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Merrie Mill

Walking Tour:
​Gardens & Historic Swimming Pool
Antique Car Show
Farm & Vineyard open all day

Merrie Mill began in 1857 when Edward S. Pegram, a retired Baltimore merchant,  purchased 600 acres from a farm owned by John Fry.  Pegram erected a two-story house and named it Edgefield.  Its spacious interior is finished in polished chestnut and oak wood that was harvested on the property. ​

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​Edgefield was sold in 1880 to a retired English officer named Dr. Bird. He improved the farm by setting out large orchards and vineyards, and by adding evergreens and ornamental trees to the lawn.

After Dr. Bird died in 1890, John Armstrong Chaloner purchased the farm.  Chaloner acquired an additional 400 acres that included the present day “Sorrel” land, now owned by Grace Church, and the colonial Merrie Mill property.   Chaloner renamed the property The Merrie Mills. ​

He built a pool and invited neighbors to swim at no charge.  He converted a barn into a movie theater and charged neighbors a nickel to watch movies.  After a fire destroyed the interior of Grace Church in 1895, Chaloner revealed that he had purchased an insurance policy to rebuild the church. ​

​Chaloner died in 1935 and is buried in the Grace Church graveyard.

​In 2017 Elizabeth and Guy Pelly purchased Merrie Mill Farm, relocated their family from England  and began to restore and renovate the property and began to cultivate their vineyards. They produced their first Vintage in 2021 and have not looked back since then!

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They demolished an old tractor barn  to construct a 5,000 sq ft tasting room and designed it to feel like a home, sourcing eclectic antique furnishings, personal artwork and antique taxidermy - to bring together a space that has to be seen to be believed.

​The Pellys also recently purchased Feast, the gourmet food store in Charlottesville, and are anticipating lots of synergies to develop with the Vineyard.