15550 High Street
Open on Friday: 10am to 5pm
**Please enter from the Old School Driveway, follow pedestrian signs and docent’s instructions.**
Robert Walker built this lovely Queen Anne style home for his spinster sister, Edith, in 1897. He located the house on a portion of his property, Huntley Farm, and designed it to face his house next door instead of the street. A brick walk connected the two homes and remains to this day. The Edith Walker house is a blend of Victorian and Colonial Revival architectural elements with many distinctive features such as the wraparound porch that serves as a spacious summer living area. There are two pedimented dormers, three gables and a sleeping porch over the front entrance, each clad with a different style shingle. The main body of the house boasts German siding. The original cedar shingle roof was replaced with raised seam metal, as was the fashion in the area after the turn of the century. The windows further unite the two styles with six or eight small panes at the top, recalling colonial sash patterns, while the single large pane at the bottom incorporates the modern glass technology of the Victorian era. Inside the home is a fine paneled Queen Anne stairway, beautiful Colonial Revival molding with bull’s eyes in the top corners and pocket doors from the foyer into the parlor. Of special note are five fireplaces, each of a different design. The three on the first floor have mirrored overmantles. Over the years there have been few changes to the floor plan, which speaks highly of the home’s comfort and adaptability to changing life styles. The major changes to the house were the addition of first and second floor bathrooms, and the enlargement of the kitchen by removing the wall to the butler’s pantry. The historic exterior of the house is protected from alteration in perpetuity by an easement given to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Talbott’s Tavern is open through the courtesy of Chris & Elyssa Wood