the current living room woodwork. The English basement with a brick floor is used as a kitchen, pantry, and dining room. After Governor and Mrs. Andrew Jackson Montague purchased the property in 1934, the dormers and slate roof were added. Sometimes this property is referred to as Fort Lott, thought to be the site of a Pre-Revolutionary earthen fort. There is a formal English boxwood garden transplanted from Gunston Hall, the plantation home of George Mason.
Sandwich, as the house is known today, was named after the Earl of Sandwich, the inventor of the sandwich and First Lord of the Admiralty during the American Revolution. His real name was John Montague. This home has been in the Montague family since 1934 and is in the fifth generation of use by the family. Information will be available related to the ongoing archaeological dig taking place at Sandwich. Bob Montague III and Bob and Patricia Montague IV, owners.
The tour is not handicap accessible except for Christ Church Parish, the Deltaville Maritime Museum, and the Middlesex County Museum. In case of rain and/or wet conditions, a home may be cancelled due to difficult parking. Tickets are not refundable.
Source
The following source was used to obtain information on some of the houses: "Historical Buildings in Middlesex County 1650-1875"
Other places of interest in Middlesex County
Middlesex County Museum and Historical Society, Inc., 777 General Puller Highway, Saluda
Urbanna Scottish Factor Store, 140 Virginia St., Urbanna
Deltaville Maritime Museum and Holly Point Nature Park, 17147 General Puller Highway, Deltaville
F.D. Crockett Chesapeake Bay Oyster Buyboat
The Lower Church, 120 Lower Church Road, Hartfield
Urbanna Scottish Factor Store, 140 Virginia St., Urbanna
Deltaville Maritime Museum and Holly Point Nature Park, 17147 General Puller Highway, Deltaville
F.D. Crockett Chesapeake Bay Oyster Buyboat
The Lower Church, 120 Lower Church Road, Hartfield
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