Gryphon House is one of the most captivating properties ever built in one of the most picturesque sections of Monmouth County. Built entirely out of stone, this privately owned home is perfectly placed into a rich landscape of old growth trees and gardens, and almost appears to be a painting set against the background of Middletown horse country.

As once described in a published article; “The romance of an earlier era can be felt throughout this approximately 7500 square foot French Normandy, which is impressively set at the culmination of a 200 foot long entrance drive in Monmouth County’s historic Middletown”.

Indeed the term ‘romance’ aptly describes the atmosphere of this remarkable manor house and it is no coincidence. In the movie “Titanic”, there is a scene depicted where an elderly couple, refusing to be separated, lie together holding hands on their beds as the waters rise around them. This couple was not fictional. They were in fact, Isador and Ida Strauss and their family store was Macy’s and Bamberger & Co. This home is part of the Strauss family complex. One of their sons, Herbert, built this particular house in 1936. Over the years it has been referred to as “The House of the Arches” and in more recent years, “Gryphon House”.

When setting out to build this house, Herbert Strauss and his wife Therese retained Alfred Hopkins, one of the most renowned architects of his time and certainly at the top of his field in the New York area. Hopkins was also the architect for the farm complex at Laurelton Hall in Long island, built the for the Tiffany family in the same era. Hopkins employed French motifs for this home and only the highest quality construction was implemented. Its authenticity was further assured when the limestone used to build the house was shipped in from France.

In the years since, the home also served as the residence and even the office of Dr. Thomas, a descendant of the Thomas' English Muffins family. His office remains the house office to this day.

Entering the house is not unlike being instantly transformed to a home in the French countryside. To merely approach the entrance is to feel as if you are stepping into the past. Two huge bronze gryphons (winged lions) frame the tall stone arched entryway. On the other side of the large oak front door and through the velvet curtained entrance is the beautiful stately foyer. One-foot thick stone walls now surround you nearly everywhere you go in the home, giving one an undeniable sense of sanctuary. Walking straight on, you pass the beautiful English country drawing room, complete with a carved stone fireplace capped with a broad solid oak mantle. Though impeccably decorated and elegant in every respect, it also manages to remain cozy, warm and completely inviting.  

The foyer leads to a door and two steps down into a magnificent garden room. In order to enter it you’ll pass through any one in a series of ten-foot tall stone archways. These three arches, the adjacent stone wall, and large fireplace comprise the inner wall to this grand room. At over forty feet wide, paneled and beamed in solid cherry and floored in bluestone, it is impossible not to have some sense of being in an Arthurian court or castle great room. Each of the other three walls of this room offers it’s own double door exit to the gardens, the pool, or the large patio, which is ornamented with five ornate gingko trees.  

The grounds of the home are as unique as the house itself. There is complete privacy as other homes are virtually unseen in every direction. Across the street is “Cobble Close”, a complex of matching sister buildings to this house. All were once a part of the aforementioned Strauss estate. Cobble Close sits behind a pond and the property is occupied with sheep, cows, and steer; a scene that is absolutely picturesque.

Behind Gryphon house, the property gently climbs into a vast hillside. The yard, at first shaded by old growth trees, turns gradually into more open field as it ascends. Beyond the split rail fence are sloping grass pastures and grazing horses as far as the eye can see. There are some of the finest botanical trees in the area; including a several-hundred year old weeping beech, among others. Upon standing under the mostly enclosed canopy of this awesome beech tree, you nearly enter Tolkien's “middle-earth”. To stand next to the centuries old trunk, under the cascading, shroud-like canopy of this tree for even a moment, is to be utterly enchanted.