WINTER 2021 EDITION
Personalities, Celebrations and Sporting Pursuits
Country ZEST is presenting The Orchard,
a real estate listing from Cricket Bedford from Thomas and Talbot.
This property is located on 4.82 acres in the village of Middleburg with a park like atmosphere of sweeping lawns and large pond in the back with massive specimen trees of Willow Oak, English Beech, Pin Oak, Magnolia, Weeping Cherry and American Hollys.
The Orchard at 501 West Washington Street in Middleburg was built in 1950, designed by George Howe of Howe & Foster in Washington, D.C. and built by re-known master W.J. Hanback (who built homes for the Mellons, the Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville and estate homes like Oakendale in The Plains.
This 1950 brick house is nestled discreetly along Route 50 at 501 West Washington Street heading west from Middleburg. It was designed by George Howe of Washington, D. C. and built by master builder W.J. Hanback. The house sits on 4.82 acres, one of the largest buildable lots “in town” with incredible specimen trees and a large pond in the back.
The current owner has noted: “the property was always called The Orchard because it actually WAS an orchard. When the house was built, there were apple trees everywhere. There was also the remnant of an old depression in a ring around the property that I always assumed was an exercise track for the horses next door in the barn behind the neighboring old house.
“Emmet Roberts kept race horses there; I don’t remember whose horses they were. Jack Skinner’s name comes to mind, but I’m not sure they were his. But, Emmet used to go out to another training track off The Plains Road past the Clark Farm (now Boxwood) to gallop the horses and occasionally took me with him. I remember riding and being dumped by a horse named “Firecracker.”
The parents of the current owner were close friends of Rev. and Mrs. Mayers and Miss Foffy (Katherine) Woodward who lived at Vine Hill, now part of the Sporting Library and once served as the offices of The Chronicle of the Horse.
“Foffy had an antique shop there. The house was full of beautiful antique china,” the owner related recently. “The house belonged to Miss Foffy, and she told stories of what it was like to live there during the Civil War!”
The neighboring Reverend Mayers kept goats in the fenced field between his house and The Orchard. He frequently sent goat milk over.
“When the Mayers learned that my parents wanted to build a house, they offered to sell the orchard to them. It must have been in the late 1940s; the date on the architectural plans is 1948. When the apple trees bloomed all around the property, they were lovely.”
All of the trees now on the property were planted by the current owner and her mother. “We were extremely interested in the landscape. My father cultivated the large vegetable garden. And, he loved taking roses grown by my mother to display in the Coach Stop.”
This is the first-time offering of this stunning property in town large parcel. The house features four bedrooms, three full baths, charming eat-in kitchen, spacious living room with a fireplace, a dining area and an attached screened porch. The combination living and dining room have two large bay windows overlooking a flagstone terrace and the vast lawn area behind with a large pond.
There is also a den on this floor and a full bath, a space that could also be used as a first-floor bedroom. To one side of the kitchen is a mudroom and laundry room with a side entrance.
Gorgeous details include a spiral staircase, built-in bookshelves throughout, two fireplaces and hardwood floors. The lower level is fully finished with space for an exercise room and a separate family room with a brick fireplace. Two storage closets, the mechanical room and a walk-in cedar closet complete that level. Off one side of the house is a fenced vegetable garden and extensive garden beds surround the home.
Even more remarkable are the mature specimen trees that dot the lawns. They include English Beech, Pin Oak, Magnolia, Willow Oak, Weeping Cherry and American Hollys.
The Orchard is listed at $ 1.95 million by Cricket Bedford at Thomas and Talbot. Details: cricket@thomasandtalbot.com or 540-229-3201.
Be sure to watch the video: https://vimeo.com/460928267
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