Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series - 1126
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library
Williamsburg, Virginia
1990
The land on which the Mayo house stood before being moved to its present location, was part of the large Waller tract which was first subdivided in about 1749. No house stood on this lot until some time after September 8, 1758, because at this time Benjamin Waller sold to Benjamin Powell, carpenter, lot #32 for £10 with the condition that he build a house within two years. Powell had purchased the adjoining lot on the west, #31, with the same proviso, the year before.
A house was built and leased for £35 to Simon Whitaker, a bricklayer, in June 1764. Benjamin Powell then sold both lot 31 and 32 to James Lamb in November 1774, with "all houses, etc" for £140. Lamb then sold the portion of the lot containing the "Mayo" house, a portion 40 feet wide (the width of the present building) to James Young for £555, a high price for a house at that time, especially for one on a part of a lot. By April 11, 1780, the price of the house was £1100, according to James Young's deed to Lawrence Dorsey, a mariner.
In general, the other houses of the fork road area were occupied by master craftsmen who were able to build more pretentiously than the tradesmen of Duke of Gloucester street. It is interesting to note in studying the York road area that for a period of 50 years prior to the Revolution this small section was tenanted by several bricklayers, carpenters, cabinet makers and sadlers, in addition to few prosperous surgeons, gentlemen and tailors.
It is reasonable to expect that the embellishment of the present Armistead house (now moved to Francis street and restored) 2 was not unusual in this area, and something of the same degree of sophistication might be presumed for the Mayo house, which at one time vas held by the same owners, and perhaps might have been built by the same builders. The sale prices given in the York deeds strengthen this hypothesis.
Harold R. Shurtleff, Director.
Department of Research & Records.
Report by:
Helen Bullock.