Llangollen Farm, Estate of the Day
A friend pointed out this classic American estate. Located in the Virginia Hunt Country, Llangollen is available for only the second time in seventy-five years. This farm sits on over one thousand one hundred acres and has an eighteenth century residence. The home is the archetypal home of the gentleman farmer with wood-paneled walls, curving staircases and crystal chandeliers. Designed for the equestrian, the property features a horseshoe-shaped barn that is nearly as grand as the house itself. The home has been home to a major horse breeding center and a Black Angus breeding operation. The estate is one of the grandest in this region, which is rich in American history. It is listed at $22 million. After the jump, the ideal home for the modern day Jefferson.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Spectacular Bid Sep 6th 2006 1:37PM
It really is a showcase estate in Virginia's Hunt Country of Fauquier Co. The former "Liz" Whitney Tippett (nee Mary Elizabeth Altemus, then Whitney, then Tippett) estate is now owned by Roy & Lila Ash who bought it from possible development in an auction 1989. Roy also own Huntland Farms, which too is on the market for $17.8 million. Together the farms (plus another) are noted for raising beef cattle on 1,800 acres with award winning management.
http://www.armfieldmillerripley.com/properties/huntland/index.html
Mr Ash is also a resident of Los Angeles, CA where today he's cut back to just his Ash Capital Partnership firm. His bio shows his business success with Litton Industries and significant government connections:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Ash
I would correct the above statement that the estate is "designed for the equestrian" as that is misleading. The property is fine for race horses, steeplechasers and a number of carriage horse events have been held there. However "equestrian" tends to suggest jumper/hunter/dressage of which no indoor or outdoor arena exists; the horseshoe styled main stable is designed for racers Mrs. Whitney had there.
CK Dexter-Haven Sep 6th 2006 6:10PM
A question for Spec Bid...isn't this north of Moseby Highway??? in Loudoun County...???...as you apparently know, there is lots of room for an indoor or outdoor arena. I have been there a time or ten over the years and even Armfield/Miller consider it a pretty spectacular place...
Spectacular Bid Sep 7th 2006 4:44PM
CK Dexter-Haven, for purposes unknown the estate is listed as being Upperville. So be that for tax purposes (or whatever) it puts the sprawling property technically out of Loudoun Co. However we agree roughly on the manor house location.
It is one of the nicest offerings, from an imposing presentation, to come on the market in years. The last that I can recall of this calibre was the former Walter Chrysler estate "North Wales" in Warrenton, bought by Dallas-based Michael Prentiss. To a lesser extent, due to its terrible shape at the time of sale, the nearby "Ayrshire Farm" bought by Cisco founder Sandy Lerner.
A lot of nice residence have come on the market in recent years which are 'smaller' (but still very pricy) from "St. Brides" in Upperville to Mary Schwab's "Stoneleigh" on the edge of Middleburg to 1990's sales such as Sen. Warner's "Atoka", Jack Kent Cooke's "Kent Farms" and John Cooke's more recent purchase of "Boxwood".
At $22M I think the property is priced quite right with other completed sales in the area like Bolinvar (~ $16M) which had less acreage and a a notch lower prestige/history factor.
CK Dexter-Haven Sep 7th 2006 8:16PM
Yes Spec, I am quite up-to-speed on all of those houses having been in each of them for social events at one time or another...my favorite remains Ayershire. (prior to the current ownership and the ensuing physical changes to the house.) Second would be St. Brides...
There is also Canterbury down in Warrenton, currently being flipped...but you know that already too I'll bet......from what I can tell, the "flippers" have yet to do any real damage.
CK
Spectacular Bid Sep 10th 2006 10:42PM
CK, 'St. Brides' today since the restoration of the late 1990's/2000 era is magnificent. Indeed 'Canterbury' bought by M/M Jack Andrews last year is being sadly flipped. Sure they've trimmed trees, removed ivy, added some fencing but then putting it back on the market for almost double the price paid? Come now, hunt country is not to be used like Fairfax Co. - Paul Mellon must be rolling in his grave! I truly hope the threats to subdivide the estate for less money never come to pass.
One hopes land restrictions are in place on Llangollen.
Spectacular Bid Oct 2nd 2006 6:24PM
As of September 30th (2006) the property has been placed under contract for sale. We shall see what new money will arrive to the Middleburg/Upperville scene.
Spectacular Bid Oct 4th 2006 5:44PM
And the reported buyer is ::drum roll please:: TomKat. As reported in the DC papers the would-be buyers are Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
Fellow actor and former co-star (Day's of Thunder) Robert Duvall has lived in (relatively near-by) The Plains, VA since the 1980's
Annie Oct 16th 2006 11:18AM
Is this property technically part of Fauquier county?
NHReston Nov 4th 2006 10:31PM
Llangollen Farm is priced at $22million, if there is a buyer, and Tom Cruise is suspected, then he most likely is buying it under another name. I just hope that the Farm Manager, Mr. Wilkens, gets to keep his job there running the farm cattle making that long-term historic Llangollen Farm carry on its legacy as a conservation effort in the Upperville, VA area. If Cruise comes into Upperville, so what, Duvall is there, so is Crump and Ayshire Farms owner, all of which are multi-million or billionaires, I believe. If the agent for the buyer says it is not Cruise, then I can't wait to find out who does end up with this DIAMOND of a piece of land and house and barns!!! The new owner can't shut down Trappe Road now can they? Which means that those day-trippers can still drive and look and wish that they could have something like that of their own one day! We still want to SEE places like that so whomever the new owner is, keep in mind, that people driving by are looking in awe with delusions of grandeur of their own to hope to have something like that one day before they die. Llangollen has a long history, read about it, drive by there and take a look, it isn't hard to find. The road is public, at least right now it is. Whomever buys it might have enough money to make it private? What a LOSS for us gawkers!