Category: Holiday House Tour

142 West Boscawen St.
Christ Episcopal Church
House Chairman: Chris Ferguson
Christ Episcopal Church has been in continuous use as a sacred site in Winchester since its construction in 1828. The Gothic Revival-style building is dominated by the three-story bell tower crowned with finials and quatrefoil balustrades. A pointed-arch accented with a flower motif surrounds the double-leaf paneled wood doors. Of particular interest and beauty are the stained glass windows, installed in the late 19th century by the Gernhart Company of Baltimore.

Before entering the church, visit the side yard which contains the tomb of Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia. The original church building was situated at the corner of Loudoun and Boscawen Streets on land given by Lord Fairfax. In 1827, the Parish took the name Christ Church and began the relocation process to the present location on Boscawen Street. The fashionable new church was built with the proceeds of the sale of the original church.

The interior of the church is lined with plaques commemorating rectors and parishioners from the 18th to 20th centuries. In the chancel, a glass top case holds silver and pewter pieces; one of the oldest being a pewter communion cup inscribed “Frederick Parish 1746.”

Visit Christ Episcopal Church online for more information about their history and parish programs at www.christchurchwinchester.org. Further history may be obtained from the book The History of Christ Church, Frederick Parish, by Katherine L. Brown, et. al., available at the Handley Regional Library.

109 Amherst St.
House Chairman: Thomas “Wilke” Green
This charming office was once part of the Federal-style dwelling facing North Braddock Street erected circa 1820 by Samuel Brown. From 1856 until the Civil War, the building was home to a school for girls run by Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Powell. The ell containing 109 Amherst Street was later converted to a single-family dwelling. The whimsical asymmetry of the façade draws the eye to the single-leaf, paneled wood door flanked by five-light sidelights.

106 North Washington St.
House Chairman: Mark Lore
Constructed in stages from the early 19th century on, the present house is the home of Harry and Debbie Smith. Its external appearance is typical of late 19th century Victorian remodeling with German wood siding, bracketed eaves, and a center gable highlighted with fish scale wood shingles. A half-hipped porch roof supported by fluted Tuscan wood columns covers the front entry.

The paneled wood front door with lights, topped by a three-light wood transom, opens to an entry hall with living room to the north and family/sitting room to the south. Continuing through the family room leads you to leading to the dining room, which is the site of the original small stone dwelling on this lot that was built in the early 1800s. The stairways, mantels and pine flooring are original elements from the 19th century enlargement of the house.

Harry and Debbie Smith were honored with a PHW Award of Merit in 2009 for the renovation of their home, which including stripping the pebbledash stucco siding from the exterior to reveal the original wood siding beneath. Before you enter this home on the tour, be sure to note the slightly asymmetrical facade that resulted from the expansion of two bays to the north.

302 West Boscawen Street
House Chairman: Bruce Downing
The professional office of J. Douglas McCarthy & Associates is constructed in the Queen Anne style with Eastlake influences. Below the spired slate roof and ornamented eaves, a porch supported by chamfered posts leads to the double-leaf front door.Through the front door, guests are greeted in the entry hall by a classic gilded female figure atop a tall incised oak newel post. Her upraised arms support a milk glass globe lighting the oak staircase with its turned double balusters and wide gradual steps.

Flanking the entry hall are double oak doors leading to the parlor and the dining room. Both rooms are lit by front rectangular bays with floor- to-ceiling 2/4 sash windows. The parlor is highlighted by a grand walnut over-mantel with beveled mirrors backing bric-a-brac shelves. The dining room fireplace mantel, though less ornamental, is carved with turnings and simplified geometric designs in the English tradition of Charles Locke Eastlake. The carvings of this mantel repeat the design of the front double doors.

This engaging structure is located on the site of the Winchester Medical College. The first College opened in 1827 but was closed shortly after. The second attempt in 1847 proved more successful and the College remained in operation until the beginning of the Civil War. The buildings were put to the torch in 1862 by Union General Nathaniel Banks as retaliation for the dissection of cadavers from John Brown’s Raid. Charles L. Crum subsequently purchased the lot to construct his residence, the current building, in 1881.

While we wait for tickets to go on sale later this month, PHW will be releasing information on the tour stops for this year’s event on December 3 and 4. We have a fabulous selection of homes, offices, and sacred sites for you to visit this year.

324 West Boscawen Street
The Cabell House
House Chairman: Patrick Farris
This Late Federal-style dwelling was built for Mrs. Elizabeth W. Cabell around 1843. The clean lines of the facade are accented with rosetted corner blocks on the window lintels. Delicate fluted columns in the manner of Minard Lefever surround the front entrance.

The stately symmetry of the Federal Style exterior is seen in the two parlor rooms flanking the entry hall with its main staircase composed of delicately turned balusters and a boxy, geometric patterned newel post.

Large 5-paneled doors with box locks open into each room with classical fireplaces made with Winchester knife-shelf mantels supported by Tuscan columns. In the center of one fireplace is a carved classical urn panel and on the other is an American eagle in profile. The west room has a cast iron decorative stove insert.

This home is featured in Garland R. Quarles’ book The Story of One Hundred Old Homes in Winchester, Virginia. If you fall in love with this property on the tour, it is currently for sale, just waiting for a new owner to use the building for office space or convert it back to residential use.

It’s that time again! PHW’s 35th Holiday House Tour will be held on December 3 and 4. The Preview Party will kick off the event from 6-9 PM on December 3. Daylight tours on December 4 will run from 1-5 PM. The Bough and Dough Shop will be open that weekend at the Winchester Little Theater for your holiday decorating and gifting needs.

Tickets will go on sale in about two and a half weeks. Stay tuned for more info on the tour stops, ticket sales, and more in the interim!

On-street parking will be limited in the neighborhood for the tour.  There is no on-street parking along Fairmont Avenue. However, you may park for free in the rear yard at the Centre Friends Meeting House, the site of the Bough and Dough Shop. All homes are within reasonable walking distance from this location.

The Braddock Street and Loudoun Street parking garages are also located near the neighborhood of the tour.  Both garages are open 24 hours  a day. The Braddock Street garage is free to park on Sunday from 8 AM to 6AM.

303 Fairmont Avenue
Belvedere
Home of Mrs. Joseph Manuel
Franklin Wright, House Chair

Mrs. Manuel’s home will be open for the Preview Party on Saturday evening only.

This grand High Victorian Italianate style home, known as Belvedere, was built in 1876- 1877 by Dr. Philip W. Boyd. In the house’s 144 year history only four other families have resided in Belvedere. Built of imported soft tone English brick, the house exhibits a glorious array of Victorian ornamentation. The three story central tower, edged with alternating brick quoins, has paired round arched windows shaded by a canopy. The front porch with its decorative trim shelters the front door with its beveled, leaded glass in sidelights and transom. Upon entering the house, the high first floor ceilings create a feeling of grandeur for the Christmas tree in the entry hall. A spruce tree decorated with prisms and placed between two mirrored piers in the ballroom spreads the wonder of the holidays to all visitors.

35 West Piccadilly Street
George Reed House
Home of the Rev. and Mrs. Dan McCoig
John Barker and Emily Skiles, House Chairs
Pat Jackson, Decorator

The “Rev.” George Reed House was built circa 1787. Reed, born in Sligo, Ireland, immigrated to Winchester in 1787 where he established himself as a coppersmith, and later served as mayor of Winchester and high sheriff of Frederick County. The main wing is a solid example of a late-Georgian/ early American stone house. The main wing has two rooms on the first floor, two rooms on the second floor, and two dormer rooms on the third floor. The west and south wings, both of which are two stories, are brick and were completed before 1810. Nearly all of the architectural woodwork is original. Especially notable are the mantles in the east and west front parlors, the central stairwell, and the original back door. Over its 200-plus year history, the house has been a boarding house, an art gallery, a business office, and a bank. The McCoigs restored the home to a private residence in 2008, receiving a PHW Award of Merit for their efforts in 2009.

311 Fairmont Avenue
Fair Mount
Home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Helm
Bruce Downing, House Chair
Brookie Phillips, Decorator

Large boxwoods guide visitors up the slate walkway to one of Winchester’s earliest houses. Constructed in the first decade of the 1800s, this house is an excellent example of a transitional Georgian-style to Federal-style dwelling. Fair Mount was built for Joseph Tidball by a local carpenter named Lewis Barnett. The two-story white stucco main structure is flanked by one and one half story service wings which were added shortly after the central portion was built. The graceful interior woodwork illustrates the influence of national tastes on local builders. The first-floor plan is comprised of four rooms with a lateral stair in the main hall, which is in contrast to the highly formal and sophisticated five-bay Georgian-style façade. Although the house was remodeled in 1929 using the Colonial Revival style, it has retained many of its original features and has great integrity. Fair Mount is known in recent times as the birthplace Preservation of Historic Winchester. The home was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2003 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.