Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Country Inns: Green and Gedney Farm

Join us on a visit to the Old Inn on the Green and Gedney Farm in historic New Marlborough, Mass.


In this tranquil Berkshires village, the restored Old Inn on the Green and Gedney Farm lets guests step back in time to enjoy a sense of New England's rural past. Built in 1760 and later renovated in the Greek Revival style, the Old Inn on the Green originally served as New Marlborough's tavern, inn, general store, and, from 1806 until the mid-1940s, post office. Gedney Farm was established some 60 years later as a working dairy.

"This is God's part of the Berkshires," comments Brad Wagstaff as he describes the late-18th-century village of New Marlborough, Mass. As owners of the Old Inn on the Green and Gedney Farm, Brad and his wife, Leslie, treasure the gentle pace and architectural authenticity of the village.

Calling on Brad's restoration skills and Leslie's culinary talents, the couple transformed the property's historic buildings into an inviting Berkshires retreat . . . making The Old Inn on the Green the nucleus of New Marlborough even today.

Historic Charm


Formerly the village dairy barn, Gedney Farm is now one of four structures that provide guest lodging on the 60-acre propetry. Innkeepers Leslie and Bradford Wagstaff restored the buildings to retain a sense of history, yet provide warmth and comfort for guests. The entrace hall and lobby, shown here, combine natural chestnut timbers and wide-plank pine floors with newly wheat-tinted plaster walls and blue trim accents. Three patterned kilims line the 135-foot-long lobby, providing visitors with a most impressive welcome.

Country Comfort


The dormer window, support timbers, and wide-plank yellow pine floorboards in this room are remnants from the barn's original hayloft, now converted into simply furnished guest bedrooms. Since the room features the same wheat-colored walls as the lobby, the Wagstaffs chose simple furnishings--red swagged drapery panels, a Shaker-like bedside table and mismatched floor lamps--to create intimate, charming guest quarters. In addition to the decorative bedcovers and throws, most rooms feature a fireplace constructed of local granite. Antique Throw: Laura Fisher

Dining on the Green


The traditional Windsor chairs and candlelit table setting of the 100-seat dining room make the Old Inn on the Green a favorite of guests and locals alike. The mural that graces the wall behind the table represents the tranquil village green and is one of several local landmarks depicted in the primitive style. Local artist Bart Arnold painted the scene in 1984.

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