English Country Style in LaGrange
By Tara Kelly
Photos by Rana Faure

Monica Gerard-Sharp loves her tea, and she serves it properly: in an antique teapot that is warmed with hot water before brewing the tea leaves. Poured into bone china cups, with milk on offer, and sweetened by honey from her own hives. 

Gerard-Sharp comes by her tea habit honestly. Born in London, she was raised in South Africa, but returned to southeast England for school. Gerard-Sharp is best described as a force of nature, with a storybook life complete with adversity, determination, creativity, and a bona fide Persian prince, her husband Ali Wambold, with whom she has three daughters: Marina, Daniela, and Dominica.

The homegrown honey is an ode to her childhood. “We had a farm in South Africa,” she says, paraphrasing author Isak Dinesen. “Dotted with cows, fruit trees, a vineyard, and a succession of dogs, cats, and horses. The grown-ups used to entertain all over the estate—on the veranda, under the pergola, lolling on the lawn, sitting by the rose garden. Those memories inspired my creation of a farm here, and a tradition of entertaining outdoors.” 

Deer Park is a 1930s stone manor house nestled on a hill in LaGrange. “We saw it on a gray winter’s day in 1989, and fell in love with the beautiful views towards the Catskills. The landscape reminded me of Surrey and Kent, where I grew up,” Gerard-Sharp says. “Wambold Farm began when Daniela, who was eight, decided to raise chickens, goats, and a donkey.” Then followed horses. “The horses took over, as is their wont. Between horse shows and foxhunting, most weekends were spent on horseback.”

“I was nostalgic for a certain kind of country life,” Gerard-Sharp continues. “We have house parties for family and friends. That’s why I created gardens, and different areas for fun activities: tennis, badminton, swimming, a croquet lawn, hiking and riding trails. 

“When I organize parties, I hark back to theater. I choose a theme, create a setting, plot a timeline, assemble props, and muster some characters—the guests.”

An enduring interest in the arts and theater infuses Gerard-Sharp’s everyday life. She’s served on a board for the UK’s National Theatre for nearly 20 years. “I also led the $60 million campaign to build a theater for Shakespeare in Brooklyn: Theatre for a New Audience.” Her youngest daughter, Dominica, has picked up the baton, and is expanding the theater’s appeal to younger audiences.

Her deep love of the land inspires her support of Wethersfield, Innisfree, and the Dutchess Land Conservancy. “I watched the shrinking of the English countryside in the 1990s, and this fueled my drive for land conservation here. I’m proud that with the DLC we conserved more than 500 acres around our farm.”

Gerard-Sharp works with her eldest daughter on the conservation and farm projects. What started long ago as an orchard growing apples and chickens laying eggs has blossomed with Marina. “We are busy planting wildflowers for the bees, growing dahlias and sunflowers to sell, eating all our own vegetables and herbs, and now trying our hand at cultivating mushrooms.” Gerard-Sharp and her family are making the most of life in the country.