Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Mountains and close to Middleburg, Virginia, Briar Patch Bed and Breakfast offers charm and hospitality to match its historic location.

Briar Patch is a historic farm (c. 1805) on 47 rolling acres in the heart of Virginia horse, antiques, and wine country on Route 50 west, 4 miles east of Middleburg. Just 20 minutes from Dulles Airport and 45 minutes from Washington, DC -- when you enter our world you leave the stress behind.

Relax around or in our large pool and hot tub or curl up with a good book on our front porch overlooking the Bull Run Mountains. Explore the historic towns of Aldie, Middleburg, and Leesburg brimming with antique shops and fine dining. Explore Civil War battlefields, shop at a nearby outlet mall, or sip Virginia wine at one of the nearby wineries. Sports fans will enjoy horseback riding at one of the local stables, playing tennis, golf or other sports, or hiking through the mountains. This area satisfies diverse interests and lifestyles. We can also provide kosher meals (including lunch and dinner) upon request.

Rooms:

The main house has six bedrooms on the second floor, each with a shared bath. For additional comfort and privacy, two rooms can be combined to create a roomy suite with private bath.

Five of the six bedrooms have queen size beds and one has a king size bed. All are furnished with antiques. If you prefer a ground floor room, there are two available complete with their own private baths, private entrances, and queen beds.

Each bedroom in the main house is named after a flower to reflect the colors and scents of the flowering plants surrounding the house.

For even more privacy, we offer a separate cottage with a fully equipped kitchen, living room (includes a pullout sofa bed), dining area, and bedroom with a queen size bed.

Carnation Room:

This turquoise room overlooking the pool has a queen bed and shares a bath with the Lily Room. The Lily and Carnation Rooms can be combined to create a suite with a private bath.

Daisy Room:

The Daisy Room is located on the first floor of the main house. It features a queen bed, private bath, and a private entrance onto back the patio.

Hyacinth Room:

This lovely blue bedroom with a fireplace has a queen bed and a view of the mountains. The bath is shared with the Violet Room. There is an option to combine this room with the Violet Room to create a suite with private bath.

Iris Room:

This bedroom in the oldest part of the house is located on the first floor. It has a private bath and a private entrance onto the front porch. The Iris Room has a beamed ceiling and a fireplace.

Lily Room:

This cozy room in peach has a queen bed and shares a bath with the Carnation Room. The Lily and Carnation Rooms can be combined to create a suite with a private bath.

Rose Room:

This spacious room in pink features a four-poster queen bed, lovely view of the mountains, sitting area, and shared bath. The room can be combined with the Sunflower Room to create a suite with private bath.

Sunflower Room:

This bright and sunny yellow room has a brass queen bed and great mountain views. Bath is shared with the Rose Room or combine with the Rose Room to create a suite with private bath.

Violet Room:

This cozy room with dormer windows in the oldest part of the house features a king size bed, separate closet and dressing area, and shared bath. This room can be combined with the Hyacinth Room to create a spacious suite with private bath.

Cottage:

This fully equipped charming cottage has a kitchen, dining area, living room with sofa bed, bedroom with queen bed, and bathroom. Ideal for a family.

Attractions:

• 45 minutes west of Washington, DC.
• 20 minutes from Dulles International Airport.
• Close to historic towns of Middleburg, Aldie, Leesburg, Waterford, and Manassas with many antique shops and fine dining.
• We are in the heart of historic Virginia horse country with many attractions for the equestrian including horse shows, riding, steeplechases or point-to-point racing, hunting, polo.
• Explore the beautiful winding country roads dotted with picturesque farms and views of the Blue Ridge and Bull Run Mountains.
• We are within an easy drive of many historic Civil War battlefields, including Manassas National Battlefield Park and Bull Run Park.
• For the shopper, we are near an outlet mall in Leesburg.
• Close to some of Virginia’s finest wineries.
• On-site swimming pool, public tennis courts are nearby, lots of places to hike or bike in the area, golf club nearby.
• Perfect for day trips to Shenandoah National Park, Harper’s Ferry, Shepardstown, or Charles Town.

History:

Audrey Windsor Bergner researched and published the following history of Briar Patch in her book entitled Old Plantations and Historic Homes around Middleburg, Virginia and the Families Who Lived and Loved within Their Walls -- Volume II.

Briar Patch began as a simple one-room log cabin with a sleeping loft above in 1805. It is believed to have been a tenant house on Charles Fenton Mercer’s 1300-acre grant. The DiZerega family purchased Mercer’s home on the hillside over Aldie and its acreage in 1843, calling it by the name of Hillcrest. Hillcrest grew during the next twenty years, acquiring a large living room, library and dining room, as well as seven bedrooms in the main house, along with two cottages, a studio and ten-stall stable, milking parlor, and fenced fields for cattle and horses. By the 1860's, the little log cabin had become a beautiful estate.

Then disaster struck. Civil War erupted and the little village of Aldie was alternatively occupied by Union and Confederate troops for four long wartime years. Their crops, horses, and food were "requisitioned," fences were burned for firewood, and their homes were turned into hospitals. Then on a hot July day in 1863, a fierce battle occurred between General Alfred Pleasanton’s Federal troops who encountered severe resistance at Hillcrest from Colonel Thomas Munford's Confederates. As smoke swirled around the mansion, cannons roared and bullets hit its walls...where their mark remains to this day.

Meanwhile, Alfred DiZerega, a New Yorker by birth, joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed in New Orleans, a vital position since control of the Mississippi was essential to the Union troop and supply shipments. This could not, however, have made him popular in an area where sentiment lay almost totally in favor of the Confederacy.

It was in New Orleans that Alfred met and married Alice Almeda Gasquet, and returned to Aldie where several children joined their family. Augustus, their first son, married Agnes Green and purchased "Sleepy Hollow" in Aldie. Another son, Gasquet, married Fredericka Foote Hauser of Prince William County, and upon his father’s demise, became the new owner of Hillcrest.

But those years after Appomatox gripped Southerners with poverty. With no money to plow fields, buy seed, plant, and harvest crops or get them to the Washington markets, times were tough. Hillcrest began its decline as the ability to repair leaking roofs, broken fences, barns and stables, diminished and soon became impossible.

By 1912, Gasquet was forced to take a job as postmaster of Aldie and a few years later, during the terrible influenza epidemic of 1919 which killed more people than the guns and cannons of World War One, he died. He was just forty years old. His wife, Fredericka, was left to carry on both farm and family at Hillcrest.

After more than a century of DiZerega ownership, Hillcrest was sold in 1965 to Jean and Bill Costin, who whimsically changed the name to The Briar Patch. The additions made by the Costin’s to the home are delightful – a new kitchen and breakfast area overlook a flagstone patio, gardens bloom with color, old trees offer shelter, and a sparkling pool invites a cooling dip on hot summer days while the Blue Ridge Mountains lend their majesty to the scene.

But this was more than just a historic home to the Costin’s. A love of theatre encouraged Jean, who had once played in Captain Jinks and the Horse Parade with Diana Barrymore and Gregory Peck, and Bill Costin, a Broadway producer, to start “The Middleburg Players,” which for over thirty years has encouraged local talent and produced shows. After Bill Costin’s death, Jean married Jay Gold and continues her involvement with the Middleburg Players to this day.

New owners now walk the old pine floors, sit before a glowing fire, and perhaps wonder who came before them at Briar Patch. Like many recent residents, Ellen Goldberg and her husband Dan Haendel, both work in Washington but fell in love with the beauty and serenity of the Piedmont. The goal of these two attorneys is to use the old home as a Bed and Breakfast.

Meanwhile, winter’s white blanket and the crimson geraniums of summer embrace yet another family…and another generation…to the door of Briar Patch where friends and visitors have received a warm welcome for almost two centuries.

Weddings:

Briar Patch Bed & Breakfast - with its 47 rolling acres, beautifully landscaped grounds, and great mountain views - is an ideal location for small intimate weddings or weddings up to 200. Your wedding at Briar Patch will provide the opportunity for you and your guests to spend quality time together.

• Feed the grazing horses.
• Relax on our veranda with mountain views.
• Hang out at the pool with family and friends.
• Hold your ceremony at one of several sites on the property.
• Party with friends and family at a wedding reception planned the way you want it.
• Host your rehearsal dinner near the pool under the stars or at other locations on the property.

Why have your weeding at Briar Patch?

• You want the flexibility to have your wedding your way.
• You appreciate getting upscale facilities and service at an affordable price.
• You relish the opportunity to spend a relaxing weekend with your family and friends while holding all of your events at one site.
• You desire having your wedding in a beautiful country setting on a historic property only 45 minutes from Washington DC and 20 minutes from Dulles Airport.

Directions:

Directions from Washington, DC:

Take Route 66 West past the 495 beltway. Take Fair Oaks/Winchester Exit #57B onto Route 50 west and stay on Route 50 for 20 miles. Pass through the town of Aldie. Briar Patch is the first farm on the right after you leave Aldie. Turn right onto Briar Patch Lane.

Directions from Dulles Airport:

Take 267 exit (Centreville) off Dulles airport road. Exit onto Route 28 to Route 50. Take exit to Route 50 West (Winchester). Take 50 West and pass through the town of Aldie. Briar Patch is the first farm on the right after you leave Aldie. Turn right onto Briar Patch Lane.