Eyre Hall — Attraction in Virginia

Eyre Hall is a beautiful example of historic preservation; today's proud owner, a very gracious lady who met me accidentally while I was setting up my tripod as she was attempting to park her car beside the relatively immense home--and thoughtfully asked me whether she should move her car farther away--asked only that I take no photographs "for commercial purposes, as we don't allow that." I assured her that there was not going to be any money involved, and that was that. (She even removed a blue-striped bench cushion from the entry porch which she thought might be distracting!)

The gardens of Eyre Hall are extensive and ancient, based on an original formal English garden of ancient boxwood which would be worth anyone's visit; but as the house itself, the garden--with its full cemetery of ancestral owners, its Orangery and Dovecote, perhaps even an unlabeled Creamery or Buttery--has accreted more features over the centuries with costly and very tender care, it today is perhaps at the pinnacle of its aesthetic splendor through the ages. The heirs of Eyre Hall have clearly prospered, and even today the very extensive property is covered end-to-end with the rich dark green of a beautiful crop of rising corn, even in June much taller than "knee-high by the Fourth of July!" I reflected that this might be one of the most beautiful times of the year to visit the property, as very soon the corn will be so high that the mile or so of drive leading to the house and garden will seem very lengthy indeed.

I doubt anyone visits Eyre Hall by accident: although its approach is directly off U.S. Route 13, the Lankford Highway, the "backbone highway" of Virginia's Eastern Shore, only a modest sign indicates the entrance to the long, long cedar-lined avenue to the house, and northbound drivers must not only notice the small sign on the far side of the highway, but must also make a quick U-turn southbound to return to it. To those unfamiliar with the nature of Colonial land grants--or unpaved avenues--the approach to the house may seem interminable. But in fact this is just more evidence of the extreme antiquity of Eyre Hall, built in a time when a farm had to be wholly self-sufficient because the isolation was real, and the nearest neighbor might well...

After we got through the Chesapeake Bay tunnel, we stopped at the visitors' centre and were greeted by two lovely people. i asked about a garden i remembered reading about once, and the lady directed us to Eyre Hall. Easily found by GPS, we drove down a long drive flanked by cedar and crepe myrtle. It opened to a grassy area where we parked. There was no one around, and it felt a bit odd to just start walking to garden but we did. We were rewarded by a magnificent garden, much of it walled. It was large enough to divide into "rooms" and we saw early spring flowers (this was late March), large trees including a variety of magnolia slightly past peak with large white/pink flowers and innumerable petals on the path and other plants. i took a ton of pictures for inspiration in my garden. We did not go near the house and we respected the small family plot also. As we turned to leave, we met a man who told us he was the 8th generation to work there (!!), and he answered all my questions about the various plants in the garden. He said it was still early and they always show during Tulip Week which is in early May. He also reassured us about seeing the garden; he said it's always open and they don't even charge. One of the...

Although my family and I visited “after hours” when the house was not open to visitors, we heard from our local B&B owner that the gardens are almost always open to self-guided tours. At the end of a a very long, beautiful, tree-lined drive, there are signs pointing you to the gardens. The parking area is just a small grass clearing near the house. Walking the gardens was a lovely way to pass an afternoon. I wish we’d had the opportunity to learn more of the history of Eyre Hall, but it was still a wonderful experience. It was quiet — I don’t think the location is well advertised or frequented...