Villa Crawford at Keswick Hall
Situated on a charming expanse of Virginia countryside, the more than 100-year-old Villa Crawford still recalls its classic, historic beginnings. The Villa was originally constructed in the Italian fashion as an estate for the Crawford family in 1912. Converted to a country club in 1948, the Villa Crawford served as the clubhouse until the 1970s, when the death of owner Knox Turnbull spurred the locale’s slow decline. Then, in 1990, Sir Bernard Ashley, widower of famed fashion and home goods designer Laura Ashley, purchased the property for $5.5 million, hoping to turn it into a “country house hotel” with the Villa Crawford at its center. Today, the original house maintains its rich, architectural touches: a grand staircase, elegant ceiling molding, and the original fireplaces.
“This private dining room is the perfect spot for an intimate meal for two to 12 people. The proportions of the room are pitch-perfect, the trim
and woodworking details are a nice scale, and the service is personalized. It’s like dining in your own home, if your home happens to be on the
scale of Keswick Hall!”—Jeff Dreyfus
Whilton Farm Garden and Arboretum
Set on a 350-acre estate, the 1914 Greenwood farmhouse belonging to Terrence and Courtnay Daniels plays only a small role in the beauty of the Greenwood property. A grove of white oaks surrounds Whilton, framing the view of more than 20 acres of private gardens. Garden rooms, maintained by Courtnay and her horticultural assistants, extend into the countryside, and the whole of it nods to a 20th century English country landscape—with a unique use of modern technology. According to a 2008 Wall Street Journal article, Courtnay “uses global positioning satellites to help her map her gardens and uses a custom-built computer program to help her catalog her 100,000 plants.” It’s an ever-changing and adaptable scene.
“Early 20th century Greenwood was a haven for estate gardens —Mirador, Rose Hill, Casa Maria—expressing the opulence and taste of the Arts and Crafts movement. Whilton Farm stands out today as both a beautiful arrangement of garden rooms set against the Blue Ridge Mountains, and as scientific horticultural collection of unusual trees and shrubs. Gertrude Jekyll was a singular influence on British horticulture in popularizing the Arts and Crafts garden, collaborating with architect Edwin Lutyens in designing renowned gardens that expressed dramatic color and textural combinations. Courtnay Daniels, the owner (with her husband, Terry) and garden master of Whilton, is Gertrude Jekyll in the Virginia countryside. She combines hands-on, technical horticultural skills with a discerning eye for design and a curiosity and knowledge of garden plants sometimes described as ‘obsessive.’ The gardens at Whilton include some 29 acres with at least 16 components or rooms, organized into themes based on plant varieties (Japanese maple garden, old shrub border), colors and textures (apricot, blue), or purpose (cutting garden, kitchen garden). Whilton is also a botanical museum of rare plants, a plantsman’s delight, scientifically curated by means of a custom-built computer program and featuring unique collections of conifers, magnolias, and Japanese maples. Virginia lags far behind adjacent states in the range and quality of landscape plants offered in the nursery trade. We lack activist botanical gardens and arboreta, and, unlike North Carolina, no charismatic horticulturist has risen to the challenge of popularizing new plant introductions that will thrive here. Whilton, which seeks to share its precious collection, is a transformative garden. Open only to garden-oriented groups by appointment.”—Peter Hatch
Photo: WG Clark
WG Clark’s house
Architect WG Clark’s single-occupant home, which sits on a steeply sloped lot at the fringes of Charlottesville’s Rugby area, is an exercise in restraint. It’s constructed of concrete block inside and out, and while it takes subtle inspiration from traditional Jeffersonian design, it’s classically Clark: situated in an imperfect landscape, utilizing interesting materials and visually tricking visitors. (The home has a relatively small footprint, but once inside, the space appears much larger.) The closer you look, the more perfect its clean, modern design appears. And while the two-story north wall opens up to the hubbub of Barrack’s Shopping Center below, translucent glass diffuses the chaos, supporting a tranquil privacy that characterizes this remarkable home.
“Classic WG—perfection in the details, every aspect fully considered.”—Allison Ewing