Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library
Research Report Series - 0164
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Library
Williamsburg, Virginia
1990
| INTRODUCTION: | |
| I. IMPRESSIONS OF TRAVELLERS AS TO TAVERNS AND ORDINARIES IN VIRGINIA | |
| Chastellux, Anburey, La Rochefoucault, Weld, Davis, Auld, Hadfield and others | |
| II. TYPES OF TAVERN-KEEPERS | |
| John Marot | |
| Henry Wetherburn | |
| George Weedon | |
| Mrs. Christianna Campbell | |
| Mrs. Jane Vobe | |
| III. SIZE AND TYPES OF TAVERNS | |
| At Port Royal, Culpeper, Williamsburg | |
| IV. TAVERN ROOMS AND FURNISHINGS | |
| Examples cited from Williamsburg | |
| V. TAVERN RATES | |
| Legal regulations Rates charged at different periods | |
| VI. TAVERN HOSPITALITY | |
| Entertainment (balls, banquets, dinners, receptions &c) | |
| Amusements (games and gaming) | |
| Meetings held at (political, social, business) | |
| Lectures and schools held at | |
| Musical instruments owned by tavern-keepers | |
| VII. TAVERN STABLES | |
| APPENDIX | |
| Illustration #1 | List of taverns in Williamsburg in the eighteenth century |
William Shenstone in a poem, "Written at an Inn" (thought to be the Red Lion), had this feeling about an English inn:
"Whoe'er has travelled life's dull round
Wher'er his stages may have been
May sigh to think he still has found
The warmest welcome at an inn."
Taverns in Virginia in the eighteenth century were patterned more or less after the taverns of old England, though Virginia taverns were often larger an more pretentious. Inns, taverns and ordinaries had points of similarity. The Oxford-English Dictionary gives these definitions:
"INNS: A public house kept for the lodging and entertainment of travellers, or any who wish to use its accommodations. A hostelry or hotel; sometimes erroneously, a tavern which does not provide lodging.
TAVERNS: 1. In early use, a public house or tap-room where wine was retailed; a dram-shop; in current use PUBLIC HOUSE.
ORDINARY: An eating-house or tavern where public meals are provided at a fixed price; a diningÂroom in such a building. … C. In parts of the United States, as Virginia: a tavern or inn of any kind."
Hugh Jones, the historian, in the Present State of Virginia (1724) refers to the public houses in Williamsburg: "The number of Artificers is here daily augmented; as are the convenient Ordinaries or Inns for Accommodation of Strangers…" Fithian, tutor in the Carter family in 1773-1774, notes that "…All Taverns they call 'Ordinary's'." (Journal and Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian 1773-1774, p. 233, Hunter D. Farish, ed., 1943)
J. F. D. Smyth who travelled through Williamsburg about 1765 had 2 this to say about the distinction between taverns, inns or ordinaries:
"There is no distinction here between inns, taverns, ordinaries and public houses; they are all in one and are known by the appelation of taverns, public house or ordinary on them, which in the general acceptance of the names here are signified by terms. They are all very indifferent indeed compared to the inns in England."
Frequently, signs were used on taverns in Virginia just as in England. The signs were often painted by travelling artists and hung on the outside to attract the travellers. In England, Gainsborough is said to have painted the sign hung at Dolly's in Paternoster Row, and Sir Godfrey Kneller is reputed to have painted the portrait of a famous tavern-keeper, Le Beck. Doubtless there were signs appearing before the doors of Rising Sun Tavern1, Indian Queen, Rainbow Inn2, The Royal George3, Golden Ball, King's Arms, Red Lion &c. Other less important or smaller taverns carried no outside sign to advertise their taverns as a stopping place for the weary traveller.4 (See Research Report 1945: "At the Sign of" for further data on signs.)
Taverns in Virginia were often rambling story-and-a-half houses of wood, most frequently, located at cross-roads in the country, or at an intersection of streets in a town. The foundations were of brick or stone 3 with basement. A tap room with portcullis grate was on the first floor. The kitchen as a separate building was located to the rear of the tavern.
The more pretentious taverns had rooms with high-sounding names. Frequently, there would be "Apollo Rooms", or "Blue Rooms". The "Apollo Room" at the various taverns in Virginia may have been named for the Apollo Room in "Hercules Pillars", London, or in the "Young Devil Tavern". The "Blue Room" in the Carlyle Mansion, Alexandria, was the scene of a conference between General Braddock and the Governors of the Five Colonies. In the Raleigh Tavern was the "Daphne Room" and the "Apollo Room"; and "The Bull Head" at the Richard Bland Tavern (later Wetherburn's) was well known.
There seems to have been a difference of opinion as to the quality of taverns and ordinaries. Some travellers spoke in glowing terms of Virginia tavern life; others saw nothing but the inconveniences, hardships and poor food offered. The ministers looked upon these hostels as dens of iniquity. Below, have been inserted in quotes impressions of some of these travellers:
ACCOUNT OF A TRAVELLER IN THE LONDON MAGAZINE 1746[Description of Yorktown]
"…The Taverns are many here, and much frequented, and an unbounded Licentiousness seems to taint the Morals of the young Gentlemen of the place… "
(William and Mary Quarterly XV, p. 222)
VIRGINIA GAZETTE, April 11, 1751, William Hunter, editor:"Copy of a Letter lately sent by a Clergyman to the King's Attorney of that County wherein he reSides, with Relation to Ordinaries. [County not known]
SIR,
IT being reported, That Application is intended shortly to be made to the Court of this County, for a Licence to open a new Ordinary in this Parish, I make it my earnest Request to you, as King's Attorney, to oppose the Motion. And this I am mov'd to do, as it is notorious, that Ordinaries are now, in a great Measure, perverted from their original Intention and proper Use; viz. the Reception, Accommodation and Refreshment of the weary and benighted Traveller; (which Ends they least serve or answer) and are become the common Receptacle, and Rendezvous of the 4 very Dreggs of the People; even of the most lazy and dissolute that are to be found in their respective Neighbourhoods, where not only Time and Money are, vainly and unprofitably, squandered away, but (what is yet worse) where prohibited and unlawful Games, Sports, and Pastimes are used, followed, and practised, almost without any intermission; namely Cards, Dice, Horse-racing, and Cock-fighting, together with Vices and Enormities of every other Kind, and where (their inseparable Companions, or Concomitants) Drunkenness, Swearing, Cursing, Perjury, Blasphemy, Cheating, Lying, and Fighting, are not only tolerated, (or conniv'd at) but permitted with Impunity; nay, abound to the greatest Excess; reign arbitrary and free from the least Controul; just as if every one of the Guests were of Opinion that those Houses, and the Yards adjoining thereto, were enfranchised with unlimited Privileges; and neither subject to the Laws of Man, nor yet to the Inspection and Authority of God himself…I therefore… make it my humble Petition to you, to use your utmost Interest with the worshipful Court of this County, that no more Ordinaries may be licensed therein; at least within those Precincts where the Interest of Religion (to which they are diametrically opposite) is lodged in the unworthy Hands of
Sir,
Your humble Servant,
A. B."
A FRENCH TRAVELLER IN THE COLONIES, 1765, pp. 742-743 [Williamsburg] "In the Day time people hurying back and forwards from the Capitoll to the taverns, and at night, Carousing and Drinking In one Chamber and box and Dice in another, which Continues till morning Commonly. there is not a publick house in virginia but have their tables all baterd with the boxes…" (Photostat, Research Department)
NARRATIVE OF GEORGE FISHER:
[quoting from George Fisher who travelled in Virginia in 1751] [Leeds]
"…I put up at one Mrs. T---ts, esteemed the best Ordinary in Town, and indeed the House and Furniture has an elegant appearance as any I have seen in the country, Mr. Finnays or Wetherburnes in Williamsburg not excepted. The chairs, Tables &c of the room I was conducted into were all of Mahogany, and so stuffed with fine large glaized Copper Plate Prints that I almost fancied myself in Jeffriess' or other elegant Print Shop." (William and Mary Quarterly, 1st Series, XVII, p. 170)
An ordinary at Colchester is described about 1798 by John Davis: "The apartments are numerous and at the same time spacious; carpets of delicate texture cover the floors, and glasses are suspended from the walls in which a Goliath might survey himself" He said "every luxury can be purchased at the first summons." (Tyler's Quarterly Magazine, IX, pp. 69-70)5
HISTORIC FREDERICKSBURG…by John T. Goolrick (Richmond, 1922)
Chapter: "AT THE RISING SUN where Famous Men Met; and Mine Host Brewed Punch and Sedition." pp. 133-138 "…
Built in 1750 or 1760…
…Weedon [George], one of the pioneers of the movement for freedom, made his Tavern the gathering place for all the gentlemen of the 'neighborhood' of which Dr. Smith says: 'The neighborhood included all of Westmoreland County, the Northern Neck and all other counties as far as Mount Vernon.'"
THE JOURNAL OF JAMES AULD, 1765-1770, (July 1904 Southern Historical Association Publications)
[February 12, 1765, Description of a tavern on the Eastern Shore of Virginia near Severn Ayer's:] "… I alighted about Twelve o'Clock at a large new house a distance from the sd Air's dwelling and belonging to him as I understood kept as a Tavern or house of Entertainment for Travellers by a poor Dirty pair and Taylor and his wife and nothing for Man or horse but Stinking Rum and as bad Wine no meat and little bread ground at a hand mill and backed in a dirty manner at the fire which myself and sevrl other travellers and Passengers that fell in there Eat…"
TRAVELS THROUGH THE INTERIOR PARTS OF AMERICA by Thomas Anbury (Boston & New York, 1923) Letter LXIII, Richmond, in Virginia; p. 198
[Description of an ordinary in Virginia — 1779] "Having several times mentioned an ordinary, it may not seem amiss to acquaint you, that out of the principal towns, all taverns and public houses are, in Virginia, called ordinaries, and 'faith not improperly in general; they consist of a little house placed in a solitary Situation, in the middle of the woods, and the usual mode of describing the roads, is from such an ordinary to such a one, so many miles; the entertainment you meet with is very poor indeed, seldom able to procure any other fare than eggs and bacon, with Indian hoe cake, and at many of them not even that; the only liquors are peach brandy and whiskey. For this miserable fare they are not remiss in making pretty exorbitant charges; but I am not surprized that accommodations for travellers is so bad, as I am informed, before the war, the hospitality of the country was such, that travellers always stopt at a plantation when they wanted to refresh themselves and their horses, where they always met with the most courteous treatment, and were supplied with every thing gratuitously; and if any neighboring planters heard of any gentleman being at one of these ordinaries, they would send a negroe with an invitation to their own house."
TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA IN THE YEARS 1780, 1781, 1782 by Marquis de Chastellux (London 1787) 6 [Description of Hanover Court House Tavern kept at one time by John Shelton, father-in-law of Patrick Henry] "We arrived before sunset and alighted before a tolerably handsome Inn; a very large saloon and a covered portico are destined to receive the Company who assemble every three months at the Court House either on private or public affairs." * Illustration of this tavern in Lancaster's Historic Virginia Homes and Churches, p. 275.
Chastellux (continued)
Volume II, p. 145 — "Every tavern or inn is provided with a covered portico for the convenience of its guests." [as a protection from sun and weather]
Volume II, p. 202 "…they [the Virginians] make no ceremony of putting three or four persons into the same room."
Hadfield in his DIARY of a visit to America in 1785, pp. 4-5 describes the conditions of a tavern between Norfolk and Williamsburg as being so full that he had to sleep in a barn on a pallet where twenty other such beds were.
TRAVELS OF FOUR YEARS AND A HALF IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DURING 1798, 1799, 1800, 1801 and 1802 dedicated to Thomas Jefferson President of the United States, by John Davis (London 1803)
p. 244 "…
The English bewail the want of convenient taverns in the United States; but the complaint is I think groundless; for I have found taverns in the woods of America, not inferior to those of the common market towns in England. My description of the tavern at the mouth of the Occoquan1 partakes of no hyperbolical amplification; the apartments are numerous and at the same time spacious; carpets of delicate texture cover the floors; and glasses are suspended from the walls in which a Goliah might survey himself."
pp. 222-3 "…7
It was easier landing at Alexandria in America than Alexandria in Egypt; and I found elegant accommodations at Gadsby's hotel. It is observable that Gadsby keeps the best house of entertainment in the United States."
TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA…During the Years 1795, 1796 and 1797 by Isaac Weld, (London 1799)
p. 105 [tavern accommodations near Nansemond Court House]
"…rancied fish, fat salt pork, and bread made of Indian corn…hominy is eaten with bacon, or with other meat."
TRAVELS THROUGH THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA in 1795, 1796, 1797 by La Rochefoucault Liancourt (London 1799)
Volume II, pp. 65-66[near Goochland Court House]
" In Virginia, where the villages are less numerous than in other parts, and inns very scarce, there is generally one adjoining the Court-House, without which the justices, lawyers, and parties, would have no means to procure either a bed or food. We were well lodged in the house destined for the judges, where we shared the parlour with three councillors… "
Illustration of the old tavern at Gloucester Court House appears in Lancaster's Historic Virginia Homes and Churches, p. 257
A few typical examples of tavern-keepers are given below:
Smyth in touring the United States in 1784 gives his impressions of a tavern-keeper in Bute County Court-House, North Carolina:
" He is a man of person lusty, and rather handsome, with an easy and genteel address: his marriage with a young woman of good family, with whom he received a handsome fortune; his being a captain of provincials last war singular as the latter circumstance may appear, contributed more to his appointment and proÂmotion in the American army, than any other merit. For it is a fact, that more than one third of their general field officers have been inn-keepers, and have been chiefly indebted to that circumstance for such rank. Because by that public, but inferior station, their principles and persons became more generally known; and by the mixture and variety of the company they conversed with, in the way of their business, their ideas and their ambitious views were more excited, and extended than the generality of the honest and respectable planters, who remained in peace at their homes." (Kittredge, George Lyman, The Old Farmer and His Almanack (Boston, 1904) quoting J. F. D. Smyth, Tour in the United States (London 1784) pp. 114-115 describing General Jethro Sumner, keeper of the "ordinary, inn or tavern" at Bute County Court-House, North Carolina)
John Davis in Travels of Four Years and a Half in the United States of America; during 1798, 1799, 1800, 1801, and 1802 (London 1803) p. 358 has this description of a tavern-keeper: 8
"Having come to Bull Run, I stopped at a kind of waggoner's Tavern on its border, to inquire the way to the plantation. Old Flowers, the landlord, reeled out of his log-hut towards my horse, but was too much intoxicated to make a coherent reply; so giving my steed his head, I was all passive to his motions, till overtaking an old negro man, I demanded the road to Mr. Ball's."
John Marot, keeper of the English Coffee House(later known as) in Williamsburg operated a large tavern. His inventory confirms this impression and shows that Marot had twenty-three beds. Marot came to Virginia as a Huguenot refugee — in 1700 — probably as a secretary to William Byrd of Westover. About 1707 Marot came to Williamsburg and obtained a license to keep an ordinary. Marot became constable for the town. His Coffee House (ordinary) was a meeting place for councillors, burgesses and many important personages who visited the city. Marot's inventory indicates that his tavern furnishings (in his dwelling house) amounted to £904/11/1.
Another type of tavern-keeper was Henry Wetherburn of Williamsburg. Wetherburn, a most enterprising man, by his marriage to two widows of property, raised his financial position considerably.1 (Wetherburn's occupancy of the Raleigh Tavern will be dealt with later in the report.) At one time Wetherburn rented out the Red Lion Tavern keeping the tavern now known as the "Richard Bland" or "Bulls Head" for himself. Many were the balls held at Wetherburn's taverns and dinners for distinguished guests. The noted punch made by Wetherburn was noted in the court records of Goochland County by which William Randolph of "Tuckahoe", conveyed 200 acres to his friend and connection, Peter Jefferson, for the consideration of "Henry Wetherburn's biggest bowl of arrack punch."
9George Weedon, the fiery Irishman, was keeper of The Rising Sun in Fredericksburg. Weedon was later to become a general and win laurels at the Battle of Brandywine. Smyth, the traveller, describes a visit in which "he put up at the tavern of one Weedon, who was ever active and zealous in blowing the flames of sedition." Weedon was so bold as to propose for the first time the toast: "May the Rose grow and the Thistle flourish, and may the Harp be attuned to the cause of American liberty." Weedon's tavern is still standing in Fredericksburg.
Mrs. Christianna Campbell and Mrs. Jane Vobe have been selected as types of women tavern-keepers of the eighteenth century Virginia. Mrs. Campbell occupied property on the south side of Duke of Gloucester Street for many years. Washington dined with her frequently on his visits to the city of Williamsburg. His accounts paid Mrs. Campbell can be found in George Washington, Colonial Traveller by Fitzpatrick. About 1774 Mrs. Campbell seems to have moved to a lot back of the Capitol. Mrs. Jane Vobe's tavern, the King's Arms, was frequented by "all the best people." At her tavern artists held exhibits, meetings were held, goods displayed, private lessons in foreign languages taught &c. Washington "spent the Evening at Mrs. Vobe's" on trips to Williamsburg. Among other distinguished guests at Mrs. Vobe's tavern were General Nelson and Major General Baron Steuben. Both of these men boarded with Mrs. Vobe during the Revolutionary War.
Abraham Venable in his Diary under date of December 9, 1791 wrote of a tavern-keeper: "Went to Ginning's Ordinary (Amelia County) found him and his company drunk. Spent the evening like a stranger." (History of Prince Edward County Virginia by H. C. Bradshaw, 1936)
As to the size of a typical tavern in Virginia, several examples are cited:
August 1, 1751.
"To be SOLD, at Auction, on Thursday the 26th Day of September next, in the Town of Port-Royal, on Rappahanock River,
(Virginia Gazette, Hunter, ed.)
TWO Lots, with convenient Houses, one built for a Tavern, 46 Feet long, by 28, and large Cellars under it…"
" For SALE,
…Also my tavern at Culpeper courthouse, in Fairfax town, being a large new commodious house, with convenient out-houses, stable, garden, and all proper improvements, and has vast custom, vending 500 pounds worth of liquors original cost in a year, the rent of which is worth 60£ a year; the price is 500£. Any person inclinable to purchase either of the above tracts of land, or tavern, will find either of them a good bargain, and worth their while to apply to me, at Fredericksburg.
ROGER DIXON." (Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, eds., May 7, 1767.)
"March 29, 1770
THE subscriber [Mary Davis] begs leave to inform the Public in general, and her friends in particular, that she has removed from Lester's ferry, and rented Dr. Carter's large brick house, on the Main street in Williamsburg…She has 12 or 14 very good lodging rooms, with fire places in most of them, which will hold two or three beds in each…the house consisting of two parts, and divided lengthwise by a brick partition…"
(Virginia Gazette, William Rind, ed.)
[Mutual Assurance Society Policy #125 — Eagle Tavern in Williamsburg, formerly known as the "King's Arms"]11April 19, 1796.
"I the underwritten Philip Moody in the county of York do hereby declare for assurance my Wooden Buildings on Main street occupied by John Power between the Lott of James Davis and William Russel…A Eagle Tavern wood house 57 feet by 24 feet B wood Barber Shop 20 by 16 feet C Wood kitchen 50 by 16 feet D Stable wood 54 feet by 28…"
(Mutual Assurance Society Policy, photostat, Research Dept. )
This tavern had as many as 14 rooms, 4 passages, 2 porches, a kitchen, cellar, laundry, storehouse, store, shop and a well. (See: King's Arms House History, Research Department)
According to a Mutual Assurance Society Policy of 1796 the Raleigh Tavern was 56 feet by 23 feet with wing added 106 by 24 feet.
Edward Grayson who visited Williamsburg in 1796, described the Raleigh thus:
"…a long, low house, with many little confined attic bed rooms, and two or three large ones below, in which the students gave their balls — or met to play billiards — or the daily ordinary was kept…" (William and Mary Quarterly, 2nd Series, Vol. XIX, p. 195 — Memoirs of the Graysons by George Tucker)
Inventories frequently offer much light as the character of rooms in taverns and the furnishings. In this brief study, inventories are taken from court records of York County, Virginia. In most instances the tavern-keepers lived in Williamsburg.
The following tavern rooms are noted:
"In the ordinary first room…Second room…One room upstairs…Second Room…Third Room…In the Barr Room…In the Billiard Room…In the Billiard room loft…In the Kitchen…In the wash house…In the meal house…In the cellar under the ordinary… "
"In the ordinary first room" are listed bed, bolster, pillow and case, sheets, counterpain, bedÂstead, hide and cord and blankets; curtains, table, chairs, prints and pair hand irons.
"In the Barr Room" were 3 qt. china bowls, 2 gallon bowls, large case of bottles, 9 gallon bottles filled with arrack, earthen bowls and 2 old waiters, bottle sliders, candle box and tobacco box, money scales, tables, powder horn, shotbag, inkstands, tobacco sive.
"In the Billiard Room" were billiard table, stick, ques, old balls, benches, candlesticks.
"In the cellar under the ordinary "were 11 carboys, 12 doz. bottles with state liquors, box of pipes, chair harness, chair etc., strainer.
The inventory is long and detailed. Typical rooms were used above.
See: Wills, Inventories, Book 20, pp. 134-138, York County Records (Copy in Research Department) for full inventory of Ishmael Moody.
Shield was living on the English Coffee House lot (25) at the time of his death. This tavern was large with many apartments suitable for the accommodation of travellers:
"In the Parlour" oval tables, square table, leather chairs, chests, looking glass, corner cupboard, pictures.
"In the Hall" looking glasses, pictures, cupboard, cups, china bowls, decanter, knives and forks, plates, servers, clock, tankard, salts, spoons, glasses, tongs shovel and digs, backÂgammon tables,…
"Upstairs", "In the lower room" looking glass, beds, and furniture, pictures, table chairs, iron dog and stone chamber pots. "Upstairs", "In the Shed"
"In the Barr." 4 empty carboys, case and bottles, table, old fiddle, old hautboy, tin funnel, copper can, pot, money scales, bird cage &c.
Other rooms mentioned with furnishings were: chamber and kitchen, garden room, closet, and cellar. (See: York County Records, Wills, Inventories Book 20, p. 198, copy in Research Department for full inventory.)
December 19, 1760. Various rooms in Wetherburn's tavern were noted:
"In the Bull Head Room" mahogany chairs, mahogany tea table, mahogany round table, walnut oval table, desk and book case with glass door, eight day clock, pier glass chimney glass, dogs and bellows, prints pistols.
"In the Middle room" [furnishings about as in the Bull Head Room]
"In the chamber" beds and bolsters, bedstead, cord, hide, blankets, counterpin, leather chairs, dogs, pier glass, desk and book case, press, backgammon tables, bedstead and cord, …
"In the room over the Bull head" 2 beds, 2 bedsteads, cords, hide, bolster, pillOW, blankets, easy chair, [close] stool chair and pan, …
"porch chamber" bed, rug, blanket, pillow, cord, chairs, chamber pots
"Over middle room" 3 beds, 2 bedsteads, counterpins, blankets, Hide and cord, quilt, table, chairs, dressing glass, fire Shovel.
"Great Room" mahogany furniture, glass sconces, prints, candleÂsticks, snuffers, tea kettle, coffee pots, chocolate pots, carpet.
"Mr. Pages Room" 3 beds, bedsteads, blankets, bolsters, quilt, pillows &c
"Wheat room" [about same as "Mr. Pages Room"]
"End Room" [about same as above]
"The Sh-" [about same as above]
13"Glass Ware" decanters, glasses, wine and cyder, salvers, bowl and ladle, china bowls, mugs, tea pot, slop bason, sugar dish, cannister, cups, saucers, spoon, stone patty pans, tart pens, possett can, …
"In the Yard and Stable" sheep, cows, mares, horses chairs and harness, waggon, wheels, "Linen" sheets, napkins, towels, pillow cases, damask table cloths,
"Silver" tea kettle, tea pot, milk pot, coffee pot, salvers, salts, candlesticks, quart can, tables [spoons] soop [spoons], tongs, butter boats, pepper box, strainer, silver hand knives and forks, hilted sword.
"In the Kitchen" knives, forks, carving knife and fork, patty pans, cheese toasters, knife basket, funnel, stilyards, scales and weights, money scales, mortar, skillet, stew pans, dripping pans, grid irons, kettles, boiler, flesh fork, skimmer, iron pots, spits, dishes, basons, milk pans, spit rack, jack and chains, shovel, cloaths horse, moulds soap jars, spinning wheels, warming pan, lanthorn, meat hooks, tubs, pails, kitchen tables.
"Liquor" arrack, beer, port, madeira, claret, rum, cordial.
(York County Records, Wills, Inventories, Book 21, pp. 36-43)
(Pattison's tavern was located on lot 57, Duke of Gloucester Street)
this was later, Burdett's Ordinary.
Along with furnishings for the dining room, kitchen &c were 13 feather beds, 9 table cloths, 17 pillows, 21 pewter dishes, 45 knives and forks, 31 drinking glasses, 17 prints and 12 pictures. (York County Records, Wills & Inventories, Book 20, pp. 177-179)
(York Co., Rec., Wills, Inv., 20) 19 beds, 17 bedsteads, 19 bolsters, 3 straw beds, 10 bed quilts, 14 pair blankets,—, in addition to linens, china, &c.
(York County Records, Wills, Inventories Book 20, p. 46) In Burdett's inventory there is listed the usual billiard tables, with sticks, and balls, and 11 pair of dice; and "The remainder of an old sign with the iron work"
In the long inventory of furnishings were 32 bedsteads, 25 beds, 1 bason stand, 1 matt, 3 mattrasses, 35 counterpanes, 40 pairs sheets, 37 pillow cases, 122 china plates and 37 table cloths and 26 napkins. (York County Records, Wills & Inv. Books 22, pp. 19-24)
(William and Mary Quarterly, 1st Series, Vol. XVII, p. 170) "In going over the River about Two miles wide, I could see Leids Town on the other side Two or Three miles up the River, the Place I now intended to rest this night in;…where I did not arrive till Seven o'clock; and as near as I can guess, after 7 or 8 miles Riding I put up at one Mr. T---ts, esteemed the best Ordinary in Town, and indeed the House and Furniture, has as elegant an appearance, as any I have seen in the country, Mr. Finnays or Wetherbernes in Williamsburg not excepted. The chairs, Tables, &c of the Room I was conducted into, was all of Mahogany, and so stuft with fine large glaized Copper Plate Prints; That I almost fancied myself in Jeffriess' or some other elegant Print Shop…"
The average size of a tavern in Virginia was from six to ten rooms. The sleeping quarters most frequently were crowded with beds, and most inadequate for the guests. Issac Weld in speaking of a tavern near Baltimore said that "a general chamber…held five or six beds, and in which they laid down in pairs…only one two-bedded room in house." (Travels Through North America…1795, 1796 and 1797, p. 64, London 1799) . Johann D. Schoepf describes a tavern bed room of Mr. Formicola thus: "The entire house contained but two large rooms on the ground-floor, and two of the same size above, the apartments under the roof furnished with numerous beds standing close together, both rooms and chambers standing open to every person throughout the day…" In 1771 — according to the inventory of Anthony Hay — there were 45 beds, 34 bedsteads, 1 press bedstead1 and 12 matts — at the Raleigh Tavern. The Raleigh Tavern in 1796 was 56 by 23 feet with a north wing 106 by 24 feet, two stories high in structure. (See Mutual Assurance Policy #126, Research Dept.) From this, one can get some idea of the space available and size of sleeping quarters. 15 In 1796 a traveller to Virginia refers to the "many little confined attic bed rooms."
Pewter dishes of all kinds were in universal use at taverns until the latter part of the century when china dishes became more popular. Fine taverns had china, glass and silverplate but pewter remained an important item of tavern equipment among the simpler taverns. A few examples are given of tavern-keepers whose inventories showed large amounts of pewter:
| 1720 | Inventory of Susanna Allen York County Records, Orders, Wills, Book 16, p. 198 "130 lbs old pewter 5 tankards and 1 qt pot 11 old spoons" |
| 1721 | Inventory of Henry Gill York County Records, Orders, Wills, Book 16, pp. 68-9 "8 pewter tankards 4 doz pewter plates 1 ½ doz pewter dishes … porigers, salts, pots, spoons basons candlesticks… " |
| 1761 | Inventory of Henry Wetherburn York County Records, Wills, Inventories, Book 21, p. 36-48 "107 Pewter Dishes 2 Basons and 30 dishes" |
Linen was used some at taverns for sheets, napkins, towels, pillow cases and table cloths, but damask and cotton were in more general use. At the Royal George Tavern, Washington dined using for table cloths two napkins. (The History of Old Alexandria Virginia by Mary G. Powell)
In October 1705 an Act was passed in Virginia regulating the rates of ordinaries:
"VII. And also, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted, That the justices of each county, shall, annually, at their court in March, set and rate the prices that ordinaries shall entertain and sell at; that is, of liquors, according to the measures aforementioned; and of diet, lodging, fodder, provender, and pasturage; upon penalty of forfeiting and paying five thousand pounds of tobacco.
VIII …
16IX. And be it also enacted, by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted, That if any ordinary-keeper shall ask, demand, receive, or take, greater prices for any drink, diet, lodging, fodder, provender, or pasturage, than shall be set down and rated by the justices of the county, according to this act, he or she shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay ten shillings, to the informer: To be recovered, with costs, before a justice.
X. And be it also enacted, by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted, That every ordinary-keeper within this her majesty's colony and dominion, shall, within one month after the rates shall be so set by the county court where the license was granted, obtain of the clerk of the said court, a fair table of the rates and prices set by the court; which being so obtained, shall be openly set up in the common entertaining room of the said ordinary, and there continually kept during the whole year, and until the rates shall be again set by the court: And every ordinary-keeper failing herein, shall forfeit and pay two thousand pounds of tobacco; …
XI. And also be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted, That if any person, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, shall presume to keep a tippling house, or retail liquors, as aforesaid, without license, and being thereof lawfully convicted, shall not pay down the said fine of two thousand pounds of tobacco, or forthwith, upon such conviction, give security to pay the same at the crop, he or she so offending, shall immediately, by order of the court before whom such conviction shall be, receive at the public whipping-post, on his or her bare back, twenty-one lashes, well laid on, in lieu of paying the said fine of two thousand pounds of tobacco; …
XV. Provided, That this act, or any thing therein contained, shall not extend to the ordinary-keepers of the City of Williamsburg, giving credit to any person whatsoever, in the time of the general court, or during the sitting of a general assembly; any thing aforesaid to the contrary, notwithstanding.
(Hening, William Waller, Statutes…III, pp. 398-401)
In the above act effort was made whereby the taverns were regulated in prices among themselves, and at the same time there was fairness towards the guests. Whereupon counties in pursuance of this act for regulating and restraining tavern-keepers, set up their rates which were recorded in the court records. In 1706 York County ordered the following rates:
(York County Records, Deeds, Orders, Wills, Book 18, p. 61)
s d "each dyet for one pson. one shilling 1: : Lodging for each pson per night one Royall 7 ½ Stable roome & fodder sufficient for each horse one Royall p.night. 7 ½ Ditto for day & night one Royall & half 11 ¼ Corn five Shills. p. busll 17 Wines of Virginia at five Shills. p. quart Canary & Sherry Seaven Royalls p. qt. Red & White Lisbone Claret & White wine five Royalls p. qt. Western Island wines three Royalls p. qt. French Brandy fouer Shills. p. qt. French Brandy punch or french Brandy flip two Royalls p. qt. Rum & Virga. Brandy two Shillings p. qt. Rum punch & Rum flip one Royall p. qt. Virginia & Pensilvania beer & Syder half a Royall p. qt. English beer one Shilling p. qt. "
A tavern bill charged against William Robertson on May 7th 1709 notes the price of food at this date:
(Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. I, p. 131)
Dr May 7th " Wm Robertson, £ s. d. To 6 nights Lodgings, 6d 0 3 0 To 6 meals Victuals, 7 ½ d, 0 3 9 For Tankard Punch, 0 0 7 ½ * * Meat, 6d, 0 2 9 To 2 Loafs of bread, 0 0 7 ½ To 1 Bottl Rum, 0 2 0 12 9 "
"March 10th.—The following rate for ordinaries was adopted, viz: A hot diet well dressed, 9d; a cold, ditto, 6d; lodging, with clean sheets, 3d, (how much with unclean is not stated;) stabling and fodder a night, 6d; rum, the gallon, 9s; whiskey, the gallon, 6s; claret, the quart, 5s." (Augusta County Records, March 10, 1746) (The Virginia Historical Register, III, p. 15, Richmond 1850)
By 1748 every person desiring to operate an ordinary in Virginia had to get the consent of the county court to obtain a license, give bond and promise in the said ordinary:
"…good, wholesome, and cleanly lodging and diet for travellers, and stablage, fodder, and provender, or pasturage, and provender, as the season shall require, for their horses,… and shall not suffer or permit any unlawful gaming, in his house, nor on the sabbath day suffer any person to tipple and drink any more than is necessary, then this obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force … [rates to be set by the court] And if any ordinary keeper shall demand and take greater prices for any drink, diet, lodging, fodder, provender, or pasturage, than by such rates shall be allowed, he or she so offending shall forfeit and pay ten shillings for every 18 such offence, to the informer, recoverable with costs, before a justice of peace of the county wherein such ordinary shall be…That if any person shall presume to keep a tipling house, or retail liquors, or sell by retail any wine, beer, cider, brandy, rum, or other spirits, or any mixture of such liquors, in any house, booth, arbour, stall, or any other place whatsoever, without licence first obtained as aforesaid, he or she so offending shall forfeit and pay ten pounds current money, or on failure of present payment, or security for payment within six months, the party so convicted shall, by order of the court before whom such conviction shall be, receive on his or her bare back, twenty-one lashes, well laid on, at the public whipping post… That if any ordinary keeper shall in his house permit unlawful gaming, or suffer any person or persons to tipple in his house, or drink any more than is necessary, on the Lord's day, or any other day, set apart by public authority for religious worship, or shall harbour or entertain any seaman, or servant, contrary to this act, it shall be lawful for any two justices of peace…to suppress such ordinary until the next succeeding court…" (Hening's Statutes At Large, VI, pp. 72-75, Richmond 1819)
By 1770 prices at taverns show certain changes. In Middlesex County, Virginia, rates were thus (fixed by the county court):
(Virginia Magazine History, XII, p. 188)
£ S. D. "Canary Wine or Mallaga, the Quart 4 Sherry, the Quart, 3 … English Strong Beer or ale the Bottle 1 6 A Dinner with Good small Beer 1 3 A Breakfast or Supper with Good Small Beer 1 A Night's Lodgings with Clean Sheets - 6 Pasturage for a Horse for Twenty four Hours - 6 Stableage for a Horse for Twenty four Hours - 6 Corn or Oats, per Gallon, - 6 …"
In 1775 James Southall charged Mr. Thomas Snead these rates (at the Raleigh Tavern):
19(Virginia Gazette, Pinkney, ed., December 23, 1775)
"To dinner and club for doctor Pope and Abraham Archer £ 0 -9 -11 To servant and horses, 0 -2 -6 …"
NOTE: For further accounts at the Raleigh Tavern see: James Southall's Accounts, Photostat copy, Research Department, April 1776-December 1776. ALSO: Account of General Baron Steuben with Jane Vobe (March 1781) for rates charged at the King's Arms Tavern in Williamsburg. (Research Dept.)
Evidently some taverns made exorbitant charges for both food and rooms. Anburey speaks of an ordinary in Virginia at which he stayed in 1779: "…For this miserable fare they are not remiss in making pretty exorbitant charges…" Such taverns as this one could have come in the category of an inn near Newbery, England:
"The famous house at Speenhamland,
(copy, Old Country Inns of England, by Henry P. Maskell and Edward W. Gregory, Boston, 1911)
That stands upon the hill,
May well be called the Pelican,
From its enormous bill."
In connection with the exorbitant prices charged by some tavern-keepers, an item from Chastellux is quoted:
"…As Mr. Johnson was an ill-tempered fellow, and a little drunk, I foresaw that this question could not succeed…It happened as I imagine, for after a stay of only three quarters of an hour, he was not ashamed to ask seven dollars for about twenty pounds weight of the leaves of Indian corn for our horses, and two bowls of toddy for the servants."(Travels…1780-82 of Chastellux, II, p. 119, London, 1787)
In 1786 Gabriel Maupin charged Mann Page at the rate of £35 per year, and at the same time charged Page for his servants board at the rate of £12. (Excerpt from Vandergrift Papers, copy in Research Department)
In Gloucester County, February 10, 1774, John Fox advertised two taverns for rent or sale: He "who wants the above Taverns shall have Land on the said Tract upon reasonable Terms, to work ten Negroes, or less… The Tavern Keepers that lately lived at the above Place have acquired genteel Fortunes in a few Years, and the Place is increasing in Value…" (Virginia Magazine History, X, pp. 432-433)
Whether James Southall "acquired genteel Fortunes in a few Years" at the Raleigh Tavern, at least, he maintained as elegant a tavern as any 20 in the country. Southall's description of the Raleigh — which he then was offering for rent (September 20, 1797) — does not mention the rent charge but he does give a good idea of what the renter could expect to get:
"September 20, 1797
TO BE RENTED,
(The Virginia Gazette, and General Advertiser, Richmond, Number 583, p. 2, Augustine Davis, ed.)
THE RAWLEIGH TAVERN, in the city of Williamsburg, at present occupied by Mr. GABRIEL MAUPIN, which, in point of situation, as a public house, is inferior to none in the place. The yard and garden belonging thereto are just newly enclosed, and the houses will be put in necessary repair as soon as possible. Very conveniently situated to the tavern, lies an extensive pasture, containing about fourteen acres of land, under a good post and rail fence, and on which stands a large and spacious stable, sufficient for the accomodation of thirty horses. If agreeable, an extraordinary good BILLIARD TABLE may be had with the said house. Any further description is deemed unnecessary, as it is supposed that any person inclined to rent the above tenement, would wish first to view the premises thereof… JAMES SOUTHALL
Williamsburg, Sept. 12, 1797."
Another advertisement followed the above, on January 17, 1793:
"The Raleigh Tavern and two lots will be leased for one year…the said lots contain an ice house and every other house necessary for the entertainment of man and horse."(Ibid., Jan. 17, 1793 issue) [NOTE: See Illustration #1 for list of taverns in Williamsburg]
The Virginia tavern had many means of expressing hospitality towards its guests. The larger and more pretentious the tavern; the more extensive the entertainment. As an example of the larger and better-ordered taverns of the period, instances of hospitality at the Raleigh Tavern are given below:
Among the most popular forms of entertaining was the Ball. In February 1752, Alexander Finnie, keeper, advertised "NOTICE is hereby given, To the LADIES and GENTLEMEN, THAT the Subscriber purposes to have a BALL at the Apollo, in Williamsburg, once every Week, during the Sitting of the General Assembly and Court." (Virginia Gazette, Hunter, ed., Feb. 27, 1752) 21 Jefferson writing to his friend, John Page, from Williamsburg on October 7, 1763, refers to his attendance at a ball at the Raleigh:
"Dear Page.—
In the most melancholy fit that ever any poor soul was, I sit down to write to you. Last night, as merry as agreeable company and dancing with Belinda in the Apollo could make me, I never could have thought the succeeding sun would have seen me so wretched as I now am! …" (Washington, H. A., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson…I, pp. 188-189, Washington, D. C., 1853)
[Excerpt]Washington dined at the Raleigh on many occasions. One is noted:
"On the 22nd of February, 1779, the students of William and Mary College and the representative inhabitants of Williamsburg celebrated Washington's birth night with a ball at the Raleigh. Governor Patrick Henry was waited on in order to secure his signature as a patron. Governor Henry refused saying 'He could not think of any kind of rejoicing at a time when our country was engaged in war, with such gloomy prospects.' The ball, nevertheless, was given." (William and Mary Quarterly, first series, XXI, pp. 134-135 printed from the Southern Literary Messenger, I, p. 340: from the Journal of David Meade Randolph when a student at William and Mary College in 1779)
"[On May 3, 1769] Washington "dined with the Council and spent the evening at ye Daphne… " (George Washington Colonial Traveller, p. 238)
As late as 1807 Mrs. Lucy Paradise is known to have given a dinner followed by a ball at the Raleigh:
22June 28, 1807
"Mrs Paradise is making great preparations for the 4th of July, at the Rawleigh Tavern. On that day she gives a Dinner to the Light Horsemen, and the gentlemen of the town, and at night she gives a Ball to the inhabitants. I suppose she thinks these great actions will immortalize the name of Coll Ludwell's Daughter.
Papa received a Card from her yesterday, soliciting his company to Dinner, and himself and family to the Ball." (Letter to Joseph Prentis, Suffolk, from Eliza Prentis, Williamsburg, Webb Collection, copy in Research Department)
All of these balls were held, it is thought, in the large assembly room known as the "Apollo Room." Outside over the door was the leaden bust of Sir Walter Raleigh, and over the mantel piece was the motto, "Hilaritas Sapientiae et bonae vitae proles" which is translated "Jollity the offspring of wisdom and good life." Lossing's The Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution contains a sketch of this room, and Lossing also describes the Apollo room as he saw it in 1848. (Volume II, p. 278)
Formal dinners were another mode of entertainment at taverns of consequence. On October 13, 1768, the Governor of South Carolina was entertained at dinner at the Raleigh:
"ON Monday last arrived in town, with his Lady, from the Northward, where they have been some time on a Tour, his Excellency the Right Hon. Lord CHARLES GREVILLE MONTAGUE, Governor of South Carolina. Next day his Excellency dined with his Honour the President and the other members of his Majesty's Council at the Raleigh tavern, and yesterday set out on his return to his government." (Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, eds.)
During Public Times or anniversaries the Raleigh was thrown open for the entertainment of the public:
"Last Friday being the anniversary of our Most gracious Sovereign's Accession to the Throne, his Excellency the Governor gave a Ball and an elegant Entertainment at the Palace, to a numerous and splendid Company of Ladies and Gentlemen. The Raleigh Tavern likewise, by direction of his Excellency, was opened for the Entertainment of such as might incline to spend the Evening there; Plenty of Liquor was given to the Populace; and the City was handsomely illuminated." (Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, eds. October 31, 1771)
Washington on May 3, 1769 dined at the Raleigh "with the Council and spent the Evening in ye Daphne." (George Washington, Colonial Traveller, 1732-75 by John C. Fitzpatrick, p. 238)
When George Mercer, distributor of stamps for Virginia, arrived in Williamsburg "he was borne out of the Capitol gate and taken to a public house and an elegant entertainment ordered to be provided." (Virginia Gazette, supplement, Royle, ed., October 31, 1765)
One could find recreation and amusements, oftentimes, at taverns. Billiard tables were set up indoors, and bowling was enjoyed on the greens adjoining:
John Burdett of Williamsburg advertised on January 23, 1745/6:
" To Be SOLD, a Pennyworth,
A Very Good English-made Billiard Table, cover'd with green Cloath; the Frame strong, true, and wellÂseason'd, with Balls and Masts for French Billiards: Also Port and King, with Sticks of Lignum Vitae tipt; with Ivory, and Balls, for English Billiards…" (Virginia Gazette, Parks, ed.)
Card games of various sorts were played. Among those most popular were: faro, loo, cribbage, chess, backgammon, hazard &c. Gambling was the sport of the age and many were the card games indulged in at taverns.
Weld, the traveller, notes that in 1798 gaming in Richmond taverns was on a low scale. "Indeed, throughout the lower parts of the country in Virginia, and also in that part of Maryland next to it, there is scarcely a petty tavern without a billiard room, and this is always full of a set of idle low lived fellows, drinking spirits or playing cards, if not engaged at the table." (Travels Through North America…p. 109)
Taverns were the meeting places for various groups. Alexander Macaulay in 1783 notes that "There is the Raleigh Tavern, where more Business has been transacted than on the Exchange of London or Amsterdam; in that Building formerly assembled the rich, wealthy Merchants of all Countries from Indies to the pole, from the Tweed to the arcades; here the Exchange of the world, the relative value of money in every Kingdom on Earth was settled; who has not heard of the fame of the Merchts of this ancient Dominion, your Hansons, Brisbanes, &c." (William and Mary Quarterly, XI, pp. 186-187) On November 17, 1752 "The Members of the Mississippi Company are desired to meet at the Raleigh Tavern, in Williamsburg, at the Court of Oyer and Terminer, 24 in December next." In 1769 the Burgesses met at the Raleigh Tavern as a Convention and drew up Articles of Association in a Non-importation Agreement. (Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, eds., May 25, 1769)
In March 1773 Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, and Dabney Carr met together in a private Room of the Raleigh Tavern and there drafted resolutions calling for the appointment of a Committee of Correspondence to secure authentic intelligencies concerning the actions of Great Britain, and to communicate with other colonies concerning such affairs.
Not all taverns by any means were the assembly places for teachers, lecturers &c. Perhaps the Raleigh was used more for these things than any other tavern in Virginia. Taverns having large rooms, generally, could be utilized for larger groups. The Virginia Gazette notes that Le Chevalier de Poyressy on March 20, 1752, was lodged at the Raleigh, where he hoped to begin classes in "the Art of Fencing, Dancing, and the French Tongue;" Simon Fraser informed the public that "he proposes to teach Military Discipline, according to the new Way of Generals Bland and Bleekny." (Virginia Gazette, Hunter, ed., July 10, 1752 .
"The celebrated LECTURE upon HEADS" was delivered "in the Great Room of the Rawleigh tavern, by Mr. William Verling, who is just arrived in this city… " (Ibid, Purdie & Dixon, eds., January 8, 1767)
In 1746, John Burdett, ordinary keeper in Williamsburg, was the owner of "1 old fiddle" (Inventory of John Burdett, York County Records, Wills, Inventories, Book 20, p. 47) In 1750 James Shield, another tavern-keeper, in Williamsburg, owned "1 old fiddle, 1 old Hautboy" (Ibid, p. 198) Another tavern-keeper, Joseph Pullett, had "1 trumpet and 2 French horns". (York County Records, Wills, and Inventories Book 21, pp. 342-345) Cuthbert 25 Hubbard, near the College, in Williamsburg, advertised on November 25, 1773 for "A YOUNG MAN of good Character, who can take Care of Horses, and will travel with a single Person, … If he can play upon the FRENCH HORN, it will be the more agreeable." (Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, eds.)
Practically all taverns had stables for the use and accommodation of the horses of travellers. The stables were usually built of wood with built-in stalls. In February 1752 Daniel Fisher advertised that "I have divers Rooms or Apartments to let, also a large Stable with Stalls for a bout Twenty Horses." (Virginia Gazette, Hunter ed.) Fisher at the time was living on Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg. In August 1770 Thomas Craig of Williamsburg advertised his dwelling used as a tavern for sale. "… there are fine cellars, an exceeding good stable for thirty horses, with a large fodder loft…" (Ibid, Purdie & Dixon, eds., August 30, 1770) In May 1771 Richard Davis at the Williamsburg Brick House Tavern informed his public "that our stables are new done up and properly divided, with great additions; that a very large pasture, remarkable for good grass and water, adjoining the town, and intirely new fenced in this spring, is engaged for Gentleman's horses." (Ibid., Rind, ed., May 2, 1771) Charges for stablage for a horse for twenty four hours was six pence with pasturage for horse and corn or oats per gallon-respectively. (Virginia Magazine History, XII, p. 188)
Little has been discovered in available sources about tavern servants and their livery. However, the few notes taken will be cited below:
Johann David Schoepf in Travels in the Confederation 1783-1784 mentions the dress of the servants at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg thus:
" In the tavern here there is very good, but very dear entertainment. Black cooks, butlers, and chambermaids made their bows with much dignity and modesty; were neatly and modishly attired, and still spoke with enthusiasm of the gallantry and politeness of the French officers."