Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

FOUNDATION
OUTBUILDING "E"

T his foundation is colonial. The bricks match in size (8 3/8" x 4" x 2¾") and color (dark reddish buff) those in the 4" and 9" walls of the binns, in the binn cellar in the main building. The mortar in oyster shell, and the bond, English. (The 4" x 9" walls in the binn cellar are not an old as the foundation walls of the palace, but are colonial. They may be 25 or 50 years later than the original walls.)

FOUNDATION
OUTBUILDING "F"

This small foundation apparently in colonial, and contemporary with foundation No. 31 (which was found about 10 feet north of the ball room foundation of the main building) for the bricks are the same size (8½" x 4½" x 2½") and color (red).

FOUNDATION
OUTBUILDING "G"

This foundation appears to be colonial. The bond is 2 English, the mortar oyster shell, the average size of the bricks is 8¾" x 4¼" x 2½" and the color of the brick the same as the palace main building.

FOUNDATIONS
OUTBUILDINGS "B & C"

(The main flanking outbuildings)

The brickwork in both of these foundations, "B" and "C", is identical with that in the outside foundation walls of the main palace building "A". The bricks in "B" and "C" were undoubtedly made of the same clay, in the same moulds, and burned in the same kilns as the original palace bricks, for they are like them in color, texture, glaze and range of sizes, averaging (9¼" x 4½" x 2 5/8"). Also, in all three foundation A B and C the bond is English, and the mortar, oyster shell. It is unusually hard and the bricks are still firmly held. In some of the other foundations found in the vicinity, the mortar has lost its strength, and bricks can be easily knocked out of them.

FOUNDATION
OUTBUILDING "H"

This apparently is a colonial foundation. The bond is English, the mortar, oyster shell. The bricks vary considerably in size, and are evidently a mixed lot. A few are similar to the bricks in the main foundation (9¼" x 4½" x 2 5/8"), but the majority of them are smaller (9" x 4" x 2½").

FOUNDATION
OUTBUILDING "J"

The bricks in this foundation are redder in color than 3 the palace bricks. They are also smaller, "8½" x 4 1/8" x "2½" or 2 5/8". The bond is English and the mortar, oyster shell.

FOUNDATION
OUTBUILDING "L"

The bricks are smaller than those in foundation "J" and on the whole, slightly darker. The brick size is 8" x 4" x 2½". Wall 87 at "J" is not in line with wall 95 at "L". Wall 87 at "J" is wider than wall 95 at "L". Undoubtedly wall 87 belonged to one building at "J" and wall 95 to another at "L", for the two walls are not only not in line, but are not parallel nor at right angles to each other.

FOUNDATIONS
OUTBUILDINGS GENERAL

As Henry Cary reported to the Council on April 16, 1709 (See p. 68 Governor's Palace Notes - Research and Record Department) that the kitchen was finished, and that the main building was not complete, it is evident that construction of main building and kitchen was carried on simultaneously.

The probabilities, then, are that the same bricks were used in both buildings. The bricks in the foundations of both of the flanking outbuildings (B and C) are exactly like those in the main palace foundation (A). One of these therefore may have been the kitchen.

The brick in foundations (J and L) the only other probable sites of the kitchen are smaller bricks. Buildings at "J" and "L" therefore were probably built at a different time, I think later, as there is no record of any buildings on the palace grounds having been built prior to the main building and kitchen.

Jefferson on his plan of the Palace (1779) referred to two outbuildings (B and C) as offices. Hugh Jones in 1723 mentioned houses and offices. The Speaker of the House of Burgesses in 1730 said the House was inconvenient for want of a covered way from the offices. Lord Dunmore in 1784 in claiming losses sustained in Virginia during the Revolution refers to losing "all the furniture of the servants rooms, kitchen, laundry and other offices.

All of these contemporary writers perhaps used the word offices to mean outbuildings. None of them mentioned a guard house. The first mention of the flanking outbuildings as offices and guard house is by Howe in 1845. Perhaps the later writers, who make the same statement, got this information from Howe.

The archaeological evidence indicates, it seems to me, that outbuilding "B", the western, was the kitchen, because the bricks match those in the main building A, (built simultaneously with the kitchen) and because foundation "B" is more conveniently located than foundation "C" to the foundations on the west side which are suitable for such outbuildings as dairy, smoke 5 house, laundry, etc. Also, there is a side entrance on the west side of "A" conveniently located for service from a kitchen at "B". Further, there is precedent in Colonial Virginia for the kitchen to be located to the side and front of the main house, (or rear where the house is approached from the rear). Such Colonial examples are Mr. Airy (1750), Mr. Vernon (1743), Shirly (commenced 1660, developed 1700) and Stratford (1731).

Outbuilding "B" is a large outbuilding (60'-9" x 23'-7½"), very large for even a colonial kitchen. Perhaps the scullery was in the same building. In the drain just outside of and paralleling the west wall and flowing northwardly into large drain, there is an inlet, near the center of the west wall that appears to have had a connection through the wall into the building (See photograph.) Waste water from dish washing etc. may have been disposed of through the inlet.

A guard house is not usually as large a building as "B" or "C", even where a guard of two or three squads of soldiers is on duty. The guard house is not usually the barracks of those men, the place where they eat and sleep. It seems probably to me that the small outbuilding east of the south end of "C", at what appears to be the entrance to the grounds, may have been the guard house, and that the quarters or barracks of the soldiers may have been located at a considerable distance from the house. Certainly, it seems to me, unlikely that any Colonial Governor would have quartered troops within 50 feet of the front door of the palace and consequently had soldiers off duty 6 lounging under the windows of his residence.

Outbuilding "C" was probably the office. The cellar room perhaps was a vault for safe storage of important papers etc.

OUTBUILDING "D"

At "D" fragments of the north, south and west foundation walls of an outbuilding were found. The brickwork is colonial for the bricks are palace size 9¼" x 4½" x 2 5/8", the bond English, and the mortar oystershell. I think the building was the laundry. Certainly, its location over the main drain and several smaller floor drains indicated that a large quantity of water was used in it.

The floor drains which connect with main drain were just below a brick floor, fragments of which remains at 77. The bricks in it (the floor) were laid on edge on a rough layer of bricks and bat, which were probably laid because the excavation had been made too deep. The floor elevation, 76.11, shows that it was a half basement for the outside paving is elevation 79.86.
It seems possible that water was suppled to the basement from the nearby well, through large drain 79, which may have 2 possibly connected with a washing or storage trough at the eastern end of the basement. The north end of the drain (79) is exactly in line with the outside of the south wall of outbuilding "D". Therefore the drain may have entered the building, for it would be a strange co-incidence for the drain to have been accidentally broken off in line with the wall of the building.

The east wall was not found but its location as shown by dotted lines on the drawing (the inside of the wall in line with the west side of the garden wall 42) is suggested by the fact that the east inside line of drain 79 (leading from the well) is in line with the west side of garden wall 42. The location of the east wall of outbuilding "D" is also suggested by the fact that the corresponding garden wall on the east side of the Main Palace building stops at the corner of an outbuilding. The ends of the two garden walls are symmetrically located in relation to the main building, and therefore both may have stopped against the corner of an outbuilding.

However Outbuilding "D" may have not extended as far east as the garden wall, and drain 79 may ^not have entered it, but have connected to the main drain just outside the east end of the building for smaller brick box drain No. 81 laid in as east and west direction near the north side of the well flows into the inlet at the south end of drain 79, which then would have taken off surface water not suitable for laundry purposes.

Outbuilding "D", above ground, could have extended to garden wall 42, whether basement did or did not.

Also, is excavating the site of outbuilding "D" the debris was very carefully removed and it was noticed, that a 3 square clay corner perhaps the N. E. corner of the building was left by stopping the excavation when all the debris was removed. If the outside of the east wall was in line with that clay corner then drain 79 cleared the building by several inches.

Excavation of debris indicated that a corresponding gutter and drain to gutter No. 70 may have been constructed on the north and west sides of outbuilding "D". A basement entrance may have been located at eastern end of drain No. 70 for walls 78 are built on a slope and have the appearance of check walls of steps. East of Wall 78 the grade may have been approximately level and as high as Elevation 80.00

OUTBUILDING E

Dairy may have stood here for foundation is suitable size.

OUTBUILDING G

The circular foundation in center of foundation "G" is about 1 foot high and there is paving inside of it. It may have been built to confine fires and the building therefore may have been the smoke-house.

OUTBUILDING J & L

Walls 87 at "J" and 95 at "L" are not in line. There probably were two separate outbuildings here, perhaps connected by a shed or were very close to each other as the Frenchman's Map shows one building here.

OUTBUILDING K

Walls 89, 90, 91, and 92 are modern. Brickwork at 93 appears to be old.

See penciled notes on blue print.