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A brick path leads through the center of the garden to the front door of Charles and Mary Birr's home. Plantings include Rubeckia (from their Wisconsin garden), Yucca (from Charles' Dad's garden), and Pineapple Lilies (from Brent & Becky's Bulbs).
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When the Birrs moved into the small, two-story house, the yard was full of vines that were twined in the trees. Charles worked hard on the yard, turning it into the masterpiece it is today.
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Looking through the gardens to the Golden Horseshoe Golf Course, the way is flanked by Cleome, roses and Canna.
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Lining the 8th tee box are Rubeckia, Canna, Castor beans and ornamental grasses.
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The set of rockers are from Charles' great grandparents’ home (circa 1880). A one-of-a-kind, handmade solid brass chandelier adorns the table.
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Chiming grandfather clocks, wall clocks and cuckoo clocks take the place of artwork throughout the first floor.
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A wooden ‘Rock Clock,’ a replica of a 1600 clock with wooden gears, hangs in the sun room.
Earlier this year, Colonial Williamsburg’s Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg surveyed some of its members, asking them what hole they thought was the most beautiful.
The answer was the 8th hole of the nine-hole Spotswood Course, one of three courses at the famed club just south of the Revolutionary City.
The reason? The hole’s proximity to a house on South England Street and its magnificent gardens. Flowers and plants nearly cover the sloping hill from the tee to Charles and Mary Birr’s home, where the side and back yards are full of more plants and garden statues.
The Birrs have rented the home from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for the past 10 years. The house isn’t in the historic district, but rather in an area called the Greenbelt. Their house, one of a number on the street owned by the Foundation, is within walking distance of downtown and borders the golf course.
“Best view in the Foundation, if you ask me,” Mary says.
The Birrs came to Williamsburg from Wisconsin in 2006—Charles to work as a food and beverage director and sommelier, and Mary in ticket sales. They initially applied to live in a house on Duke of Gloucester Street, but one wasn’t available at the time.
The house on South England Street came available, and they jumped at the chance.
Unlike the private homes in the historic area that are managed by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the houses in the Greenbelt are rented without the same strict restrictions. The renters can paint inside if they wish, and are responsible for the upkeep on the yards.
When the Birrs moved into the small, two-story house, the yard was full of vines that were twined in the trees. Charles worked hard on the yard, turning it into the masterpiece it is today. Now retired from the hospitality business, Birr spends a lot of his time tending the yard. He
also helps his daughter, Celeste Gucanac, run Mobjack Coffee Roasters in Gloucester.
The Birrs don’t know a lot about the history of their house, except that it’s called the Lloyd Williams house and was either built in its location or moved there in 1939 when Colonial Williamsburg was being restored. A painter once told Mary Birr that the interior appeared older than 75 years or so, but she thinks it was built where it is.
Colonial Williamsburg acquired the house in 1953 and has used it as rental property since, according to Keith Johnson, the CW Foundation’s director of property management.
Living in the white, two-bedroom house is peaceful and suits the couple well, the Birrs say. Mary can walk to work. Charles can take a quick drive to a nearby coffee shop. When the grandchildren visit, they can play around on the nearby golf green.
And of course, there is the view —the green hills of the golf course, bordered by forest, untouched by development. If they want, the Birrs can sit in their garden and watch part of a golf game. Or just wave at passing golfers.
The Spotswood Course, one of three at Golden Horseshoe, was named for Colonial-era Governor Alexander Spotswood. It’s an update of the Williamsburg Inn’s original 1947 nine-hole course.
“We don’t feel like we’re in the middle of everything,” Charles says. “The location is perfect.”
Inside, the house has definite features of a house built in the early 1900s—a fireplace in the living room, built-in shelves and bookcases, and wood floors. The rooms are painted different colors, reds and greens and blues, and the house is filled with all kinds of clocks, which the Birrs have been collecting (they name each one) since 1973.
The Birrs say that if they could buy the house, they probably would. If they could expand the kitchen, better still. But since they can’t, they’ll just enjoy it as long as they can.
“George Washington never slept here,” Mary says. “It’s not one of the historic ones. But it’s just a nice spot. It’s perfect for us.”