Canterbury will be 'returned to former glory'

[wateryglen]

famous landowners!

Hey! Didn’t I read somewhere that Tom Cruise actually DOES have a contract down on Llangollen in Upperville!?? I’m almost sure I did!! Ain’t a rumor anymore!
So like the big question is…who hunts that? Piedmont? Will he allow it to continue there?
OK so… maybe, just maybe, Wateryglen MAY admit to kinda keeping an eye on Hollywood happenings as a side hobby to hunting…just maybe…I mean…we have so MANY famous people in this area it makes my head spin!! Why just the politicians alone!! The movie stars! Professional sports stars!! The Washington DC 'burbs are ablaze with them!! :eek:
Like I remember one time when the Vice Presidents wife came in shopping at a local tack store whilst I was there some years ago. (Dominion Tent Sale!) Complete with secret service detail! I noticed them first actually. I just thought a whole buncha deaf guys had come in shopping with super duper hearing aides on! The first one’s looked so much like a hearing aid I spoke to him all friendly like and spoke loudly & distinctly for his benefit…and he like said, “yeah”…and looked/walked away. So I thought he was just a shy young man…with a hearing aid…poor thing…

[SidesaddleRider]

There was an ad in the Fauquier paper this week that Canterbury was sold. I’m assuming it wasn’t for the asking price…Any realtor out there with MLS access want to give the scoop on the selling price?

Anyone have any idea who bought it? Will Warrenton still be allowed to hunt on it?

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=SidesaddleRider;2063821]
There was an ad in the Fauquier paper this week that Canterbury was sold.[/QUOTE]

The Allen website has listed the property as sold for several days. If someone bought the property with the “50-acre” option I wonder what becomes of the remaining 320 or so acres.

[Tantivy1]

Piedmont hunts Llangollen.

Certainly hope it is in easment, and also that whoever the purchasers are, that they do not follow their neighbor across the road at Aryshire and deny Piedmont acess to the property.

Ideally, it was sold with a stipulation that the hunt can continue to go through, but has anyone heard anything on the subject?

[Tantivy1]

Until Canterbury has been officially closed on by the purchasers, no realtor will tell you the selling price (I think it iagainst the law to do so). However, once it has closed, a realtor can tell you the selling price as it will be 1-3 months before the information becomes public knowledge when the selling price is entered into the county real esate records.

The best you could hope to get out of a realtor at this point is was it sold for the asking price.

But if it has actually closed, then yes, someone could tell you.

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=Tantivy1;2065733]
Piedmont hunts Llangollen.

Certainly hope it is in easment, and also that whoever the purchasers are, that they do not follow their neighbor across the road at Aryshire and deny Piedmont acess to the property.

Ideally, it was sold with a stipulation that the hunt can continue to go through, but has anyone heard anything on the subject?[/QUOTE]

The in-contract buyer [of Llangollen] is an active rider and patron of a local polo team. She’s lived in Middleburg long enough to know that nothing positive would come from denying current hunt access.

The Fauquier Times Democrat will have the final sale price on Canterbury once the transfer is filed with the county.

[Glimmerglass]

An interesting aside from the Dec 19, 2006 edition of the Fauquier Times Democrat:

Canterbury Estate LLC to Canterbury Estate LLC, deed of boundary line adjustment, exchange 0.6159 acre on Springs Road (Route 802) near Warrenton, GPINs 6962-15-7637 and -13-3277, $10,974.32.

[Glimmerglass]

Ashland Farm, Warrenton, also back on the market

It is at a nice profit - acquired in very late 2003 for $4.9M million with all 300 + acres - the lovely but infamous Holtzclaw Road estate is back: now for $9.5 million with 340 acres.

Admittedly a lot of restoration was required - the two Ms. Cummings’ didn’t have the William Lawrence Bottomley re-styled estate quite in A-1 condition. Still it is gutsy to (try and) flip a property in this sluggish market for an 80% + profit.

One does hope the property has been placed into some easement and hunt access conveyed, it would be terrible to see the property diced up and yet more mini mansions built. I always though the twisty, dirt Holtzclaw Road (which sadly runs so exceptionally close to the main house) was a great throwback to the way it used to be in No Virginia.

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=Tantivy1;2065733]
Piedmont hunts Llangollen.[/QUOTE]

Thankfully the buyers are very committed to the hunts and continuing the tradition:

Faquier Times-Democrat 1-16-07 “Llangollen Farm sold for $22 million”

“We will continue in the tradition of equestrian sports,” said Brennan, referring to future plans for the property. She plans to move into the main residence soon and will use the rest of the property for breeding, training and boarding horses, as well as for a polo facility.

“We will do anything to encourage polo in this area,” said Paul Dietrich, tenant of Huntland Farm near Middleburg, another property owned by the Ash family. His wife, Laura, is an avid fox hunter in Middleburg. "We are becoming one of the great polo capitals of the world here in Middleburg. We are trying to preserve western Loudoun County as a rural area and want to see more fox hunting and polo."

A portion of the property is under conservation easement, which permanently prevents further subdivision.

[SidesaddleRider]

@Glimmerglass;2163565

Thankfully the buyers are very committed to the hunts and continuing the tradition.

Actually that quote is from Paul Dietrich (he and his wife belong to Middleburg Hunt), not the Brennans. Although I would assume that they, as well, are concerned about preserving polo and hunting in the region.

[Hopefully]

Simply amazing! It is almost a shame it went so fast as AMR just had their media subcontractor put together a nice visual package showcasing the property: Huntland - slide show

Did anyone notice, in the slide show, that the button on the newel post is Piedmont Hunt, while the builder of Huntland, Joe Thomas, was MFH at Middleburg? And, I believe Huntland is in Middleburg Hunt’s territory. I wonder who put the Piedmont button there?

[Tantivy1]

These hunt country house tours are unbelieveable.

I spend my lunch hours visiting different realtor’s websites and taking virtual house tours or slide shows of the property offerings.

I love my lunches.

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=Hopefully;2164186]
Simply amazing! It is almost a shame it went so fast as AMR just had their media subcontractor put together a nice visual package showcasing the property: Huntland - slide show[/QUOTE]

If I recall correctly Playhard Productions had the visual tour done for Huntlands such that it was ‘showcased’ with the AMR listing for at least 3 months.

By comparison and clearly a shame is Play Hard ‘s magnificent video for AMR when they listed the 446-acre Chancellor’s Rock estate in Rappahannock’; the whole listing left AMR for Frank Hardy Inc. only a few weeks after the video was completed. FHI did not pick up the rights to use the video with marketing the property which remains for sale.

The two firms collaborated on a nice video as well for the AMR sold the 98-acre equestrian estate, “Ashleigh” in Delaplane, VA for the estate of the late Sandra H. Payson, a Whitney heiress and cousin to race horse breeder/owner Marylou Whitney.

No connection by the way, professional or otherwise, between myself and AMR or Play Hard.

And Sidesaddlerider I didn’t mean to infer the quote about foxhunting came from the Brennans - hence I took the whole quote and attribution from the those connected to Huntland

[SidesaddleRider]

@Hopefully;2164186

Did anyone notice, in the slide show, that the button on the newel post is Piedmont Hunt, while the builder of Huntland, Joe Thomas, was MFH at Middleburg? And, I believe Huntland is in Middleburg Hunt’s territory. I wonder who put the Piedmont button there?

Huntlands is in Piedmont territory. Middleburg’s territory only extends to the other side of Pot House Road.

[Hopefully]

[QUOTE=SidesaddleRider;2164512]
Huntlands is in Piedmont territory. Middleburg’s territory only extends to the other side of Pot House Road.[/QUOTE]

I wonder if this was the case when Joe Thomas owned Huntlands? Does this situation exist north of Foxcroft road, i.e., the east side of Mountville Rd. is Middleburg and the west side is Piedmont? It would have seemed to make more sense to make Rt. 611 the boundary. In fact, I recently saw Piedmont whips patrolling Rt. 611, I assume to stop hounds that were possibly crossing from west to east.

[SidesaddleRider]

@Hopefully;2164574

I wonder if this was the case when Joe Thomas owned Huntlands? Does this situation exist north of Foxcroft road, i.e., the east side of Mountville Rd. is Middleburg and the west side is Piedmont? It would have seemed to make more sense to make Rt. 611 the boundary. In fact, I recently saw Piedmont whips patrolling Rt. 611, I assume to stop hounds that were possibly crossing from west to east.

I would assume so. Our territory in that area is bordered by Pot House and Mountville. Piedmont’s territory is the west side (so the side across from Bolinvar). They lease it out to Fairfax Hunt, however, to include basically everything from Foxcroft/Mountville/St. Louis Rds north. They retain control of the Unison area for hunting.

[Glimmerglass]

by the way - here is the Washington Post’s take on the transaction: “A Thoroughbred of a Price”

A different Brennan family corporation paid $3.1 million in 2000 for the Cooke farm, but “they decided they really wanted more acreage” and bought the nearby Mellon land, Thomas said. “Then Llangollen came along, and there was 1,100 acres all in one piece, and that’s what they really wanted.”

When the Ashes bought Llangollen in 1989, it was in disrepair but had a storied past.

“If the walls could talk here, they’d tell of the wild hunt balls thrown by [Tippett]. . . . And of the time she brought her favorite horse into the great room or the 35 dogs that lived here full time. (The most beloved ones were kept in her deep freezer when they passed on.) And of the well-known visitors: Doris Duke, Elsa Maxwell, Eddie Arcaro, Prince Aly Khan . . . Bing Crosby, ambassadors and politicians from Washington.”

[Tantivy1]

What type of easement is it in when it can be sub-divided into parcels as small as 100 acres? I am taking a guess here…that when placing a holding into an easement, the current owner is allowed to elect exactly what size parcels their property CAN be subdivided into? It sounds like this may be an available option from the wording in the Post article.

[SidesaddleRider]

@Tantivy1;2176257

What type of easement is it in when it can be sub-divided into parcels as small as 100 acres? I am taking a guess here…that when placing a holding into an easement, the current owner is allowed to elect exactly what size parcels their property CAN be subdivided into? It sounds like this may be an available option from the wording in the Post article.

The VOF actually has specific guidelines for division.

"Division:
To protect open space, properties should remain as a whole to the extent possible and parceling should be minimized. The appropriate level of protection is determined by factors described above. For some easement properties, such as mountain terrain or highly visible flat open land, it may be appropriate to require fewer parcels than the levels suggested.
In general, the following density restrictions are encouraged:

• Properties under 100 acres should remain intact, i.e., no subdivision permitted;
• Properties between 100 and 149 acres are encouraged to remain as a whole. Where necessary or appropriate, a maximum of one division (two parcels) may be permitted provided that one of the parcels is small and located so as to minimize the effect on the remainder, or additional restrictions are being placed on the property so as to ensure the preservation of the property's conservation values;
• Properties of 150 to 249 acres are encouraged to remain as a whole; a maximum of one division (two parcels) may be permitted;
• Properties of 250 to 299 acres are encouraged to remain as a whole or in two parcels. Where necessary or appropriate, a maximum of two divisions (three parcels) may be permitted provided that one of the parcels is small and located so as to minimize the effect on the remainder, or additional restrictions are being placed on the property so as to ensure the preservation of the property's conservation values;
• Properties of 300 acres to 599 acres, a maximum density of one parcel per 100 acres, e.g. 400 – 499 acres = maximum of four parcels;
• Properties of 600 acres to 799 acres, a maximum of six parcels;
• Properties of 800 acre to 999 acres, a maximum of seven parcels;
• Properties of 1,000 acres or more, a maximum of eight parcels. Additional parcels may be allotted on a case by case basis.

There is, in most cases, no minimum acreage requirement for parcel size. Subdivided parcels may be a cluster of small lots that retain the maximum open-space on the remainder in order to maintain a viable size for farm or forestry use. The sliding scale for larger properties (over 600 acres) is intended to encourage the preservation of large intact tracts of land."

[Glimmerglass]

Re: Huntland

Per the new Middleburg Eccentric for May 24th there is a full-page congratulatory ad for Anita Sisney at Armfield, Miller & Ripley [in cooperation with Helen McMahon of McMahon Realtors] on the sale of Huntland.

The Fauquier Times Democrat for May 16th indicates the final price ($7.3 million) to be a fraction of its published asking price but it sold on much less land.

Sadly …

Trustee of Aix-la-Chapelle Limited Partnership Hallie Bastain had no comment on the transaction.

The 129-acre property at the intersection of Foxcroft and Pot House roads, is “not under conservation easement regarding the Board of Supervisors,” said senior planner Brian Potts.

The property is zoned AR-2 (Agricultural Rural), which allows for one lot per 40 acres. With the adopted changes that became effective December 2006, the property can also be developed as one lot per 20 acres under the principal subdivision option, or one lot per 15 acres under the cluster subdivision option. Both options require a minimum of 40 acres to subdivide and 70-percent open space.

A 284-acre parcel of land adjacent to Huntland, which is also owned by the Ash family, is not currently on the market. The Ash family was recently granted a boundary-line adjustment for the two properties, bringing the parcel that just sold from 78 to 129 acres, and leaving the remaining adjacent parcel with 284 acres, down from 335.