Ludwell Tenement Historical Report, Block 28 Building 5B Lot 233Originally entitled: "Ludwell Tenement Block 28 - Lot #233 - Nicholson Street"
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series - 1529
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Library
Williamsburg, Virginia
1990
To: Mrs. Callis
Hostess Training
From: E. M. Frank
Re: Ludwell Tenement
Block 28, Building 5-B
We are transmitting herewith a write-up of the Ludwell Tenement that you requested for Hostess Training purposes only.
E. M. F.
Copy to: Mr. Ruffia
Enclosure
PB/rf
Ludwell Tenement
Block 28, Building 5-B
Reconstructed 1952-1953
(NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE)
The Trustees of the City of Williamsburg, in 1714, granted eight lots of land to William Robertson with the usual building clause in the deed requiring Robertson to build a dwelling on each lot within twenty-four months. Robertson sold two lots, the following year, to Philip Ludwell, II, and the deed mentions houses, yards, gardens, etc.; therefore, Robertson had made improvements to these lots. Robertson may have built the Ludwell Tenement in 1715 or Ludwell may have built it soon thereafter. Ludwell was one of the richest and prominent men in the Colony. He willed his property to his son, Philip Ludwell, III, in 1727 who made improvements on the Tenement and had a Town House to the east of the Tenement which was called the Ludwell Mansion. Philip Ludwell, III, died in 1767 and left the Tenement to his daughter, Lucy Ludwell, who married John Paradise, a well-known scholar and an intimate of Dr. Samuel Johnson. Lucy lived in England and rented the Tenement building, but in the first part of the nineteenth century she returned to Williamsburg and lived in the Ludwell-Paradise House. Lucy was a very colorful character, and there are many local stories about her life in Williamsburg.
The Ludwell Tenement is a story and a half frame building with a high basement. This is an unusual building, is that it is one of the few buildings in Williamsburg with a kitchen in the basement instead of an outside kitchen. The building has only one chimney on the east side which had two unique feature. The chimney is off center at the base to accommodate 2 a basement kitchen fireplace and at the roof the chimney pierces the roof rather than the normal eighteenth century Virginia practice of offsetting the chimney stack.
The building was originally only one room deep but a shed addition was added early in the life of the building. This shed addition had a lower floor level than the earlier portion of the building as can be clearly seen on the exterior of the building. The rear roof of the building was altered when the addition was added, which resulted in a roof form that is similar to the New England "salt-box," but in Virginia was called shed roof but sometimes, less frequently, a "catslide" roof. The dormers are the early eighteenth century type, more square in shape and having hip roofs. The porch was a later addition supported by excellent archaeological findings and based on other eighteenth century porches of the area. The original basement was on two levels showing an eighteenth century form of a split level house.
The interior of the building has been adapted for modern living quarters retaining the original room sizes and forms with the exception of modern bathrooms, closets, etc. The interior woodwork is based upon authentic eighteenth century precedents.
It in interesting to note that when the National Park Service constructed the tunnel through the Restored Area, the tunnel went right through the eighteenth century foundation of this building and in reconstructing this building, Colonial Williamsburg had to build this building on concrete pilings and cantilever or overhang this building over the Parkway tunnel.
Colonial Williamsburg
Architects' Office
March 13, 1961
PB/rf
LUDWELL'S TENEMENT
Block 28 - Lot #233 - Nicholson Street
LUDWELL'S TENEMENT
Block 28 - Lot #233 - Nicholson Street
LOCATION:
This report concerns a lot on the north side of Nicholson Street, opposite the Market Square. The lot is not numbered on late eighteenth century maps but is marked "Paradise."
OWNERS:
| Robertson: | William Robertson granted lot by Trustees of City of Williamsburg in 1714. |
| Ludwells: | William Robertson conveyed lot to Philip Ludwell II in 1715. Philip Ludwell II died In 1727. Philip Ludwell III evidently inherited the property, as he was the owner at the time his will was made in 1767 (the year of his death). |
| Paradise: | John Paradise, in right of his wife Lucy Ludwell Paradise (daughter of Philip Ludwell III), and/or Paradise estate 1770-1839. |
| Peachys: | Thomas G. Peachy acquired property in 1839. A. C. Peachy in possession in 1858. |
| Hansford: | Richard W. Hansford became owner in 1858. |
| Harrell: | Hansford family to M. R. Harrell in 1884. |
| Dahn: | M. R. Harrell to John Dahn in 1893. |
| Williamsburg School Board: | School Board of Williamsburg secured the property in 1897 via John Dahn and M. R. Harrell. |
| Others: | Letitia Gregory Warburton to The Williamsburg, Inc., a Virginia corporation, in 1920, who in turn sold to W. A. Bozarth. |
| Bozarth to E. D. Spencer in 1921, who conveyed the property in 1927 to Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin. | |
| Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin to Williamsburg Holding Corporation on June 14, 1929. |
DESCRIPTION:
"The Tenement adjoing the Speaker," according to the Frenchman's Map (1782), was a large house located quite near to the Randolph house on the east.
EXCAVATIONS:
Archaeological evidence uncovered in 1932 showed a part of the north wall. Incomplete report states that it is possible that a part of the east foundation wall still exists.
APPENDIX:
Illustration #1 - College map (1791?) - lot marked "Paradise"
Illustration #2 - Biographical notes on Ludwells and Lee
Report prepared by
Mary A. Stephenson
July 1951
LUDWELL TENEMENT
Block 28 - Lot #233 - Nicholson Street
LOCATION:
Lot #233 is located on the north side of Nicholson Street opposite the Market Square. The lot is not numbered on late eighteenth-century maps but is marked "Paradise." (See Illustration #1 for copy of College Map, 1791?.)
HISTORY:
The earliest record yet found of the lot was a grant of land from the trustees of Williamsburg to William Robertson in 1714:
November 11, 1714.
Trustees City of Williamsburg
to
Robertson, William from Trustees Lease
Consideration: 5 shillingsEight certain lots of ground in ye City of Wmsburgh designed in ye platt of ye said city by these figures 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 207, 208, with all Pasturages.. Woods...
...Shall within 24 months begin to build and finish one good dwelling house on each of said premises according to An Act entitled Building of the Capitol and city of Williamsburgh...
(York County Records, Bonds and Deeds, III, p. 28.)
It is assumed that Robertson built on the lot in order to comply with the Act of 1705.1 A year later Robertson conveyed lot #233 along with lot #234 to Philip Ludwell:
December 19, 1715
Robertson, William of the County of James City
... two Lotts of Ground in the City of Williamsburgh lying on the North side of the Market Place and denoted in the Plan of ye said City by the figures (233, 234)
to
Ludwell, Phillip of ye same County
Consideration: 30 shillings
With all & singular Houses, Yards, Gardens... (Ibid., p. 95.)
Recorded January 16, 1715/16. (Ibid., Orders, Wills, XIV, p. 471.)
Ludwell's son, Philip Ludwell III, was the owner of the lot at the time his will was made in 1767. He mentions Williamsburg property in general in the will. (Virginia Magazine of History, XXXII, pp. 288-89.) Ludwell 2 named his three daughters as heirs: Hannah, who later married William Lee;1 Lucy, who married John Paradise;2 and Frances, who died single shortly after her father's death. (See Illustration #2 for further history of the Ludwell family.)
In the Lee Mss. Papers, Virginia Historical Society, there is a memorandum indicating the way the estate was divided. "Mrs Paradise's Part" was given thus:
A glance at the above noted property indicates that Mrs. Paradise was the owner of "The Tenement adjoing the Speaker" [Peyton Randolph], the "Red Lyon," and "Powels Tenement." As Randolph's home was located on Nicholson Street at the intersection with England Street (see Randolph-Peachy House History, Research Department), it is clear that "The Tenement adjoing the Speaker" was located east of Randolph's lot on what is now known as lot #233. Mrs. Lee owned the lot east (#234), known as "The Mansion" or "Warrington's Tenement." (See house history of the Mansion (lot #234), Research Department.)
Mrs. Paradise's Part [1770] Rich Neck with Improvements Slaves Stocks &c £9553 Houses & Lotts in Wmsburg Viz The Tenement adjoing the Speaker 125 Red Lyon Powels Tenement 10 [blurred] [lands] [The estate was equally divided between Mrs. Paradise and Mrs. Lee.]
An indenture filed in the General Court of Virginia on November 6, 1770 by the executors of Philip Ludwell of the one part and Lucy Paradise of the 3 of the other part defined lots in Williamsburg owned by Mrs. Paradise as her part of Ludwell's estate: "...also the following lots of land or tenements in the city of Williamsburg to wit one tenement adjoining the Speakers one tenement called the red Lyon where Walter Lenox now lives and the tenement where Peter Powell now lives adjoining the blue Bell tenement..." (Uncataloged Southall Papers, William and Mary College.)
On November 15, 1779 an inquisition was held concerning the Paradise property in Williamsburg by James Shields, Escheator, "who called twelve good and reputable citizens who testified under oath that John Paradise, the owner of certain property, was a subject of the King of Great Britain, and it was therefore, ordered that the title to said property do escheat to the Commonwealth of Virginia, under the terms of the Act providing for the same." (York County Records, Deeds, VI, p. 68.)
In the Mss. Papers of George Southall, Williamsburg lawyer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, are records concerning the Paradise lots:
41779
York County to wit
... That John Paradise is a subject of the King of Great Britain & that the said John Paradise is seized of one small parcel of land adjoining the Main road from Williamsburg to Cartwright's being on the North side of the road in the County quantity unknown, adjoining James Cockes & Joseph Crawley not exceeding 30 acres, likewise three houses & lots in the City of Williamsburg; north main street adjoining William Lee, now in possession of Walter Lennox,1 lot on north side of Market Sq. adjoining lots of Mrs. Betty Randolph & lot of Wm Lee Esq, now in possession of Mr. Harrison Randolph;2 the third in possession of Peter Many (houses and lots) on the street leading to Capitol Landing Road & adjoining the Lot of William Lee, Esqr.3
Paradise Estate
An Inquisition for the Commonwealth of Virginia
From the above record, we know that Paradise's estate owned three lots in the city in 1779, and that one of the three lots adjoined the property of Mrs. Betty Randolph (widow of Peyton) with the lot of William Lee on the other side. This describes the property in 1779 in connection with the Randolph property as of 1770 (above quoted in the report). Harrison Randolph was a nephew of Mrs. Betty Randolph. Randolph was in the Secretary's Office for seven years preceding the Revolution. (Uncatalogued Tucker-Coleman Mss. - Letter from Randolph to Henry Tazewell, February 1, 1788.)
The Frenchman's Map (1782) indicates a large house on what appears to be lot #233. The house is quite near to the Randolph house on the east. (See copy of Frenchman's Map, Illustration #1.) In 1932 archaeological evidence of the foundations of this house - thought to be Philip Ludwell's Tenement - was discovered by Williamsburg Restoration. "A part of the north wall was found adjacent to the brick house, so apparently it is standing on the eastern part of the tenement site. It is possible that a part of the east foundation wall of the tenement still exists." (Report of Herbert S. Ragland, October 27, 1932.)
Williamsburg Land Tax Records, which begin in 1782, indicate that both John Paradise (in right of his wife) and William Lee (in right of his wife) held three lots each with a valuation of £7. In 1785 the same records give Paradise as owner of five lots with a valuation of £4.10.0. The following year the Paradise holdings were five lots with valuation of £22.10.0. The College Map (1791?) shows the name "Paradise" on the lot. The Bucktrout Map (1803) is identical. Copies of these maps are in the Research Department.
It looks as though Paradise's estate held the lot until 1839 when it was listed under Thomas G. Peachy: "1 lot----$200 lot and buildings via Baldwin & Lee [executors] Formerly the property of John Paradise decd." (Williamsburg Land Tax Records - photostat in Research Department.)
In 1858 A. C. Peachy, heir to the property via Thomas G. Peachy, 5 conveyed to Richard W. Hansford "a certain lot with the houses thereon situated in the City of Williamsburg, containing between three and four acres of land, and bounded north by the property owned by Robert H. Armistead, south by the Court House Square; east by the lot of S. S. Griffin, since purchased and now owned by the said Hansford, and west by England Street." (James City County and the City of Williamsburg Court Records, Deed Book I. p. 336.) Court records for Williamsburg and James City County were destroyed by fire during the Civil War, hence it is impossible to follow through the legal chain of title to the property from 1858 to 1868. However, in 1868 Richard W. Hansford and Charles C. Hansford gave a deed of trust to Robert F. Cole to secure W. W. Vest. (Williamsburg Deed Book, I, p. 123.)
In 1884 Vest forced sale of the property to satisfy default in the deed of trust. M. R. Harrell became the purchaser for $2025.:
All that certain lots or parcels of land in the City of Williamsburg, Virginia (except the graveyard on the Peachy lot), which was conveyed to Richard W. Hansford by Archibald C. Peachy and Mary L. Wright and James L. C. Griffin, bounded on the north by the lands owned by R. H. Armistead, west by a street leading to the Court House Green, south by said Green, and east by lot now owned by C. W. Coleman and wife. (Ibid., II, pp. 79-80.)
In 1893 M. R. Harrell conveyed said property to John Dahn. In 1897 the lot was conveyed by John Dahn and M. R. Harrell, mortgagee, to the School Board of Williamsburg. It was described as: "on the north side of Nicholson Street, and fronting 90 feet on said street, and running north 125 feet." (Ibid., III, pp. 200-201.) Another mortgage indicates that E. W. Warburton held the property to secure Moses R. Harrell (Ibid., pp. 176-178.)
In 1920 Letitia Gregory Warburton conveyed said property to The Williamsburg, Inc.,1 a Virginia corporation. After dividing and selling, the corporation seems to have conveyed a part to W. A. Bozarth who sold to E. D. Spencer in 1921. In 1927 Spencer and wife conveyed the property to 6 Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin, and on June l4, 1929, the property was transferred from the latter to the Williamsburg Holding Corporation. (See chain of title in Accounting Department, Colonial Williamsburg.)
In 1932 Herbert Ragland prepared a report as to the archaeological findings on this lot (copy in Research Department). To quote:
...as shown on the drawing, the northwest corner of the foundation was found under the existing frame house, rented by the Williamsburg Holding Corporation at the present time, to George Cambell; the southwest corner in the yard, south of the house; and the basement paving between the frame house and the brick house, leased by the Williamsburg Holding Corporation now to Mr. Robert Trimble. A part of the north wall was found adjacent to the brick house, so apparently it is standing on the eastern part of the tenement site. It is possible that a part of the east foundation wall of the tenement still exists. No excavations were made under the brick house, and only narrow trenches under the frame house at places where there was no danger of weakening its foundations. However, if the two houses are removed, additional digging should be done, and the area thoroughly explored.
All archaeological evidence has been removed by the digging of a tunnel which passes through this property.
Mrs. Victoria Lee, in her recollections called "Williamsburg in 1861" (p. 25 - Typescript Ms. in Research Department), described the property as she remembered it:
A long frame house, with dormer windows on the second floor, stood on the site of the old High School, where Mr. Robert Trimble now lives. It seems to me--though I am not sure--that his house, which was occupied in 1861 by a lady named Christian, disappeared during the war; pulled down, perhaps, like other houses in Williamsburg, by Yankee troops.
IN SUMMARY:
Lot #233 is located on the north side of Nicholson Street opposite the Market Square. The lot is not numbered on late eighteenth century maps but is marked "Paradise." In 1714 the trustees of Williamsburg granted unto William Robertson lot #233, along with lots 232, 234, 235, 236 207, and 208. It is assumed that Robertson built on the lot in order to comply with the 7 Act of 1705, which required that a building be erected on each lot within the space of twenty-four months or the lot would revert to the city. A year later Robertson conveyed lot #233, along with lot #234, to Philip Ludwell with all houses, gardens, etc. Ludwell's son, Philip Ludwell, III, was owner of the property in 1767 at the time of his death. His daughter, Lucy Ludwell Paradise, came into the property designated as "The Tenement adjoing the Speaker" in 1770 as heir to her father. Paradise's property escheated in 1779 to the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was described then as on the "north side of Market Sq. adjoining lots of Mrs. Betty Randolph & lot of Wm Lee Esq, now In possession of Mr. Harrison Randolph." The Frenchman's Map (1782) indicates a large house on what appears to be lot #233. The house in quite near to the Randolph house on the east. Archaeological evidence found in 1932 seems to have established part of the north wall of the tenement. The College Map (1791?) and the Bucktrout Map (1803) indicate "Paradise" on the lot. Williamsburg Land Tax records Indicate John Paradise as holding three lots in the city from 1782-1785. In 1839 Thomas G. Peachy came into the property "via Baldwin & Lee Formerly the property of John Paradise, decd." In 1858 A. C. Peachy conveyed to Richard W. Hansford "a certain lot with the houses thereon ... bounded north by the property owned by Robert H. Armistead, south by the Court House Square; east by the lot of S. S. Griffin [the Tayloe house], since purchased and now owned by the said Hansford, and west by England Street." In 1868 the Hansfords (Richard W. and Charles C.) gave a deed of trust to Robert P. Cole. In 1884 there man a forced sale of the property at which time the property was noted as "... bounded east by lot now owned by C. W. Coleman [the Tayloe house]." The purchaser was M. R. Harrell. In 1893 M. R. Harrell conveyed said property to John Dahn. In 1897 the lot was conveyed by John Dahn and M. R. Harrell, mortgagee, to the School Board of Williamsburg. Another mortgage indicates that E. W. Warburton 8 held the property to secure Moses R. Harrell. In 1920, via Letitia Gregory Warburton, the property was conveyed to The Williamsburg, Inc.,1 a Virginia corporation, who in turn sold part to W. A. Bozarth in 1921. E. D. Spencer became the next owner, selling to Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin in 1927 who in turn transferred the property to the Williamsburg Holding Corporation in 1929. In 1932 an archaeological report showed that the northwest corner of a foundation was found under the existing frame house and the southwest corner in the yard south of the house, and the basement paving between the existing frame house and a brick house. A part of the north wall was found adjacent to the brick house. All archaeological evidence has been removed by the digging of a tunnel through the lot. Mrs. Victoria M. Lee, recalling Williamsburg in 1861, said that she remembered the property as "A long frame house, with dormer windows on the second floor," that the house was occupied in 1861 by a lady named Christian and that it disappeared during the war, "pulled down, perhaps, like other houses in Williamsburg, by Yankee troops."
Mary Stephenson
Research Department
July, 1951
Footnotes
Illustration #1
Lot 233
PHOTOSTAT COPY OF THE WILLIAMSBURG PLAT IN "WILLIAMSBURG, THE OLD COLONIAL
CAPITOL" BY LYON G. TYLER
Illustration #2
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
PHILIP LUDWELL II (1672-1727)
Philip Ludwell II was the son of Lucy Higginson and Philip Ludwell I. His father married the second time Lady Frances Berkeley, widow of Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia. Through this marriage Ludwell came into the "Green Spring" property.
In 1702 Philip Ludwell II was appointed to the Council. He acted as Rector of William and Mary College, and in 1710 was appointed Deputy Auditor-General for the Colony by Governor Spotswood. In 1697 Ludwell had married Hannah Harrison of Wakefield, Surry County, and by this union had three children: Hannah, who married Thomas Lee of "Stratford"; Lucy, who married in 1715 Colonel John Grymes of Brandon, Middlesex County; and Philip Ludwell III, who married in 1737 Frances Grymes, daughter of Charles Grymes of Morrattico, Richmond County.
PHILIP LUDWELL III (1716-1767)
Philip Ludwell III, so stated above, married Frances Grymes. Ludwell went to England where he lived until his death in 1767. He left three children: Hannah Phillipa, who married William Lee, a cousin; Lucy, who married John Paradise; and Frances, who died unmarried a few years after her father's death. Ludwell was appointed a member of the Virginia Council in 1752. A notice of his death appeared in the Virginia Gazette : "In York River, the Lord Baltimore from London, by whom we have advice of the death of the Hon. Philip Ludwell, Esq., one of the members of his Majesty's council in this colony." (June 4, 1767 edition.)
Note: Information in these notes was taken from Virginia Historical Portraiture (Richmond: 1930)
WILLIAM LEE (1739-1795)
William Lee, son of Thomas Lee and his wife, Hannah Ludwell, was born at "Stratford," Westmoreland County, Virginia, on August 31, 1739. His father, as President of the Council, was for a time just prior to his death in 1750 acting governor of Virginia. Williams's brothers, Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, and Arthur Lee, were all distinguished for their services during the American Revolution.
In 1768, William Lee went to London with his brother Arthur, to engage in mercantile business. There, in 1769, he married Hannah Philippa Ludwell, oldest daughter of Philip Ludwell of "Green Spring," and through his mother a first cousin. William and Arthur Lee became deeply involved in London politics, and throw themselves into the movement of which John Wilkes was the leader. In 1773 William Lee was elected a sheriff of London, and in 1775 an alderman for that city. He was the only American who ever held that office. Early in 1777 he was appointed by Congress to act jointly with Thomas Morris as commercial agent at Nantes, and in June he went to France, where he became involved in the notorious Lee-Deane controversy. He was also appointed 2 commissioner to the courts of Berlin and Vienna, neither of which courts was disposed to recognize the United States; and all of Lee's polite efforts failed to change their minds. In 1779 he was recalled, and for the next four years made his residence in Brussels. His wife died in Ostend in 1784, where she had stopped on route to England, and was buried in the Ludwell vault at Bow Church near London.
In September, 1783 William Lee returned to Virginia and spent his remaining years at "Green Spring," the Ludwell estate which he owned through his wife. Their three children, William Ludwell Lee, Portia Lee, and Cornelia Lee lived with him there. His last years were saddened by almost total blindness. He died at "Green Spring" on June 26, 1795 and was buried in the Jamestown churchyard.
In 1797 Benjamin Latrobe, the architect, made plans for a new house at "Green Spring." In 1806 the old house, which Latrobe fortunately sketched, was torn down to make room for the new one. The new house was destroyed in the Civil War.
His son, William Ludwell Lee, was born in London in 1775. He inherited "Green Spring" from his father, who urged him in his will to drop the "Lee" from his name and take the name "of William Ludwell only that the family name of Ludwell so ancient and honorable both in England and America... may be revived." William Ludwell (Lee) died in 1803, without issue; and he was buried near his father at Jamestown. He freed his slaves and left his library to Bishop James Madison. The remainder of his estate descended to his sisters, Portia and Cornelia.
- Edmund Jennings Lee, Lee of Virginia (Philadelphia: 1895).
- Sketch of William Lee, pp. 235-254. Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. XI, pp. 132-33.
- Thomas Waterman, The Mansions of Virginia (Chapel Hill: c. 1945), pp. 19-20, 116-17.