OVER THE MOON
Titled Guests Emma, Duchess of Rutland, talks about her family castle at a garden party in Marshall and “Atoka Farm” goes on the market in Middleburg. BY VICKY MOON
“Atoka,” once the home of John Warner and Elizabeth Taylor, sold for $7.17 million. (Courtesy Photos)
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t’s not unusual for royalty and other titled folk to visit Middleburg. After all, Prince Charles and Princess Diana made a helicopter ride out to Upperville from Washington in November 1985 as part of a whirlwind visit, which included a state dinner at the Reagan White House.They had lunch with Bunny and Paul Mellon and two-dozen others at “Oak Spring.” Recently Emma, Duchess of Rutland, paid a visit to the area to speak about and sign copies of her new book, “Capability Brown at Belvoir: Discovering a Lost Landscape.” Hosted by the Warrenton Garden Club, the afternoon tea and garden tour took place at “Poke,” the home of Trevor Potter and Dana Westring. Potter, a widely respected attorney and a former Federal Election Commission chairman who is one of the country’s leading advocates of campaign finance reform, was no doubt tending to business this busy election year and therefore not in attendance. Westring, an artist and devoted gardener, was a gracious host along with Margaret Douglas Wise, chairman of the club. Her Grace spoke about Capability Brown, the highly respected 18th-century British landscape architect, and his work on her family’s
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Emma , Duchess of Rutland, on horseback.
15,000-acre estate, “Belvoir,” in Leicestershire. Speaking of royalty - the Hollywood variety - the real estate buzz out here is the purchase of “Atoka Farm,” the 350-acre Middleburg estate where, in 1976, actress Elizabeth Taylor married John Warner, soon to be elected U.S. senator from Virginia. She exchanged vows with her sixth husband and later hosted his very popular Atoka Country Suppers. Guests included legions of his supporters, including George H. W. Bush when he was vice president. Warner and Taylor divorced in 1982. Warner had been previously married (in 1957) to Catherine Conover, the late Paul Mellon’s daughter by his first wife.When they divorced in 1973, Warner retained the historic farm, which then occupied 557 acres. Part of it was later sold to the late Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke. The circa 1816 property includes a 7,000square foot fieldstone manor house boasting old fireplaces with antique mantels and pegged oak floors, five bedrooms and five bathrooms plus two half-baths. The entrance hall has a terra cotta floor. The living room includes a black marble fireplace, custom cherry cabinetry and oak floors. There is a tennis court and heated
indoor pool in a renovated red barn where Warner once hung symbolic flags signifying his career from the rafters – secretary of the Navy, director of the American Revolution Bicentennial, U.S. senator. There are several paddocks, barns and other outbuildings. It was listed by John Coles of Thomas & Talbot and sold by Peter Pejacsevich of Middleburg Real Estate/Atoka Properties for $7.17 million. At one time, Atoka Farm was owned by Pejacsevich’s wife, Ali’s family.The purchaser of record for this parcel is Atoka Smith LLC. Mike Smith and his wife Wendy live just across the road at Poplar Grange. He is the president of the Upperville Colt and Horse Show, which just completed a successful run. Finally, mark your calendars for The National Sporting Library & Museum’s 6th Annual Polo Classic fundraiser on Sunday, Sept. 11, at Great Meadow in The Plains. Players named to date include the handsome Argentine Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras. A smashing player known as “the David Beckham of polo,” he’s also been the face for many of the Polo Black Ralph Lauren adverts. Visit: www.NationalSporting.org
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