Page 2 - Malvern

John Daugherty Realtors Proudly presents New York in the 18th and 19th centuries. The blocks were off-loaded, hewn into cobbles, and laid as cob-
malvern
History
In the gracious years between the world wars when leisure was cultivated, Houston’s elite families re-
treated west from the city to splendid private country houses built along the heavily wooded banks of
Buffalo Bayou. One of the grandest of these was Malvern, completed in 1938 by architect John Staub for
Mr. and Mrs. James O. Winston.
Houston society in the 1920s and 30s was extraordinarily interrelated, and the Winstons were particular-
ly well-connected. Mrs. Winston, née Rice, had been married to Howard Hughes, and was the younger
sister of Libbie Farish, wife of oilman Will Farish. Jim Winston worked for Stephen Farish in the 1930s and
Malvern’s acreage was carved from equestrian property owned by the brothers. Staub was also a link in
the chain; in 1921, Will Farish brought Staub to Houston when the young architect worked for the New
York firm whom Farish had commissioned to design his home in Shadyside. Staub went on to become a
favored architect of the smart set and designed spectacular residences including Stephen Farish’s home
in River Oaks and, of course, Malvern.
Winston Woods
Malvern’s present owners purchased Malvern and its acreage from the Winston family in 1997 and ded-
icated themselves to preserving and rehabilitating the house. They subdivided the property and trans-
formed the 12-acre estate into Winston Woods, a gated enclave of eight home sites and a two-acre, pri-
vate nature preserve. Taking their cue from the developers of early Houston subdivisions like Courtlandt
Place and Broad Acres, they encouraged lot purchases from their network of friends and family.
Reportedly, Staub and the Winstons traveled to England and acquired some of the fireplace mantels and
other antique architectural elements that grace Malvern. The present owners also made a trip to En-
gland, photographing gates to serve as the architectural precedent for the gates to Winston Woods. Jim
Winston commissioned Houston Brick & Tile Company to reproduce the sand-surfaced bricks composing
the Governor’s Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia for Malvern; fittingly, the wall enclosing Winston Woods
was inspired by the wall surrounding the Governor’s Palace.
True pieces of history are found on Winston Woods’ private road, bordered and curbed with Belgian
block cobblestone. Belgian blocks served as ballast in ocean vessels plying the Atlantic from Europe to
7 Winston Woods
blestone on the streets of lower Manhattan. When those streets were renovated in the late 20th century,
60 tons of cobblestone was purchased and shipped to Houston by rail for Winston Woods.
Malvern
Staub’s inspiration for Malvern came from The Wick, an 18th-century late Georgian house in Richmond,
Greater London, located at the corner of Nightingale Lane and Richmond Hill in Surrey. Completed by
architect Robert Mylne in 1775 for Lady St. Aubyn, in recent times The Wick has been owned by the actor
Sir John Mills, musician Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones and musician Pete Townshend of The Who.
Malvern’s present owners’ comprehensive, research-driven restoration and detailed modernization was
a 14-year project. Working with architects Richardson Robertson, III, Virginia W. Kelsey, Peter Brown, and
Russell Windham, they achieved a thoroughly up-to-date residence with historical authenticity firmly
intact.
According to architectural historian Stephen Fox in his book, “The Country Houses of John F. Staub,”
Staub “…reinterpret[ed] the country house in a lower key…”* Malvern exhibits the grandeur and massing
of late Georgian architecture adapted for its location’s topography, the Houston climate, and the lifestyle
of its owners. The Winstons were rich, educated and sophisticated. They lived graciously but without pre-
tense, and Staub captured that straight-forwardness in his elegant yet restrained design for their home.
Exquisitely delicate, period-style moldings, paneling, and ornamentation have been repaired, restored
and, as with portions of the vintage Brunschwig & Fils wall covering in the breakfast room, reproduced
where necessary to preserve the continuity of Staub’s neoclassical decoration. Original hardwood floors,
inlaid with refined parquet patterns, extend from the rotunda foyer into the formal and informal rooms.
The antique fireplace in the living room offers an ornate marble frieze carved with mythological figures,
and the intricately-wrought balusters on the main staircase reflect Staub’s penchant for Chinese Chip-
pendale.
Double-hung and jib head (walk-out) windows intended to catch prevailing breezes bathe the interior
in soft, gin-clear natural light. Large formal rooms are intimate and inviting thanks to Staub’s skill with
proportion. The living room’s cove ceiling and central framed panel with trompe l’oeil sky distract from
its daunting height; the dining room accommodates a banquet table or two large round tables but its im-
pressive span is interrupted by bow windows overlooking the terrace and park. The morning room offers
7 Winston Woods