Category: Holiday House Tour

The Home of Joe and Amy Ressa
House Chairman: Mark Lore
House Decorator: Amy Ressa

Between the many Colonial Revival style houses on this street are tucked in delightful eclectic examples of styles popular in the early 20th century, such as this Tudor Revival style home. Built in 1926, the first year of the Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, this house exhibits the variety of the style with an asymmetrical brick façade defined with a high pitched shingled roof, front half-timber gable dormer and protruding front gabled façade. The round arched vertical board front entry with large strap hinges is decorated with a delicately painted bird in a wreath. Once inside the visitor enters a vestibule with tile flooring and an entry way with a 5-tier wedding cake chandelier, parquet floor and plaster moldings which continue into the living and dining rooms. Since milk was delivered fresh in the 1920s, the kitchen has a small milk delivery cupboard in the wall. In the front of this home are first story small paned French doors which open onto a front patio surrounded by a brick pillar and wrought iron railing.

Thorn Hill Manor
The Home of George and Kim Craft
House Chairman Doug Watson

It is believed that the nucleus of Thorn Hill Manor was built in 1787 by Robert White, Jr. on land acquired from James Wood’s widow, Mary, on September 14, 1786. Mr. White was a private in the Continental Army until receiving a serious wound in 1778, sending him back home to Winchester where he began his studies in law with his uncle, Alexander White. After a stellar legal career he was appointed judge of the General Court of Virginia in 1793. He died in 1831 and by 1840 his home began to be passed down to some of the accomplished families in the area such as Joseph Tuley, who built the Tuleries in Clarke County, William Byrd, son of Colonel Richard E. Bird, W. Alexander Baker, City Council member and city treasurer, and Dr. Monford D. Custer, Jr. The original Federal-style house was probably one room deep, three rooms across and two and half stories high. It is believed that the intricate woodwork, mantel and crown molding in the dining room was carved by Hessian workmen who remained in this country after the Revolutionary War. There is evidence of a fire c.1850 after which the house was rebuilt adding two front rooms, lengthening the center hallway and adding the Greek Revival front door with its transom and sidelights. The grand two-story portico with its full pediment and Ionic columns was added c.1920 by Alexander Baker. In 1952 while Dr. and Mrs. Monford Custer were doing renovations, they came upon a message left by Nathaniel B. Meade regarding troop movements during the Civil War.

The Home of Susu Bearov
House Chairman Sharon Collette
House Decorator Pat Jackson

This house once belonged to Peyton Marshall, Winchester Clerk of the Court from 1940 until 1975. Built in 1910, supposedly by Mr. Marshall’s grandfather, William, it was the first house to stand on this block. Its symmetrical brick façade is opened by 26 sash windows with round arch brick lintels and louvered blinds. On the north and south sides of the house there are 2-story bays, one with slate shingles in the attic gable. In the front of the house a decorative tripartite window in the gabled dormer lights the attic. The full front Tuscan-columned porch with denticulated entablature has a small paneled pediment which accents the entry way to a vestibule opened by a double paneled front door. Once inside, guests are welcomed into a large hallway with a prominent multi-level staircase. The first floor plan is repeated on the second floor. Interesting features of the house are living room pocket doors, a working kitchen that originally had no cabinetry, and a back staircase that climbs from the basement all the way to the attic.

The Home of Gina Sullivan and Steve Surber
House Chairman Tina Marie Scully
House Decorator Donna Kitchin

Look for the large, ancient curb-side sycamore tree and you will know you have arrived at a home that exemplifies the vernacular Colonial Revival style. Built in 1918, when Americans were looking for correct proportions and details from our country’s early history, this brick home epitomizes the symmetrical, well balanced façade so loved by the turn of the century architects. An eaves front shingled roof protects the symmetrical brick façade with its six-over-one sash windows. The full front one-story porch supported by fluted Tuscan columns has a square spindle railing, wrought iron hand railing and brick stairs which welcome the visitor to the first floor center hall entry with transom and sidelights.

The Surber-Sullivan home features original artwork by local artists.

The Home of Wilborn and Martha Roberson
House Chairman: Mary Margaret Wise
House Decorator: Pamela DeBergh

This Dutch Colonial Revival-style dwelling is an excellent example of domestic architecture built along South Stewart Street in the early twentieth century. Likely constructed circa 1905, this two-story, rectangular-plan home sits on a stone foundation, is clad in stucco, and is topped by a gambrel roof with overhanging eaves. An exterior end stucco-clad chimney with a corbeled cap rises at the north elevation of the home. The windows, a favorite feature of the current owners, are set in wood surrounds, flanked by louvered shutters and consist of one-over-one double-hung wood sashes with a distinctive diamond-light upper sash and a single-light lower sash. The home’s front entrance, comprised of a wood paneled door set in a wood surround with diamond-light sidelights and transom, is sheltered by a full-width porch with four Doric columns. Modifications to the home over the years include a modern kitchen addition completed in 2003 by the Roberson family. The warm yellow color of the home’s exterior and the wide front porch welcome guests in the neighborhood.

Tour highlights of the Roberson home include art, furnishings and holiday decorations collected over the years through family and travel.

It’s almost time to buy your advance tickets for the 2013 Holiday House Tour “Stroll on Stewart Street” on December 7 and 8! The homes open for this year’s tour are:

• 110 South Stewart Street, the home of Wilborn and Martha Roberson
• 407 South Stewart Street, the home of Gina Sullivan and Steve Surber
• 409 South Stewart Street, the home of susu Bearov
• 407 South Washington Street, the home of George and Kim Craft
• 704 South Stewart Street, the home of Joe and Amy Ressa
• 800 South Stewart Street, the home of Tim and Barbara Bandyke

The Preview Party will be held in the home of Bruce and Donna Downing, 520 South Stewart Street. The Preview Party House will be open only during the Saturday evening Preview Party and Candlelight Tour.

The Bough and Dough Shop will be returning to the Winchester Little Theatre, 315 West Boscawen Street, this year. Hours for the Shop are:

• December 7, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• December 8, Noon-5 p.m.

New this year at the Shop is a Free Wreath-making Class on December 7, 10 a.m.-noon. Make two wreaths at this workshop – one for you to keep and one to sell at the Shop. Materials will be provided, but bring your own trimmers and gloves.

Tickets go on sale at our advance ticket sale locations Monday, November 18. Visit any of the following locations during their normal business hours to purchase tickets:

Kimberly’s, 135 N. Braddock St.
Winchester Book Gallery, 185 N. Loudoun St.
The Final Yard, 33 E. Gerrard St.
OakCrest, 126 N. Kent St.
Wilkin’s Shoe Center, 7 S. Loudoun St.
Winchester-Frederick County Convention and Visitors Center, 1400 S. Pleasant Valley Rd.
PHW, 530 Amherst St.

The PHW Office will be open until at least 5 PM Monday-Friday from November 18-December 6 for ticket sales and questions. The office will be closed for Thanksgiving on November 28 and 29.

On December 7 and 8, advance tickets will be sold only at the Bough and Dough Shop at 315 West Boscawen Street during Shop hours.

Ready to order tickets? You may start preordering your tickets now at PHW through PayPal. Prefer to mail a check? Please use this form and return payment to PHW, 530 Amherst St., Winchester, VA 22601.

Advance Daylight Tickets: $20 for adults, $6 for children 12 and under (valid for tours on December 8, 1-5 p.m.)

Preview Party Tickets: $50 per person (valid for tours and admission to the Preview Party on December 7, 6-9 p.m.; tickets may also be used on December 8 ) Looking for the PHW member discount? Please visit the PHW office to take advantage of the special PHW member pricing!

Starting November 18, the house art and descriptions for the tour will be posted in the PHW blog. Stop by every day to read more about the houses open for this year’s tour, or even better, sign up to receive PHW’s blog posts delivered right to your inbox!

PHW is now accepting advertisement sponsors for the 2013 Holiday House Tour program booklet. There are sponsorship levels for any size business. The suggested sponsorship levels are as follows:

• Major Event Sponsor (includes ad for front/back cover space): $1000.00
• Full Page Ad: $250.00
• Half Page Ad: $150.00
• Business Card Ad: $75.00

For questions or to see examples of past booklets, please contact Sandra Bosley at 540-667-3577 or phwi@verizon.net. Ready to sponsor? Download the sponsorship letter and form here and return to PHW at 530 Amherst St., Winchester, VA 22601.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Have you given PHW your feedback on the 2012 Holiday House Tour yet? PHW is preparing for a meeting next week to discuss what can be changed and improved for 2013. If you don’t respond by January 11, your feedback might not be included in the report. This is your chance to make some anonymous suggestions and should take just five to ten minutes at most to complete.

Again, thank you for your support, and we hope to see you at the 37th Holiday House Tour in 2013!