Brighton Winter House - Restored Historic Home on the East River

Step back in time to Brighton, a historic estate in a spectacular setting on the East River.

The guest house is called The Winter House, as for over 100 years it was the only home on the property with heating. The Winter House offers a historic home with a newly renovated interior with all of today's comforts. Downstairs there is a formal living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, butler's pantry, and half bath. There are screened porches for outdoor relaxation and dining.

Upstairs there are 3 bedrooms (2 with queen beds and 1 with 2 twin beds) plus 4th bedroom set up as a TV room with a twin daybed. Enjoy the full bath with clawfoot tub w/ shower and bidet toilet. There is also a washer/dryer upstairs.

Want to relax? Swing in the hammocks by the river, read a book sitting in the Adirondack chairs, or watch the glorious sunset from the hot tub.

Want to explore? We have a bicycles available to explore the land and kayaks available to explore the water.

Want to stay fit? The newly renovated gym is includes an exercise bike, treadmill, a Lagree megaformer, and free weights. You can swim in the creek or take a yoga class at the Wharf.

The Brighton Winter House was built by the inventor of the punch card (and the founder of a company which would eventually be called IBM). Brighton was a much loved summer home, used to escape the hectic pace and humidity of Washington, DC and to reconnect with family, friends, and self for over 100 years.

The Brighton Winter House has everything you need for a memorable stay. We look forward to welcoming you.

Your visit to Mathews County can be as laid back or as busy as you would like. Brighton is about 10 minutes away from downtown Mathews with its charming Saturday farmer's market and great local coffee shop. You can play pickleball at the free courts in Mathews, visit the lovely sand Haven Beach or the wild Bethel Beach, get a massage at Soothing Shores spa, go bird watching to see our amazing ospreys, blue herons, bald eagles, and more, visit the Saturday morning farmer's market, go shopping or out to dine in Mathews, Gloucester, or Deltaville, explore one of the local historical museums, join a local archeological dig, take a class at the Bay School community art center, or go further afield to one of the historical sites like Yorktown, Jamestown, or Williamsburg or to visit Busch Gardens. Alternatively, you can read a book while swaying in the hammock and grab some fresh fish from the local market to cook on the new Bosch 6 burner range.

A few things to note:
1) Brighton was in the same family for over 100 years and while it was much loved it did have some deferred maintenance. We purchased the property in 2024 and we are working to restore the entire property. Its a large project with 10 different buildings (check out brightonourday.com to learn more about the property and see some very cool historic photos). We may have small restoration projects taking place during your stay - feel free to reach out and we can tell you about the current projects.
2) We have 2 German Shepherds who live in the main house with us. They do not go outside unsupervised but it is possible you could meet them. Let us know if you don’t like dogs and we can come up with a plan to reduce the odds of you meeting them!
3) The air conditioning is window units (as shown in the photos) which do make a little noise.