Work on the estate began in 1903, when John Shaffer Phipps promised his fiancée, Margarita Grace (a daughter of businessman
Michael P. Grace), that he would build her a home in the United States that resembled her family's British residence at
Battle Abbey in
Battle, East Sussex, England. The house was ready in 1906 for Phipps, his wife and their young children. Westbury House, the
Carolean Revival (
Charles II style) mansion designed by British designer
George A. Crawley with assistance from American architect
Grosvenor Atterbury, contains 23 rooms. The grounds cover . Adjoining Westbury House is also an enlarged farmhouse dating back to the mid-1860s. It is presently known as "Orchard Hill," and was given to Mrs. Peggie Phipps as a wedding gift in 1929. Old Westbury Gardens now owns the house and uses it for numerous purposes. The painting of
Mrs. Henry Phipps and Her Grandson Winston (1906–07) by
John Singer Sargent hangs in the dining room.
Winston Guest was the child, and his godfather was
Winston Churchill. File:Old Westbury Gardens Front.jpg|Front of the mansion in winter File:A Wide Establishing Shot of the Westbury House at Old Westbury Gardens.jpg|Front of the mansion in spring File:Old Westbury Gardens 18.JPG|View of the walled garden File:Old Westbury Gardens Gate 2.jpg|Entrance gates File:Mrs Henry Phipps and Her Grandson Winston John Singer Sargent 1907.jpeg|
Mrs. Henry Phipps and Her Grandson Winston, by
John Singer Sargent == In popular culture ==