Check Out Elizabeth Taylor’s $8 Million Farm in Middleburg, VA
The home where Elizabeth Taylor lived with her husband Senator John Warner in Middleburg, VA was sold for just over $8 million. This means that the property doubled in price in just over 30 years. Warner sold the house in 1994, twelve years after his divorce from Taylor. The manor house named Atoka Farm was constructed in 1860 and a price of $8.17 million was achieved for the home, and the land that also formed part of the estate. The house is constructed in the architectural style that would be expected from this time period. A neighbor paid $1 million for fifty acres of land which became adjoined to their property. Another buyer than paid $7.17 million for the house and the remaining 350 acres.
Taylor and Warner lived in the house for six years between 1976 and 1982. Her marriage to Warner was her seventh and they came to live in this Virginia farmhouse that he already owned. Top Ten Real Estate Deals state that Middleburg is at the center of the renowned horse country that exists in Virginia. It is said that Taylor developed a keen interest in horse riding while she lived on the farm. She was happy here because it reminded her of growing up in England. A lot of the features of the home would have been in place at the time the couple lived there, as the basic design and layout of the estate has never changed.
The manor itself was constructed using field stone and is set over three levels. There are five bedrooms in the property and the house measures 7000 square feet. There is also an indoor pool within the manor house and it has a seamed tin roof. Many of the rooms on the ground floor have original fireplaces, but they have been updated with a modern decor. That being said, there are rooms that have distinct styles within the house. One example of this is the living room which has the flooring, walls and ceiling beams that all use the same wooden tones. The property is well maintained on both the exterior and interior, and so the new owners would have very little work to do on the home.
According to Realtor, the home has been designed to let in as much sunlight as possible. There are several rooms with large windows that fill the property with natural light. This is combined with high ceilings and hardwood floors that makes the large rooms look and feel even bigger. If you look at the front of the home, you can see that the exterior is dominated by large windows with white frames. This is the same for both the ground and first floors. Windows have also been added to the top floor of the home so that the attic is also able to be used for living space.
As well as the house itself, there are several other buildings on the estate that were included in the purchase price. The farm buildings are still standing and this includes a large barn that has a gambrel roof and red exterior walls. All of the farm buildings have the same red walls and they are all located closely together. There is also a guest house and a log cabin that is located on the property. The log cabin would have been one of the first structures that was built on this land but today it has been strengthened with a mosaic stone wall and tin roof. No details have been released about who has bought the property or how they intend to use it. However, they certainly have a lot of options. The farm buildings are all large and could be used for accommodation if anything in addition to the guest house and log cabin is required.
There are split-rail fences that are located all around the estate. These fences line the pathways and driveways on the estate. This allows people to still get good views of the buildings as they travel around the estate. There are also several stacked stone walls around the property and these fit in well with the home and the other buildings that are located here. The fences and walls are both kept at a relatively low level and they serve more of a decorative purpose than a practical one.
Other features of the property include a tennis court and half a mile of Goose Creek frontage. Goose Creek is a tributary river for the Potamac and it has a lot of historical importance in Virginia. Water from the river would have been used extensively when the property was a working farm. Today it is a space where you can just sit and relax as you watch the water flow past. There is a lot of outdoor space to explore here without needing to leave the boundaries of the property. Virtual Globe Trotting has an aerial view of the property on their site. This image makes it clear just how much open space there is at the farm.
Another unique feature of this property is the boxwood shrubs that can be found all around the estate. While these are common plants, some of them at this property are believed to have been in place for over one hundred years. These small shrubs are around the same size as the fences and walls and so they fit in well with the exterior of the home. There is no reason why these shrubs will not be around for many years to come if they are well looked after. The architectural styles of many different generations are visible at this property, and you can really feel the history of the place. Apart from Warner and Taylor, another famous owner of the farm was Jospeh Hoge, a Quaker that was involved in the underground railroad that help thousands of slaves to flee to Canada. There is no doubt that the current owner of Atoka Farm have a beautiful property that has a lot of stories to tell.