Maybrook Mansion was built in the late 1800s and designed by Watson Hewitt and William D. Hewitt to look and feel like a Scottish castle.| Image courtesy of Jefferson Apartment Group
Wynnewood is associated with nice homes, shopping centers, and good schools. Not castles. That’s because Maybrook, the last remaining grand estate in Wynnewood, has been shrouded in litigation, intrigue, and dense woodlands for decades.
Although it is located just behind the Wynnewood Train Station, the only glimpse area residents could get of the castle was its rose-colored turrets peeking above the tree line. Growing up walking distance from Maybrook, I never dared to venture down the narrow path leading from the station to the castle.
Amazingly, when I was 19-years-old, my boyfriend invited me to have dinner at Maybrook. I’m not sure what shocked me more. That my boyfriend’s uncle and aunt, John and Ruth Merriam, lived in the castle or that I was finally going to see what was inside. I was excited and terrified. However, the Merriams quickly put me at ease. John was a real estate developer, art collector, and philanthropist. Ruth was passionately involved with art restoration. The décor conjured up Mary Queen of Scots or the Addams Family, depending on your feelings about medieval architecture and 19th century décor.
A portrait of Henry C. Gibson painted by artist Bernhard Uhle in 1891. | Image courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
My visit, however, did not answer lingering question. What was a castle doing in Wynnewood? For that, we need to go back to when Lower Merion Township was rolling farmland.
In 1857, the Pennsylvania Railroad connected Philadelphia to Bryn Mawr and points west running parallel to Lancaster Avenue. That motivated wealthy Philadelphians to buy land and hire famous architects to design “Main Line Gothic” castle-like mansions as summer retreats. While most Main Line castles have since gone the way of the bulldozer, Maybrook remained intact due to a unique set of circumstances and characters that almost rival Downton Abbey.
It started in 1881, when liquor baron and business magnate Henry C. Gibson purchased 67 acres of Wynnewood farmland from a Welsh Quaker. Gibson hired George Watson Hewitt and William D. Hewitt to duplicate a medieval Scottish castle. The name Maybrook combined the first name of Gibson’s daughter with a brook that ran through the estate.
An archival photograph of Maybrook Mansion, date unknown. | Image courtesy of the Lower Merion Historical Society
Stonemasons were brought from England to lend authenticity to the 35-room, 20,000-square-foot Gothic mansion with a 72-foot tower. Gibson planted a veritable forest of majestic oak, maple, and pine trees to shield his estate from public view. The grounds included fountains, ornamental gardens, a duck pond, a gatehouse, stables, and a barn.
When Gibson died in 1891, his 22-year-old daughter Mary “May” Gibson hired George Watson and William D. Hewitt to design a two-story, 50-foot high ballroom with ornately carved stone pillars, arched windows, and vaulted cathedral ceilings. When May wanted music, she hired the Philadelphia Orchestra. She also added a library, a greenhouse, a carriage house, and commissioned Violet Oakley to design stained glass windows.
In 1950, May sold 10 acres of Maybrook to Merriam who built the 220-unit Thomas Wynne Apartments on the southeastern border of the property. Six years later, May sold the remainder of the estate to Merriam who lived in the mansion with his wife for over 30 years.
Maybrook Mansion’s parlor, dining room, and game room. | Images courtesy of Jefferson Apartment Group
When Merriam’s wife died, he married his secretary Betty Lockyer. Two years later, Merriam passed away leaving his $95 million estate to Lockyer. Before her death in 2000, Lockyer transferred everything to her son by a previous marriage, Robert Lockyer. Head of Merloc Development, he envisioned turning the estate into The Reserve at Maybrook, a luxury apartment complex with the castle as its centerpiece.
For over a decade, Robert Lockyer’s vision was mired in legal battles that went all the way up to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Here is where we get into the legal weeds. While Maybrook is technically located in Wynnewood, within Lower Merion Township, its eastern border along North Wynnewood Road is adjacent to the independent Borough of Narberth. Narberth residents put up a fight. Their concern? They did not want a dramatic increase in traffic spilling into their sleepy borough.
In 2006, suburban real estate developers Toll Brothers bought the development rights of The Reserve at Maybrook from Lockyer. Just when Lower Merion Township was about to celebrate its new tax base, Narberth played hard ball again. Residents were appalled at Toll Brother’s plan. Then came the housing market crash of 2008. All bets were off.
The Reserve at Maybrook apartment complex. | Rendering courtesy of KTGY Architects.
By 2016, Toll Brothers was out of the picture and Haverford Properties entered into an agreement with Lockyer. “He sold us 34 acres, which included the mansion, stable, and carriage house,” said Charlie Houder, president and founder of Haverford Properties.
Haverford Properties, in partnership with Virginia-based Jefferson Apartment Group, presented their plan for a 250-unit luxury apartment complex designed by KTGY Architects. Lower Merion Township approved and Narberth got its wish. The entrance to the complex is on Penn Road in Wynnewood and Narberth received a new traffic light to ease congestion.
In 2018, the Reserve at Maybrook opened with a two-story fitness center, resort-style pool, and a 139 year-old castle. “Residents have access to the castle’s renovated game room and parlor, and may also reserve use of its dining room,” said Houder, “On the upper floors, we are creating office space for the use of residents. When the ballroom is renovated, it will be available for rent on a limited basis.” Do I hear a waltz?
I think it’s called Scottish baronial style. Looks like the Main Building at Friends Central School In Wynnewood.
I worked for John Merriam for a number of years. He was a gentleman and was always fair with his employees. I managed his first apartments “Jericho Manor” in Abington, and spent some time at Maybrook for business and was always pleased. I was fortunate to live in his big house in Abington, “Tall Trees” lucky me.
My husband’s grandparents lived in Tall Trees for almost half a century. They must have moved in right after you. I always wondered why they built apartments right behind the house.
I travel past this property almost daily for 30-years & did not know what was behind that stone wall? Thank you!
Great article, Stacia.
As a kid growing up nearby, in a rinky-dink 1 bedroom apartment with my mom, this property was fascinating to me. Next to the apartment complex was what we called Duck Pond, and then beyond that was a thicket of trees and vines and a remaining stone wall or two from the 18th Century. If you went deeper into the thicket, 2 giant standard poodles, one black, one white, would bark like mad and chase us out. Only one or two times did we get a glimpse at the mansion itself. It was fascinating and I used to dream of living in such a place…
As I rode the bus to school everyday, from Ardmore Jr. High through Lower Merion High School I would pass by this house. This house, was where I wanted to live, where I was going to live, where I was going to raise and family and children. but alas it was only a dream. Still love it to this day and appreciate your article and pictures. It’s so special to me.
I lived right across from the estate, with the two amber footlights at its entrance. We sledded in the hill and skated on Duck Pond as a family. The owner was a gentleman, Mr zmerruam, i too fascinated I was back in the day living there, but the most enduring memory was that, yes, when dogs did back, we were never told we were trespassing g as kids. And it turned out to be my second back yard. One can’t help but feel that he was a romantic himself. Its an enduring part of my childhood.
Hi I’m Myra asking how is Beth contact me on Facebook or wilsonjmyra@gmail.com. I think about when we all played in this backyard in the log cabin there.lol!!!
I lived in the original Thomas Wynne apartments , still there in the estate next to duck pond in the 1995-98 period when the second wife of John Merrimack still lived in the mansion with housekeepers and staff. I had a child who loved to visit the pond and we were often chased of the grass leading up to the mansion, which had a sign saying Private, No Tresspassing however, curiosity sometimes got the better and she and a playmate wandered up to close, though still a distance from the house. It was visible from that point she Betty Lockyear had armed military orSWAT style armed guard on the porch with bayonets and Doberman pincher dogs so no one got close! It was scary.
I asked the TW manager at the time Mr Bindram (sp) what was up with the guards. I don’t know if true but heard she was a lush and pretty paranoid. Her son took over as stated the building and rents were immediately raised. I had to move but the original will of Merrimack said not to remove trees or change property, but he was planning to build Maybrook back then and Narberth successfully challenged the egress into Narberth.
Just my two cents. Nice to hear the gaps in the story I was told.
Can you tell us about the other private home that it is situated on the grounds? It’s gated. I always assumed “the son” lived there.
It’s a beautiful mansion. It’s a shame it’s been closed to residents of Maybrook since July, with no updates since. It’s not closed due to COVID either. They just arbitrarily closed it.
Great article, Stacia. Hmmm….I think I can guess who the boyfriend was. 🙂
Dear Stacia, wonderful article, I actually lived on Aubrey Road one block behind Penn Road, I lived there from 1949 to 1975, and moved to Manor Road to just recently. I must say, as kids we spent lots of time on that estate,knew of John Merriam, but your article put much into prospective, thank you, I left Wynnewood in June of 2019 and now reside at the Jersey Shore, miss my Wynnewood, John B. Fitzpatrick,
Thank you for this fabulous article explaining & exposing a gem & mystery from yesteryear!
Nice to see that such properties still exist and are being rethought for current and future occupsncies. Hope it succeeds!
As a resident of Narberth from 1946-1956, the Gibson estate was a
fascination. We would take Sabine Ave., cross Wynnewood Rd. and
walk the “back way” to Ardmore Jr. High and Lower Merion H.S. I
never saw the house. I’ve Ice skated on the pond (rather rough and
uneven attempt) and explored the woods enough to run into the weed
that left the intruder with a burning rash. That was enough for this
explorer! Rumors of dogs and guards were legendary.
Thanks for an informative article. Now that I’m into my 80’s and
live in Calif., it’s great to have some childhood “gaps” enlightened.
Thanks also to Ted Goldsborough for making this article available!
I grew up on Pennwynn rd.
We walked at the estate often And played in the woods. It always felt spooky! We found a pet cemetery too.
We loved having the freedom to roam. We would go outside all day and only come home when mom rang the bell for dinner!
To see a bunch more photos of the mansion, go to google maps, look up Maybrook Apartments and scroll through the photos. You have to wade through all the pics of model apartments, though.
Lee, are you related to the McIlvain that built houses between Penn & Church Roads?
Last Dec – March we lived at the Maybrook due to water damage in our Mt Airy home. They like short term rentals for some reason. Maybe because it cost so much to live there. At any rate, one silver lining was the mansion because I went in nearly every day. I really really love that bldg. Once I even brought scones and tea because it felt so British to be in there, even if it is Scottish technically. The ballroom is breathtaking even though much of the time it was undergoing renovation. Overall, the inside architecture is stunning. I am sorry it is closed to residents.
Stop using gray type! It’s not legible. It’s bad design. Very bad. Stop it immediately. It must be black.
Hi Lee…the house looks very much like a blown up version of Agnes Irwin School on Clothier Rd, does it not? The turrets, the porte cohere, the stonework, etc.
As teenagers, we were enthralled with the property, and most of all, the castle itself. We also heard the barking of the dogs often while exploring those woods back in the 70’s. Thanks so much for writing this article. I consider you to be quite fortunate to have had the opportunity to get a glimpse into that structure and be with the people that lived there. We used to make up stories about what we envisioned would be happening behind those walls.
While doing genealogy, I recently found a Great Uncle, who lived on Conway in Narbeth & worked for the Gibsons at Maybrook.
Thank you, Stacia Friedman, for putting together everything in Mansion. I think you have covered all the major points in this article, I will share this with my network as well. Thank you for giving us this use full information
Before the property developed into apartments, the owner was generous enough to take my princess-Interested-children on a tour of the “Castle across the street”. It was such a generous and hospitable personal tour. I treasure the photos of the original furniture – the dining room furniture had one of the original owner’s likeness carved into each chair! This preserved architecture is a gem, and it is so lovely that more people now have accessories this beautiful historical building (outside CoVID) than before.
It was a spook; its true to go wandering over there but that was the draw. Mr. Merriam left quite a legacy with the kindness he showed and the beauty of the estate. It was very nice, and showed such a gesture in leaving us kids to our imaginations. I was 70’s and was surprised that the largesse went back much further than that.
I wonder if the stained glass reportedly designed by Violet Oakley remain in tact. I would love to see those photographed with a story on how she got that commission. The time line suggests those were installed years after the ballroom was added since Violet was a the fledgling start of her career path in Fine Art and Illustration in Howard Pyle’s first class at the Drexel Institute in 1893.
Valuable local history. Thank you! However, I’m quite sure that the Wynnewood Civic Association was also very involved in fighting development of the property, which was not included in this story. I recall them raising money for legal fees. Perhaps the writer could talk to current civic association leadership, to find and interview those active in that fight.
So glad! even though the property was unfortunately developed, most of..if not all the original buildings on the Estate were saved? and not destroyed! as the developers are so known to do!