Spring Palace

Spring comes to the Governor's Palace and linking again to Skywatch Friday.

Staircases

 

Stopped to talk to one of the carpenters employed by Colonial Williamsburg to maintain its historic structures and learned why colonial staircases were so often built next to windows. It was to take advantage of as much available natural light as possible. Otherwise, it could be rather dark in these houses.

"Cheery"

 

A "cheery" sight for elementary school students.

Symmetry

 

"Symmetry is a defining characteristic feature of Colonial homes. The front door is always centered and bordered by an equal number of windows on either side of the door. The windows are traditionally multi-paned, and the shutters are in contrasting colors." -- Rocket Homes

Water Wells

 

"The early wells were hand dug, usually round, though there were some large wells that were dug in a square shape. They varied from three to four feet in diameter up to as large as ten feet or more. They had to be at least big enough for a man to swing a pick. The depth of the wells varied from home to home. Sometimes the settler could go twelve feet and have a good water supply, and other times he might have to go down a hundred feet. He would dig until he hit a seep or a stream of underground water which would supply his need. Then the hole was rocked up to hold and protect the water." -- 'Well, Well, Well" by Joe Jeffrey 

Old School

 

Shoulder Month

 

Just the slightest hint that spring is around the corner. March is one of those "shoulder months" here on the Middle Peninsula, when afternoon temperatures can range anywhere from the upper 60s and low 70s to the upper 40s and low 50s. Today, for instance, we're expecting a high of 55. Not quite as pleasant as last Wednesday when I snapped this picture and when the afternoon high was nearly 76. 

Welcome to spring! 

Updated 3/21/2024

Palace Gate

 

Palace gate looks like it could use a little attention this spring.

Bowden-Armistead House

 

"The Bowden-Armistead House, a three-story Greek Revival home surrounded by black wrought-iron fencing, stands out. It is an antebellum relic; the last remnant of the post-colonial homes and businesses present before the 1930s restoration of Williamsburg was finished. The house is located at 207 W. Duke of Gloucester Street, on a lot once owned by the adjacent Bruton Parish Church. Built in 1858 by prominent lawyer Lemuel J. Bowden, local gossip of the time reported its astonishing cost to be more than $10,000. The Bowden-Armistead House has ever since been a landmark on the cultural and geographic landscape of Williamsburg’s main street." -- The House & Home Magazine

Virginia Fences II

 

Porches

 

In colonial America . . . "hooded doors or small covered entryways flanked by benches, often called stoops (from the Dutch "stoep" for step) that served as short covered transitions to and from the outdoors were common features, especially in New York and the mid-Atlantic colonies." -- Keperling Preservation Services

Virginia Fences

 

"New-Englanders have a saying, when a man is in liquor, he is making Virginia fences." -- Thomas Anburey (1779)

Powder Magazine

 

Officials in Colonial Williamsburg have decided that the wall surrounding it’s historic powder magazine was restored to the wrong height. Instead of ten feet, it never would have actually been more than seven. So work has begun to restore the wall to its “proper” height while keeping as much of the original material as possible.

The Goodwin

 

Two looks at the recently renovated Goodwin Building on Henry Street, home of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Third Sunday of Advent

 

Hanging of the Greens

 

Handbells

 

Tavern

 

Christiana Campbell's Tavern

Nurtured Notion

A very fun shop to visit any time of year, but especially here during and in between the holidays.

Barn