Trinity Episcopal Church - Upperville

Upperville’s Trinity Episcopal Church (membership 350), boasts a stunning cluster of architecturally distinctive structures on a 35-acre campus adjacent to Route 50 in the heart of Virginia Hunt Country (Fauquier County), forty miles west of Washington, DC. The church itself (the third on the site), the Parish Hall, and the church offices were the gift of philanthropists and local residents Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon to the parish. These three buildings, clustered around a cobblestone courtyard, were begun in 1951, and the first services in the new structure were held on September 28, 1960. The architect was H. Page Cross, whose design is a free adaptation of the style of 12th-century French churches.

The fabric of the church is native sandstone (quarried in nearby Warrenton), although less brittle limestone was used for more intricately carved elements. The master builder was W. J. Hanback of Warrenton, a noted stone contractor. All the stone and woodwork, except the most complex carving, was done by local craftspeople, who made their own stone-cutting tools at a forge on the property, in the tradition of medieval craftsmen. Each stone was cut by hand, instead of using modern machine cutting.

Photo: 
Handsome stonework frames 
the entrance to the Parish Hall.












 


The bells in the tower, which were made in England, are dedicated to these craftsmen; inscribed on the largest bell:

“Dedicated to the men of this countryside, who by their skill of hands built this church.”

The stained glass windows were made by Joep Nicolas of the Netherlands, and the pipe organ is a Boston Aeolian-Skinner (designed by legendary Joseph Whiteford) with three manuals and 55 ranks of pipes. Ornamental ironwork is from P.A. Fiebiger, father and son, of New York City (execution of hand forged iron railings, gates, grilles, fanlights, chandeliers, lecterns, hardware).

The oak pew end carvings are the work of the late master Heinz Warneke and depict plants native to the countryside.

There are candelabra from 16th-century Austria and 18th-century France, and other candlesticks from Poland, England, Spain and Colonial Virginia.













































Noteworthy:

In the 19th century horses and wagons created heavy traffic on what is today’s Rt. 50 (John Mosby Highway), traveling back and forth through Upperville on the way between Winchester and Middleburg, making maintenance of the road a real chore. The law required that adult male citizens who lived within three miles of the road contribute six days a year to road repair work (the law was in effect until 1894). Since each county in Virginia was responsible for the upkeep of its own roads, Loudoun County said the road was in Fauquier County and vice-versa.

A minuscule stone lending library sits on the campus of Trinity Episcopal Church.





















In the cemetery behind the church several notable people are buried:

From 1985-97 Jack Kent Cooke (1912-1997) was sole owner of the NFL Washington Redskins, who won 3 Super Bowls (1982, 1987, 1991). He also owned the NBA Lakers and NHL Kings in Los Angeles and built the Los Angeles Forum in 1967.

Industrialist and financier Andrew Mellon (1855-1937) was Secretary of the Treasury (1921-1932), serving under Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. In 1937, he gave to the nation his magnificent art collection, plus $10 million, to build the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Upon leaving the Treasury Department and President Hoover's Cabinet in February 1932, Mellon accepted the post of U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain.

Paul Mellon (1907-1999), philanthropist, art collector, and noted horse breeder, was the son of Andrew Mellon. He established the Yale Center for British Art and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. His horses won three Triple Crown races and one Kentucky Derby (Sea Hero in 1992) and two Belmont Stakes (Quadrangle in 1964 and Arts and Letters in 1969). He donated land and funds to construct the Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center, the Middleburg Training Track, the National Sporting Library, Trinity Episcopal Church, and donated 1,618 acres to the state of Virginia to establish Sky Meadows State Park, rescuing the land from developers. The park has one of the most beautiful views in Virginia. He bequeathed his rare collection of books and manuscripts to be divided between Yale University, the Virginia Historical Society, and the University of Virginia so they would be accessible to the general public.

Elizabeth Cronin (1940-2004) was a Department of State employee in Tehran, Iran, when the U.S. Embassy was seized by Islamic militants in 1979. She and 51 others were held hostage for 444 days until their release in early 1981, during the exact hour that Ronald Reagan was delivering his inauguration speech. Tragically, Elizabeth Cronin was killed in a horseback riding accident.

Sky Meadows State Park

Sky Meadows State Park straddles land in Fauquier and Clarke counties on an eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The name Sky Meadows comes from former owner Robert Hadow, who named the property "Skye Farm" after a site in his native Scotland.

Totaling more than 1,800 acres, the park has 12 miles of hiking trails and offers direct access to the Appalachian Trail, which crosses Rt. 50 just west of the village of Paris. The park is a three-day hike from Harper’s Ferry, WV, and two days from Shenandoah National Park. Close to northern Virginia's center of equestrian culture, it includes riding trails, as well; two bridle trails traverse six miles of paths (separate from the hiking trails). There are facilities for pond fishing and picnicking.

Annually the Delaplane Strawberry Festival is held here on the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

The park is in Delaplane, less than two miles south of Paris, Va., via Rt. 50 to Rt. 17 South (or seven miles north of I-66, Exit 23 on Rt. 17 North). Although the park lands are on both sides of Rt. 17, the park entrance proper is on Rt. 710. There are no cabins or campsites with hookups at this park, but primitive camping is allowed by reservation.

The historic Mount Bleak House not only serves as the park's visitor center and office, it is furnished as a middle-class farmhouse, giving visitors a glimpse of middle-class life during the 1850s. From the rear of the house is a spectacular panoramic view of mountains and rolling hills. Picnic tables, restrooms, and gift shop are located behind Mount Bleak House.

Mount Bleak House, built in 1843, is open for guided tours on weekends and holiday afternoons from mid-April through October. In 1731, Lord Fairfax sold a 7,883-acre tract of land just south of Ashby’s Gap to James Ball. Isaac Settle of nearby Paris bought land from the descendants and in 1812 built a large estate house called “Belle Grove.” In 1842, he sold Belle Grove farm to his son in-law, Lewis Edmonds, who subsequently sold 148 acres to Settle’s son, Abner, who built Mount Bleak House. In 1868 Mount Bleak became the property of George Slater, who had been in Mosby’s Rangers during the Civil War. Slater and his son lived there for 55 years.

In 1975, Paul Mellon of Upperville purchased and later donated this 1,132-acre tract to the state for development as a state park, sparing the land from real estate development. Another 248 acres were acquired in 1987, thus providing access to the Appalachian Trail. In 1991, Mr. Mellon donated another 248 acres, designated the Lost Mountain Bridle Trail Area.

Click image to enlarge:

Sky Meadows State Park
540.592.3556
www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/sky.shtml

Photo above courtesy Rob Tabor

Hunter's Head Tavern - Upperville

Open for dinner daily; afternoon tea Tue-Wed-Thu;
Lunch Tues-Sunday; 540-592-9020
Outdoor seating available in good weather.
http://www.huntersheadtavern.com/

Sandy Lerner’s Hunter’s Head Tavern is housed in a 250-year-old structure that sits directly on Rt. 50 in Upperville (Fauquier County). It serves a traditional English pub menu that features on-tap beers, wines, and locally raised organic farm products from nearby Ayrshire Farm (also owned by Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems). The ordering system is true British tavern style. Guests place an order at the bar’s open Dutch door and then take a numbered wooden spoon to be placed in the empty wine bottle sitting on the table; servers look for your number and deliver your order directly to your table in one of the atmospheric tavern rooms or outside on the terrace, in good weather.

Photo: Lerner's 800 acre Ayrshire Farm

This tavern became the first restaurant in the nation to receive an animal rights group's certification for a menu with humanely raised and processed fare. The "Certified Humane Raised and Handled" label assures consumers that meat, poultry, egg, and dairy products have been produced according to precise standards for humane farm animal treatment.

The Old Carr House, now the site of the Hunter’s Head tavern, began life about 1750 as a log cabin built by Scotsman Steven McPherson. The history of this house is essentially the history of the village of Upperville, which was founded by, and originally named for, Joseph Carr, a grandson of John Carr, who had emigrated from Ireland in the 1750s. Joseph Carr purchased McPherson’s farm, mill and log cabin, and later opened a general store. By 1798 the town was named after him: Carrtown. At Carr’s death in 1828, he owned some 2,500 acres in the Upperville area. As his businesses flourished, Joseph Carr moved his family from the present tavern structure to a larger brick house across the road, hence the historical name, the Old Carr House.


At the time of its last purchase in 1997, the upper-story addition to the original cabin (the east end of the building) was falling into the first floor because the original, one-story cabin’s ceiling beams in the east room were inadequate to support the second floor, added sometime in the early 1800s. The central portion of the 1790s addition (the area which today includes the bar and west dining rooms) was structurally unviable due to the removal of most of the roof ridge beam at some point in the house’s history. According to one builder who worked on the restoration, “I’ve been in this business for thirty-five years and I have no idea why it’s still standing.” The house had settled so much that most of the windows were inoperable and the doors unable to close; the stone foundations and the fireplace in the west room had to be completely rebuilt.

The structure retains its original log cabin walls, fireplaces, mantels and, on the upper stories, its floors. It is rumored that the heavy gate into the walled garden is from the old Upperville jail. The house is reputed to be home to several ghosts. One, a middle-aged colonial man dressed in brown, seems to be a happy spirit, possibly because the old Carr House is now an ordinary serving food and drink, after almost 100 years as a tenant house, antique shop, and office.

Tips:
1. Do not refuse the complimentary bread and butter. Superior!
2. It's easy to drive right past this tavern. If you see the Trinity Episcopal church on your right, you've gone too far. Driving west on Rt. 50, look for a bright red London-style phone both on the right. It's at the entrance to the parking lot. Enter the tavern through the back door terrace area.
3. Owner Sandy Lerner's hobby is jousting in period costume, so she's good with a spear. Her efforts to open a restaurant in Upperville were repeatedly blocked, particularly by the monied horsy set. Consequently, fox hunters are not allowed to cross her property, and her disdain for them is reflected in the restaurant's name: Hunter's Head.

Below: Turkey pot pie and organic meat loaf.