Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

Outline-Station #1

• A.Ownership
  • 1)At least three owners before Henry Wetherburn
  • 2)Henry Wetherburn owned it (1738-1760)
  • 3)Wetherburn's marriages to two widows of tavernkeepers
  • 4)Present lease arrangement
• B.Status of the tavern
  • 1)One of best-known in Williamsburg
  • 2)New governor, Robert Dinwiddie, entertained here (1751)
• C.Research
  • 1)Archaeological
  • 2)Inventory of 1760)
  • 3)Architectural notes
    • a.)Fireplace and panelling
    • b.)Plaster
    • c.)Flooring
    • d.)Paint

Wetherburn's Tavern
Bullhead Room-Station #1

(The emphasis in this room will be on the ownership of the tavern in the eighteenth century; the fact that this is a restored building; the general place of Wetherburn's in the "tavern scene" of Williamsburg, and the inventory of 1760 as the basis for furnishing the building.)

We do not know when the first dwelling was erected on this property (colonial lots 20-21). The significant point is that it has been continuously occupied and used for 250 years as a home, tavern, store, school, guest house, and shop. Within these walls the varied life of this city has been reflected. We do know that the original house was a typical Virginia plan with a center hall, four rooms down and two rooms up.

We also know that Richard Bland owned the property prior to 1716 but whether or not he actually lived, here is not known. He did, however, frequently welcome as a guest either here or at another residence William Byrd of Westover. During the period 1709-1712, Byrd makes frequent reference in his diary to visits to Mr. Bland's "for breakfast," "to eat some custard," "to dine," and "drink tea." Notes in Byrd's Diary seem to indicate that Bland's home was frequented by prominent Councillors, Burgesses, and ladies closely associated with Bland or his wife, socially. It is unlikely that Bland operated a tavern on this site.¹

Nathaniel Harrison purchased the property in 1716. Burgesses and other public officers needed homes in Williamsburg when they attended sessions of the Assembly or Council. It seems reasonable to suppose that 3 Harrison's purpose in buying Bland's home was to provide a comfortable home for his family and a place to entertain his political and social friends while he was in the city. After Nathaniel Harrison's death, the property was inherited in 1727 by Benjamin Harrison, of Surry County. This Benjamin Harrison apparently did not hold any public office which would have brought him to Williamsburg. We Do not know what use Benjamin Harrison made of the property.²

The next owner of the property was Henry Wetherburn who bought it from Benjamin Harrison in 1738. Henry Wetherburn first appeared in Williamsburg c. 1731. He was not only a successful tavern owner, but married shrewdly (and we may hope for love) as well. In both of his marriages (to widows of tavern owners) he was given access to valuable property. In August, 1731, he was granted an ordinary license in the city. Wetherburn had married Mary Bowcock, widow of Henry Bowcock, tavernkeeper, between July, 1730, and June, 1731. Following his marriage, he and his wife were executors of Bowcock's estate.³

In 1736 Wetherburn's tavern was well known. William Randolph considered "Henry Wetherburn's biggest Bowl of Arrack Punch" appropriate to seal a transaction for 200 acres of Goochland County land which he deeded to Peter Jefferson. Research has not established on what location Wetherburn was operating at this date. By 1742 we know that Wetherburn was tavernkeeper at the Raleigh Tavern.

Research has not established the exact date at which Wetherburn left the Raleigh Tavern to begin tavern keeping on Lots 20 & 21. However, 4 the Virginia Gazette around this period indicates that he was operating a tavern in 1745/1746:

[January 23, 1746]

THE dwelling house, Out Houses, Store Houses, &c. in the
main Street opposite to Mr. Wetherburn's in Williamsburg, (the most convenient spot in this City for Trade, and a well accustomed Store,) now the property of the Subscribers, will be exposed to publick Sale, to the highest Bidder, at the said House, on Tuesday, the 4th of March next... Harmer & King.⁵

Henry Wetherburn is an excellent example of three types of tavern proprietorship in the eighteenth century. He was at one time the proprietor of a tavern which others owned (when he was keeper of the Raleigh Tavern, ca. 1742-1746, it was owned by a company of five men). At other times he owned and operated his own tavern (Wetherburn's, 1738-1742, 1746-1752 and 1756 until his death in 1760). During a third period Wetherburn rented either this building or another he owned to a tavernkeeper (John Doncastle, 1752-1756). All of this certainly made him one of the best-known and capable tavernkeepers in Williamsburg.⁶

On July 1, 1751, Mrs. Wetherburn died, and on July 11, 1751, Wetherburn married Mrs. Anne Marot Ingles Shields, widow of James Shields. We have almost no information on which to base a judgment of Henry Wetherburn's character; however, his unseemly haste (even for the 18th century) to remarry may reflect an unattractive, opportunistic facet of his life. The importance of this chain was noted by Wetherburn's 5 contemporaries. The diarist John Blair, a prominent citizen of the day, attended the first Mrs. Wetherburn's funeral on July 3, 1751, and wrote that her husband had discovered the cash she had accumulated during her days as Mrs. Bowcock: "He has found her hoard they say."

By his second marriage he associated himself with tavern keeping again. His second wife was the daughter of John Marot, tavernkeeper of Williamsburg; and her husband, Shields, also a tavernkeeper, operated Marot's former site until his death in 1751. Items in the Virginia Gazette for 1751 indicate that Wetherburn upon his marriage to Mrs. Shields, took over the executorship and sale of the Shields property.⁸

The detailed inventory of James Shields' estate lists such choice things as fine china, silver and ivory-handled knives and forks, brass candlesticks, 14 new leather chairs, and among the silver are salts, butter boats, cans (for beverages), a tankard, punch ladle, and nine tablespoons.⁹ Henry Wetherburn may have put some of these fine things to use when in that same year, November, 1751, the new governor, Robert Dinwiddie, was given a welcoming banquet in this tavern by the Mayor and Aldermen of the city.¹⁰ Perhaps the governor dined in the room we are in or the one just across the 6 hall. (The tavern had not been expanded from its original size.)

For the next nine years (1751-1760) Wetherburn's Tavern was one of the most popular in Williamsburg. We shall refer later in our tour to some of the highlights of these years. Henry Wetherburn died between July 15, 1760, and December 15, 1760. Unfortunately, his will is mutilated in spots but enough is legible to know what disposition he wished for his property. Several items from the will follow:

... ITEM I [torn] wife Anne Wet[torn] [tenem]ents and[d] [torn] also give her my Negro Girl named Clarissa forever and after my Just Debts Funeral Charges and the Expenses Attending the Admon of my Estate are paid I give her one moiety or half part of my whole Personal Estate forever ITEM I give to Harry Armistead who now lives with me my Negro Boy named Dick and my Silver watch to him and his Heirs forever and I Order and direct my Executors hereafter named to Lay out and expend the Sum of one hundred pounds current money in the Schooling and Education of the said Harry Armistead... ¹¹

On December 19, 1760, an inventory and appraisement of the estate of Wetherburn in York County was made. This inventory of the personal estate is a long and detailed one. It has been the basis for the furnishing of the tavern. Henry Wetherburn's estate inventory of 1760 not only listed, happily, his silver, glassware, linens, and kitchen utensils; it even detailed all furnishings room by room, and included livestock in his yard and stables, his vehicles, and his servants. Many fine furnishings are listed: pier glasses, brass candlesticks, sconces, elegant china, mahogany furniture, and prints, as well as choice liquors.¹²

Once again our archaeologists provided vital aid in assembling a picture of the early life of a place. They recovered more than 192,000 objects from the Wetherburn site, excluding such common items as nails and 7 bones. Among these were 50 unbroken wine bottles containing remnants of Morello cherries, buried before 1750 and forgotten-evidence of an eighteenth century effort to brandy cherries.¹³

We found tableware of extraordinary quality to reinforce the theory of Colonial Williamsburg's Archaeologist Ivor Noel Hume that fine china was commonly used by Williamsburghers of modest means. A most important find was a Wedgwood plate of a fruit pattern, finished in a green glaze which was registered by Josiah Wedgwood in 1759; only two others are known in American collections.¹⁴

The combination of these two things-a detailed inventory and meticulous archaeological research-has produced one of the most authentically furnished buildings in Williamsburg.

Henry Wetherburn's widow, however, was left with a tavern filled with fine furnishings, but an estate that was heavily encumbered. In November, 1763 Wetherburn's executors in their report to the Court showed that Wetherburn's estate in entirety amounted to £2084.7.3½. After subtracting Wetherburn's debts, Mrs. Wetherburn received £101.-.1½. And, in 1767, a final payment was made to her of £65.7.4½. This adds up to: Mrs. Wetherburn's total assets from her husband's estate were £166 plus.¹⁵

After Henry Wetherburn's death, the property was owned by his widow and then by his heirs, the Nicholsons (Edward, Henry and Henry W. Nicholson). Wetherburn's heirs sold the property by 1785 to William Rowsay.¹⁶ 8 During this period of 25 years the tavern was operated by at least three separate keepers. James Southall, Robert Anderson, and Ambrose Davenport presided over the hospitality of the tavern in this period and it was referred to as "Southall's," "Anderson's," or "Davenport's" in newspapers, diaries, ledgers, and journals which have survived.¹⁷

The removal of the capital to Richmond in 1780 had a profound effect on the role of taverns in Williamsburg. Ambrose Davenport advertised in 1780 a sale of his tavern furnishings, a clear indication that tavern keeping was no longer as profitable as in former days. There was one last effort to carry on the tradition on this site. Between about 1782 and the sale of the property by Wetherburn's heirs in 1785, Mrs. Ann Craig, who was before her marriage Ann Pasteur, sister of Dr. William Pasteur, operated the tavern. How successful she was or how long she kept tavern here is not known, but it is probable that the doors were closed by 1784.¹⁸

From then until now these old walls have pulsed with a less boisterous life perhaps, but one that has been vital in its way. Used variously as a store, boarding house, girl's school, home or shop it has "worn well" and survives today as one of the best of the original Williamsburg buildings.

The property was acquired in 1918 by Mrs. Virginia Bruce Haughwout. Since her death in 1956 control has been in the hands of her heirs and the Bucktrout-Braithwaite Foundation. Colonial Williamsburg exhibits the tavern under a long-term lease from the Foundation.¹⁹

This room, the Bullhead Room, Does not contain the complete furnishings as listed in the inventory of 1760. The reason is, of course, that some pieces have been omitted to provide space for the group to gather.

The room through the Door, Mr. Page's Room, is furnished according to the inventory of 1760. It was not unusual in taverns to find bedrooms on the first floor. There were two on the first floor in Mr. Wetherburn's. These first floor rooms were used for older people, private boarders or by members of the innkeeper's family. Mr. Page was probably a boarder.²⁰

Before we leave to go upstairs, I want to tell you that Colonial Williamsburg's architectural staff has conducted a careful research project to insure that the architectural features of the tavern would be restored with fidelity to their eighteenth-century appearance. I will call your attention to the most significant of these as we progress.

I should like to point out one or two architectural features of this room.

The fireplace and panelled chimney are new. The shape of the fireplace opening was determined by remaining original brickwork within the chimney. Evidence also existed that the fireplace had a marble surround, so a new one of proper design has been put in place. The panelling over the fireplace is designed to match a pattern of eighteenth century nail holes in the brickwork of the chimney.

The plaster in this room, and throughout the building with one exception on the second floor, is new. Its surface has been roughly worked in imitation of original plaster found in the building. What original plaster remained at the time of restoration was in such poor condition that it could not be saved, with the one exception already noted.

The flooring is largely original of random width heart yellow pine.

The paint color in this room, and all of the paint colors throughout the building, are copies of original colors found on original woodwork by paint investigation.

Outline-Station #2

• A. General tavern conditions
  • 1)Lack of privacy
  • 2)Bedding-sheets and mattresses
• B.Private lodging
• C. Ladies in taverns
  • 1) Rarely stayed in them
  • 2) Sometimes dined in them
  • 3)Other social events included ladies
• D. Employees
  • 1) Number.
  • 2) Jobs performed
• E. Architectural notes

Room over Bullhead-Station #2

(The emphasis in this room will be on bedrooms and their furnishings, tavern cleanliness, the place of women in tavern life in the eighteenth century, and the place of servants.)²¹

As we came up the stairs you probably noticed the ledge. This is rather unusual. The architects tell us it was probably put there to provide access to the window.

The luxury of privacy in an eighteenth-century tavern was almost unknown. A French observer, the Marquis de Chastellux, commented:

they think little of putting three or four persons in the same room; nor do people have any objection to finding themselves thus crowded in, because they experience no need to read and write, and all they want in a house is a bed, a dining room, and a drawing room for company.

Here [Mr. Formicola's tavern in Richmond], no less than in most of the other public-houses in America, it is expected that rooms are to be used only as places for sleeping, eating and drinking. The whole day long, therefore, one is compelled to be among all sorts of company and at night to sleep in like manner; thus travellers, almost anywhere in America, must renounce the pleasure of withdrawing apart, (for their own convenience or their own affairs), from the noisy, disturbing, or curious crowd, unless it may be, that staying at one place for some time, a private apartment is to be rented.

According to the inventory of 1760 Henry Wetherburn had bed space for 28 people on the second floor. Though clean sheets were specified in some of the ordinary rates they were not found in all taverns. Judging from inventories of the better taverns in Williamsburg clean linen was probably available at these taverns most of the time. When Anthony Hay was keeper at the Raleigh Tavern there were 44 pairs of sheets, and 37 13 pillow cases for his 36 beds.

Henry Wetherburn's inventory lists 19 beds with 23 pairs of sheets and 19 pillow cases. According to most of the surviving travelers' accounts clean sheets were seldom found. Occasionally a traveler carried his own bed linen with him to insure clean lodging. We know that Chastellux took his own linen with him when traveling.

The quality of tavern mattresses varied, of course. Though straw was used in some of the poorer taverns it was just one of several fillers for mattresses used during the eighteenth century. Feather beds were available at finer taverns. Feather beds and flock beds were both mentioned in the ordinary rates of Spotsylvania County. The flock bed, a mattress stuffed with cotton or woolen tufts, was probably the most common type. Unfortunately few inventories describe the type used in the taverns in Williamsburg; in neither Hay's nor Wetherburn's is there any reference to a specific kind of mattress.

In order to escape crowded conditions at the taverns many travelers would engage lodging in private homes. Those who operated private lodging houses had an advantage over tavernkeepers since they did not offer drinks and so were not required to have an ordinary license. Some Williamsburg tavernkeepers offered both private and public lodging to their customers. It is likely that at one time or another Mr. Wetherburn offered such private accommodations.

One Williamsburg tavern keeper, Richard Charlton, advertised accommodations at his tavern and also rented private rooms. He rented quarters to George Washington when he visited Williamsburg on several occasions. Private accommodations were available more often in rural, less populated areas but they were also important in the Williamsburg scene.

Because of the poor condition of most roads ladies seldom traveled 14 except to visit friends and relatives that lived nearby. Therefore ladies had little reason to frequent taverns. An exception was the wife of Thomas Jones of Caroline County who visited a sister who lived more than a day's journey from the Jones plantation. In a letter to his wife Thomas Jones suggested that she

had better stopp at Fornne's where the Horses will be well taken care of and you and your company well provided for. Mrs. Holdcrafts is about four or five miles this side of Fornne's but she may think your Company and Horses too great a burthen, and I had rather be at the expense than to trouble anybody.

Ladies did not stay at the taverns during busy times such as Public Times in Williamsburg. The few who accompanied their husbands stayed with friends or relatives who lived in town or on plantations near the capital. For instance, Lucy, wife of William Byrd II, usually stayed with relatives at Green Spring or at Queen's Creek when she visited Williamsburg. On several occasions Mrs. Washington dined and stayed with Mrs. Dawson who was both a good friend and relative. When Washington brought his wife and her children to Williamsburg for business reasons, they stayed at Charlton's tavern. By 1770 there was another place where ladies could stay while in the capital. That year Mary Davis advertised in the Virginia Gazette that she proposed "to accommodate Ladies and Gentlemen with private lodgings.... The rooms above are convenient for Gentlemen, those below for Ladies."

Though ladies seldom stayed at taverns in Williamsburg they did occasionally dine with their husbands at taverns during the less busy times. In November and December of 1769, for example, when Washington and his family visited the capital they dined at Mrs. Campbell's several times. On November 25th Washington dined at Mrs. Campbell's with Mrs. Washington, John Parke Custis, Colonel Bassett, Mrs. Bassett and Betsey Bassett. A week later they "all Eat Oysters at Mrs. Campbell's abt. one oclock," before returning to Eltham.

Balls were held at taverns during Public Times and, of course, the ladies were very much in evidence at these. On the other hand, the ladies were not often invited to the public or private dinners which the men frequently enjoyed at taverns. Ladies attended certain social events at taverns outside of Williamsburg also; an advertisement for a tavern in Newcastle stated that there were "several large and small Rooms for the Entertainment of Ladies and Gentlemen."

A word about tavern employees. The size of a tavern and its location often determined the number of people needed to keep it in operation. Some of the larger taverns required about the same number of slaves and distribution of labor as a large home. The slaves who served in Williamsburg taverns were taught many skills: cooking, serving, cleaning, washing, gardening, carting, and stable tending. At large taverns servants were trained for one job in particular, but in smaller establishments servants learned several jobs. Dr. Johann Schoepf, a visitor to Williamsburg after the Revolution, had this to say about servants:

In the tavern here there is very good, but very dear entertainment. Black cooks, butlers, chamber-maids, make
their bows with much dignity and modesty; were neatly and modishly attired, and still spoke with enthusiasm of the politeness and gallantry of the French officers.

Servants received some tips during the eighteenth century, but the few references that have survived suggest that tipping was not a customary practice. Rather, tips were probably given for special favors or if one wanted to make a good impression. Henry Wetherburn's estate of 1760 contained 12 Negroes-4 men and 8 women. One of the women was a child. A staff of twelve servants would not be unusually large for a tavern of this size. For example, in 1783 James Southall, who then owned and operated the Raleigh Tavern, had 19 slaves.

The small room just to your right as we leave this room was undoubtedly a servant's room. It is called the porch chamber, and in the inventory of 1760 its furnishings are described as one bed, bedstead, rug, blanket, pillow and cord, two chairs and nine chamberpots.

The plastered fireplace and chimney is entirely modern, although the plan of the fireplace itself was evident from old brickwork remaining in the reworked chimney. The fireplace is a reconstruction of one which was installed in 1785, when Humphrey Harwood tore Down the original chimney in this location (probably because of its poor condition) and rebuilt it. In the rebuilding he brought the flues for the first floor fireplaces up in such a way that a typical fireplace, flush or parallel to the wall, could not be built. Thus the unusual angled fireplace was constructed, the strange angles over the fireplace being the flue slanting back into line and the plaster reverse slope a method of supporting the chimney above.

Outline-Station #3

[Generally mention only those items with an asterisk]

• A.General laws and legal requirements
  • 1)* Act of 1705
  • 2) Act of 1748
  • 3) *Tavern licenses
    • a)a.) How issued
    • b)b.) Penalty for not having one
  • 4) Prices set
  • 5)* Certain people excluded from taverns
  • 6) Attempts to regulate gambling
  • 7) Attempts to regulate credit
• B. Violations of laws
  • 1)* Laws apparently difficult to enforce
  • 2) Widespread violations probably
• C. Architectural notes

Room over the Great Room-Station #3

(The emphasis in this room will be on regulations governing tavern operations in the eighteenth century. The interpreter will draw selectively on this information because our traffic pattern requires that as soon as the interpreter hears a group come up the stairs and go into the Room over the Bullhead Room., the group in this room must move immediately through the hall and down the stairs in order to keep a smooth flow of traffic. Therefore the amount of information concerning regulations in the eighteenth century governing taverns will be used very selectively, and the rule of the road is that the interpreter will move immediately from this room in order to clear a space for the group which is behind her.)²²

Wetherburn's Tavern enjoyed a distinguished clientele in the eighteenth century, and in order to attract such men over and over again to stop at this tavern when on visits to Williamsburg, it was necessary to have a well run and orderly establishment. Apparently Mr. Wetherburn had such a tavern, and in order to understand some of the rules under which he and other tavernkeepers operated, we will discuss very briefly regulations governing taverns in the eighteenth century in Williamsburg.

Virginia taverns were subjected to laws passed by the colonial government in the course of the seventeenth century. These laws were given further definition in 1705.

The act of 1705 was a general restatement with amendments of the seventeenth-century legislation. The provisions required the use of sealed weights and measures; allowed for the sale of bottled liquors; stated the procedure for obtaining a license as well as the penalty for retailing liquors without a license; set up regulations against unlawful gaming and drunkenness; granted to the county courts the right to set annually the maximum prices for liquor, food, lodging and fodder; and placed limits on the amount of credit which innkeepers could extend. A second comprehensive act which incorporated all earlier provisions was passed in 1748.

When towns such as Williamsburg and Norfolk were incorporated, the 19 Hustings Court received the same authority to issue licenses and regulate taverns that the county courts were given earlier. This legislation, which was passed for Williamsburg in 1723, was evidently disregarded since York County, and presumably James City County, continued to issue licenses to taverns in the capital. An attempt was made in 1742 to correct this situation when another law was passed which gave the Hustings Court sole power over the taverns in Williamsburg.

The most direct means of regulating taverns was by controlling the number of ordinary licenses issued. Petitioning the county courts for a license was the first requirement for opening a tavern.

Since running a tavern necessitated a considerable outlay of capital, the courts granted licenses only to those who could provide "all things necessary for entertainment, and have housing fitting for the same." After approving the petition the court required the innkeeper to post a bond of ten thousand pounds of tobacco or fifty pounds current money. The court also collected a fee of thirty-five shillings current money or fifty pounds of tobacco for each ordinary license which it issued.

The penalty for operating a tavern without a license was a fine of two thousand pounds of tobacco in 1705 or ten pounds current money in 1748. For failure to pay the fee or present security within six months, the punishment was twenty-one lashes at the public whipping post. Violations of these regulations were evidently frequent, for the governor, the Council, and the treasurer of the colony published notices urging the courts to be more strict in issuing tavern licenses and obtaining the necessary fees.

On several occasions during the second half of the eighteenth century a special tax was placed on ordinary licenses. These taxes were levied, during times of public emergency and were thought to be "easy to the people and no so burthensome as a poll-tax." Evidently, the treasurer of 20 the colony, Robert Carter Nicholas, had difficulty collecting these taxes, for several notices were published in the Virginia Gazette between 1766 and 1771, reminding the sheriffs to be more conscientious in collecting various taxes, including those on tavern licenses, which had fallen into arrears.

Besides licensing taverns the county courts had authority to set maximum prices that could be charged. These rates were usually determined at the March meeting of the court and included liquors, diet, lodging, fodder, provender, and pasturage. Within a month the innkeeper was expected to obtain a copy of the rates from the county clerk and post the rates in the public room of his tavern. Court action was taken against tavernkeepers who failed to post the current prices or overcharged their customers. The innkeeper was not only fined by the court but was also forced to give ten shillings to the informer.

Even though taverns were considered public places, certain groups, such as seamen, servants, and students were restricted in their use of the taverns. These people were not considered responsible since they could not be sued in court for debts or misbehavior. Thus, entertaining seamen and servants without written permission of the ship's commander or master of a servant was forbidden by law. Innkeepers convicted of ignoring this law were subject to having their taverns closed to the public for as long as the justices of the county court saw fit.

In later years the rules concerning student use of the Williamsburg taverns were relaxed, for by the 1760's and 1770's several social-intellectual societies were meeting at the Raleigh and other taverns. Since there were few rooms at the college suitable for the use of organized groups, these students were allowed to meet at the taverns; on the other hand, individual students were still not permitted to "frequent" the taverns.

After the mid-eighteenth century most of the new laws governing taverns were concerned with gambling. In Virginia gambling was considered a 21 gentleman's privilege, forbidden to members of the working class-apprentices, craftsmen, laborers, seamen, and servants-since gambling caused them to neglect their work. A law passed in 1740 imposed a ten-pound fine on an innkeeper who permitted play at any game of cards or dice, except backgammon. Four years later an amending act added to the number of games excepted and cut in half the amount of the fine. Persons at a tavern, a race track or any other public place were forbidden from playing games (except billiards, backgammon, and bowls) or betting on the hands of those who played. If convicted they were subject to a fine of five pounds. In 1748 another act for preventing excessive and deceitful gaming set the same fines for players, innkeepers, and justices if convicted; however, to the list of games which were excepted (billiards, backgammon, and bowls) were added chess and draughts. Though laws which attempted to limit gambling in public places continued to be passed, this legislation was less restrictive, the fines were lessened, and the number of games which were considered lawful was enlarged.

Regulations which limited the amount of credit in liquor that an innkeeper could extend were in effect during most of the eighteenth century. These laws, though unpopular with innkeepers, prevented the extension of credit to persons from whom the tavernkeeper would be unable to collect, and thus helped to protect him from going into debt. Another reason for the limitation was stated in the act of 1705:

the unlimited credit given ... to seamen and others, where they spend not only their ready money, but their wages and other goods, which should be for the support of themselves and families, is found prejudicial, and occasions many persons nearly free, to run away to the neighboring plantations, to the great disadvantage of this country.

The amount of credit which innkeepers could extend annually to responsible Virginians was three hundred pounds of tobacco. The 1705 law evidently proved too lenient, for by 1734 the extension 22 of credit had brought "impoverishment and ruin to many poor families"-presumably to families of innkeepers as well as those who patronized the taverns. As a result the amount of credit for liquor which could be extended annually was reduced to twenty shillings. During Public Times (the time in the spring and fall when the General Court sat) the innkeepers of Williamsburg were exempt from this restriction and allowed to issue credit to anyone.

The innkeepers of Williamsburg and Yorktown in 1744 requested a repeal of the 1734 statute stating that "great inconveniences, as well as manifest Losses in their Way of Business" were caused by the law. Two years later (1746) the innkeepers of Williamsburg requested permission to extend unlimited credit throughout the year and not just during Public Times, since "they are at other Times under a Necessity of giving Credit to many Persons."

Efforts to have the law of 1734 amended culminated in 1762 when an amending act was passed stipulating that tavernkeepers could extend as much credit as they thought proper. However the usual restriction on extending credit to seamen was included and also residents of the county or town were excluded from the open credit arrangement. This last restriction prevented the local drunks from loitering at the taverns and drinking more than they could pay for. The limitation of credit for local residents continued through 1774.

Laws regulating taverns were not strictly enforced or obeyed during the eighteenth century; however, the paucity of surviving information and the loss of many of the court records makes it impossible to determine the frequency of violations. That tavern legislation continued to be written throughout the century indicates that old laws were broken and new ones were needed.

Competition among tavernkeepers made overcharging a temptation. 23 Selling liquors in false measures was similar to overcharging. More than one report of liquor being sold to servants in Williamsburg has survived. Unlawful games were frequently played at the taverns.

From the early seventeenth century, tavernkeepers were admonished to keep orderly establishments - that is, to see that their customers did not become so rowdy as to disturb those living nearby. Controlling clients who got roaring drunk was, no Doubt, a problem and on more than one occasion tavernkeepers were charged with keeping a "disorderly house."

Though tavern laws were often violated, the infractions probably never reached the proportions cited by the contemporary observer, "A. B." This clergyman objected to another tavern being licensed in his parish and wrote a letter to the king's attorney in his county which was subsequently printed in the Virginia Gazette. In his opinion, taverns had been perverted from their original intention of providing entertainment and lodging for the traveler and had "become the common Receptacle, and Rendezvous of the very Dreggs of the People ... where not only Time and Money are ... squandered away, but where prohibited and unlawful Games ... abound to the greatest Excess." He particularly singled out cards, dice, horse racing, cock fighting, drunkenness, cursing, cheating, lying, and fighting. The clergyman entreated the king's attorney to realize that his accusation was "no Exaggeration but a just Representation of the Case" and called for a "redress of such outrageous Grievances." In conclusion he asked that no more "Nurseries of Vice" be licensed in the part of the county "where the Interest of Religion" resided in his hands.

The interpreter should point out at this juncture that we have entered that portion of the tavern which was added after 1751. Significant architectural features are: The baseboard in the room is largely original, patched and repaired. The truss casings are also original.

The fireplace is original, as is a part of the arch over it. The simple wood mantel and shelf is new, adapted from local original examples.

The floor is largely original with some patching near the two doors.

The paint color is Mustard #1408-W, matching the first eighteenth century color applied.

Outline-Station A

• A.Tavern food
  • 1) Time of meals
  • 2) Food served
  • 3) Source of food supplies
• B.B. Henry Wetherburn's inventory
  • 1) His glassware and china
  • 2) His silver
• C. Tavern "clubs"
• D. Taverns as centers of commercial activity

Middle Room - Station #4

(The emphasis in this room will be on tavern food service, the place of informal, private "clubs" in Williamsburg taverns, and their use by commercial groups.)

The most common service of innkeepers was to provide food and drink to travelers. All taverns were required by law to offer regular meals which cost about a shilling. Meals were served at regular hours-probably conforming to the times when most Virginians ate. Thus a traveler had to wait until the next meal was served if he was hungry when he arrived. On one occasion Byrd and a friend went to Marot's for dinner "but could get none there," probably because they had not made previous arrangements. Later in the century William Davis, who advertised private lodging across from the King's Arms Tavern in Hampton, promised "to furnish Gentlemen Travellers, and others, with private Board, Washing, and Lodging; also that any Gentleman may at any Time have a Relish for one Shilling, and a Bowl of good Punch given him to drink with it."

Tavern meals generally consisted of hearty dishes made of ingredients that were readily available: pork, chicken, fish, eggs, and bread. Vegetables were also served but these were rarely mentioned. After passing from Virginia into Maryland in 1774 Nicholas Cresswell cried out in his Journal: "Have had either Bacon or Chickens every meal since I came into this Country. If I still continue in this way shall be grown over with Bristles or Feathers." Generally small beer which was made locally was served with the common diet. By the latter part of the century, though,. other beveridges such as coffee and tea were served at some taverns-particularly at breakfast.

One often fared better or worse depending on the circumstances of 27 the tavernkeeper. Chastellux, who arrived late one evening at Colonel Boswell's tavern in the Piedmont, found Boswell "ill prepared to receive strangers." Supper was "rather frugal" but "breakfast the next morning was better; we had ham, butter, fresh eggs, and coffee with milk to drink."

The writings of William Byrd II are informative about the food served at Marot's tavern in Williamsburg, but because of Byrd's habit of eating only a single main dish we know little of the variety of dishes which Marot served at a meal. At various times between 1710 and 1712 Byrd chose a single main dish such as roast goose, roast beef, fricassee of chicken, mutton, fish, and roast veal for dinner. These dinners were probably not the regular meal prescribed in the ordinary rates. Generally Byrd ate at Marot's with members of the Council or with burgesses and these groups probably had special dishes prepared and served to them.

By the period of the third diary (1739-1741), Byrd again frequented a particular tavern-Wetherburn's, where he dined on weekdays with other members of the Council. At Wetherburn's he chose turkey, veal, chicken, fowl, calf's head, chicken and asparagus, lamb, tongue, pork, Scotch collops, fish, venison, beef, mutton, or bacon. On a Saturday [April 15, 1741] Byrd "dined at Wetherburn's because nobody invited us and ate fish." During that particular week Byrd had fish three times within four days. By the fourth day the entry reads "fish again." At other times, Wetherburn seems to have offered greater variety.

Diary entries and personal accounts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Page, and Robert Wormley Carter suggest that dinners served to them were different from the regular diet required by law. At some taverns the groups met in private rooms and appear to have ordered special dinners, though these references are brief and do not give the type of food that was served.

Accounts of special dinners held at Virginia taverns were often printed in the Virginia Gazette. The inventory of 1760 indicates that Wetherburn's was prepared to serve special dinners in an appropriate way. Henry Wetherburn had "8 Wine Decanters"; glasses for serving syllabub, jelly, sweetmeat, wine, and cider; sets of china in blue and white, red and white, flowered, and enameled patterns, besides "a Parcel of Odd China" and over a hundred pewter dishes. Linen included "3 large Damask Table Cloths" and around sixteen other large and small table cloths as well as twenty-eight napkins.

Wetherburn had a number of silver pieces including a tea kettle, 2 tea pots, I milk pot, 1 coffee pot, 2 salvers, 4 salts, 4 candlesticks, 16 tablespoons, 11 dessert spoons, 19 teaspoons, 2 punch ladles, and "10 Silver Hand Knives and 11 forks with a Case." Cooking utensils included numerous pans: "24 Tin Patty Pans," stew pans, dripping pans, frying pans, large and small copper kettles, and a fish kettle. Besides these there were "1 Bell Mettle Skillet," a large tea kettle, "2 Cheese toasters," and "1 large Dutch Oven."

Quite obviously Henry Wetherburn was equipped for extensive and elaborate entertaining. Some of these items may have been used by Wetherburn while he was keeper of the Raleigh, but they were used last probably at the tavern which he both owned and operated on the south side of Duke of Gloucester Street.

Tavernkeepers depended on local farmers and merchants for many of their food supplies. For most of the century one family-the Burwells of Carter's Grove furnished produce and staples to Williamsburg taverns. Elizabeth Bowcock, Christianna Campbell, Richard Charlton, John Doncastle, Alexander Finnie, Joseph Gilliam, John Parker, Thomas Pattison, Thomas Penman, James Shields, Anne Sullivant, and Henry Wetherburn had accounts 29 with the Burwells for beef, lamb, mutton, pork, veal, butter, onions, corn, wheat, tea, apple cider, hay, and wood. An account book of William Lightfoot for the years 1754 to 1755 indicates that Campbell, Doncastle and Finnie also purchased beef, mutton, pork, and veal from this planter.

In addition to produce and staples purchased from planters, the tavernkeepers grew some food in gardens and orchards near their taverns. Probably most of the herbs, vegetables, and fruit were grown on the "well paled in" lots on which many of the taverns were built. These lots, however, seldom provided the amount of wood that was necessary in cooking and in heating the taverns. Wetherburn, as one of the Burwell accounts shows, purchased wood for his tavern.

This room was probably used many times in Henry Wetherburn's day and later as the meeting place for a "club." The few surviving references to tavern clubs reveal little information other than their existence. Yet from entries in the diaries and ledgers of George Washington we know that some form of clubs existed in taverns outside of Williamsburg as well as in the capital. Most information, however, concerns those clubs which were held at taverns in Williamsburg.²⁴

At small taverns where there was only one public room groups of men probably reserved a table for their club activities. Larger taverns had separate rooms which were made available for private groups. Washington mentioned the club room at Mrs. Campbell's tavern but other taverns such as the Raleigh, Wetherburn's, and the King's Arms also had room for private entertaining. These rooms served gentlemen who did not have town houses - 30 providing a place where they could dine, talk, smoke, and play cards during the evenings.

The rooms where the clubs met were probably reserved in advance and the tavernkeepers served all the gentlemen as a unit. The fees were not the equivalent of club dues today, but each individual paid his share of the total bill for the food, drink, and use of the room for a given evening. The sharing of expenses accounts for the variation in the club fees from one evening to the next as recorded by Washington and others in their diaries and ledgers.

It appears that the tavern clubs in Williamsburg had little resemblance to the formal clubs which by the eighteenth century had developed in London or their counterparts in the larger colonial capitals such as Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. Rather Williamsburg taverns served as meeting places for the councillors, burgesses, lawyers, merchants, ship captains, planters, frontiersmen, and others who frequented the capital. These clubs were of an informal nature and provided a place where the men could talk, smoke, gamble, drink, and obtain light refreshment.

Taverns were also important in the commercial life of Williamsburg and the colony. This room was probably the meeting place for individuals and groups of men whose business interests ranged over much of the earth. Around these tables we can hear the echoes of talk about tobacco prices in England, trade in the exotic wares of the Orient, opportunities in the vast and rich "Ohio country," land speculation in the Virginia Piedmont and Valley, and the impact of England's economic policies in the pre-Revolutionary years.

For example, in May, 1752, a committee of the Ohio Company met at Wetherburn's: 31

By the Committee of the Ohio Company THE several
Members of the said Company, in Virginia and Maryland,
are desired to meet at Mr. Wetherburn's, in the City
of Williamsburg, on Thursday the 7th Day of May next.
George Mason,
James Scott,
April 7, 1752. John Mercer

On April 24, 1752 "A Meeting of the CAPE Company is desired at Mr. Wetherburn's on Tuesday Evening next, at Five o'Clock." In October, 1752 "A General Meeting of the CAPE Company is appointed to be at Mr. Wetherburn's, in Williamsburg, on Tuesday the 24th Instant, at 5 o'Clock in the Afternoon." (Tyler says that this "company of merchants met twice a year for the regulation of exchanges and other matters of commercial importance.")²⁵

As we leave this room we will enter the addition to the original building. You recall that this was added after 1751.

Outline-Station #5

• A. Social activities
  • 1) Balls, lectures, etc.
  • 2) Billiards
• 2B. Bars
  • 1) Importance of barkeeper
  • 2) No barmaids
• C. Most popular beverages
• D. Types of containers for drinks
• E. Transportation resources of tavernkeepers
• F. Architectural notes

The Great Room-Station #5

(Emphasis in this room will be on social matters-the use of this 26 tavern for balls, lectures, billiards, and drinking in the eighteenth century.)²⁶

We have now entered the addition to the tavern which was made after 1751. This room, the Great Room, was obviously the main public room in the tavern. It is less elegantly furnished than the Bullhead Room and the Middle Room which reflects its less exclusive role. Although its use during the day was perhaps to serve the populace at large, it served on special occasions as the scene for festive social affairs.

Balls, banquets, exhibits, and lectures were among the planned social activities held at the taverns. In Williamsburg balls were often given during Public Times and took place at the Palace, Capitol and Court House, as well as at the taverns.

In 1752 both Alexander Finnie and Henry Wetherburn gave notice in the Virginia Gazette that they would have balls at their taverns every week during the "Sitting of the General Assembly and Court." At Wetherburn's they were planned for each Tuesday evening and tickets could be had for half a pistole. No record has survived telling how many people attended these balls but entries in the manuscript day book for the printing office show that Wetherburn had "100 Tickets and Cards" printed and that Finnie was charged 5/9 "To Printing for a Ball Bill." These are the only advertisements of balls being held at the taverns during Public Times that are extant, yet we can assume that similar balls were held through the years. 34 Jefferson, ever eager for the social news of Williamsburg, wrote from Shadwell on January 20, 1763 to his friend, John Page, at Williamsburg, and asked several intimate questions:

... How have you Done since I saw you? How did Nancy
look at you when you danced with her at Southal's? ²⁷

Then too accounts of John Page, Jr. and Henry Morse with James Southall show that these men purchased ball tickets from the tavernkeeper of what had been Wetherburn's Tavern. By 1773 Southall had moved into the Raleigh Tavern which had adequate facilities for giving balls.

This commodious room must also have been used by James Southall for a billiard table. Billiard tables were often found in Virginia taverns. An account has survived which shows clearly that Southall provided billiards as one of the diversions in his tavern.

The account of John Page, Junior, with James Southall is given below:

1764	Mr. John Page Junr to James Southall-Dr ...Octr 10 to Club at Billds Novr 8th Do ?
1766	July 29 To Club at Billds 1/6 [Octr] 29 ... Club at Billiards 3/1½
	30th Do 3/1½
	Novr 2 Do 2/6 Do 3/6 ½...
	... [Novr] 24th Club at Billds 3/1.
1768...
	October 28 To 2 Ball Ticketts 20/.
	Novr 3 Club at Billiards 2/6...
1770	April 21st To Club at Billds 5/. Do 2/. 26 th Do 1/ ...
1771	March 3 to Din. 6/. 11th Do 4/. Club at Billd 3/ ... [Mar.] 13. To Club at Billds 4/. Din 7/6 ...

²⁸

Through the Door is the bar of the tavern. In the smaller establishments the tavernkeeper kept the bar but in the larger taverns-such as Campbell's, Pullet's, and Southall's in Williamsburg - separate barkeepers or drawers were employed. Several advertisements for drawers requested that the applicant "can keep accounts." This was necessary since the barkeeper was responsible for keeping a record of the drinks which were dispensed from the bar.

Waiters, and cooks who were honest, capable and of good character were also required. Since waiters, like barkeepers, had to keep account of meals and services, the ability to write was often required.

It was not the practice in tidewater Virginia to have barmaids serving in the taverns. At small taverns, and at some of the country taverns members of the family helped serve the food. While traveling in the western part of Virginia, Chastellux stayed at Paxton's tavern and noted in his journal that "Breakfast ... was served by Captain Paxton's daughters."

The variety and quality of the beverages offered at each tavern depended on the location, the circumstances of the tavernkeeper, and the clientele.

Generally the larger taverns provided their customers with a greater variety of beverages. Inventories of various tavernkeepers serve as a guide in determining what beverages were available to the customers. Also since each tavernkeeper strove to please his customers, to at least some extent, the kinds of drinks listed in the inventories are a reflection of the tastes of the customers. Under the listing of "LIQUOR" in Henry Wetherburn's inventory (1760) were arrack, bottles of Port, Madiera, and claret wine, porter, beer, rum, and cordial. It should be realized that inventories Do not reveal the entire picture. There is no way of knowing, for instance, what supplies were exhausted between the death of the tavernkeeper and the 36 time when the inventories were taken.

Yet it is possible to get some idea from the inventories as to what drinks were most popular Rum, arrack, and brandy were consumed in large quantities, in the form of punch.

Beer, ale, wines, brandy, and cider which were made locally were also served in the taverns. These beverages were included in the ordinary rates, and along with rum made up the stock of many of the smaller taverns in the colony. The tavernkeepers purchased these beverages from various sources-often from planters living nearby. The Burwell ledger of 1736 notes that Henry Wetherburn purchased apple cider from this planter. Some of the tavernkeepers also probably brewed or distilled their own spirits. Marot's inventory, for instance, lists 2 stills valued at 21/11/0.

Many of the inventories show that the tavernkeepers often had a supply of casks, bottles, and corks which were used for locally bottled drinks. Also there is some evidence that tavernkeepers imported wines and liquors in pipes and casks, and thus bottled some of their own drinks. Those beverages which were imported to Virginia were most likely purchased by the tavernkeepers from local merchants who ordered supplies from Great Britain.

By combining the evidence from inventories of some of the tavernkeepers, Virginia Gazette advertisements, diaries and journals, account books, and contemporary books one should get some idea of what the most popular beverages were for eighteenth century Virginians. Madiera appears to have been the most popular wine, but claret and port were also drunk. Great quantities of beer were drunk, including both the strong beers which were imported from England, such as Bristol beer, and the small beers which were produced locally. Cider and rum were also popular and were served in all of the taverns. Brandy, both that which was imported such as French brandy, 37 and that made of local fruits such as peaches and apples, was also well liked.

In eighteenth century Virginia taverns the drinks were served in a variety of vessels generally made from earthenware, stoneware, glass, pewter, and, in a few cases, silver. By comparing the inventories with tavern accounts one can get some idea about the type and capacity of these containers. References to mugs and tankards are often used in the inventories, but one also finds numerous items listed as pots and occasional references to cans. It appears from the inventory references that these items were used interchangeably for mugs, tankards, pots, and cans were all terms used for drinking vessels in the eighteenth century. Even the definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary are vague: a mug was "usually cylindrical, with or without a handle" and a tankard was a "Tall one-handled jug or mug, usually of pewter, sometimes with a lid: used chiefly for drinking beer." A pot is defined as "A Vessel of cylindrical or other rounded form, and rather deep than broad, commonly made of earthenware or metal ... used to contain wine, beer, or any other drink; either for drinking out of (as a pewter pot for beer, etc.), or pouring the drink into smaller vessels (as a coffee-pot or teapot)." Thus entries such as pewter quart pots and stonepots generally refer to drinking utensils. These pots were similar to mugs but probably did not have handles.

There are fewer references to cans which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as "formerly used of vessels of various materials, shapes, and sizes, including drinking vessels; ... " The inventories of three Williamsburg tavernkeepers list cans made of silver though other inventories list cans made from other materials. Ripping, whose inventory was taken in 1734, had one quart silver can; Shields (1750) had three pint silver cans; and among the legible silver items in Henry Wetherburn's inventory (1760) is "1 Quart Can." Since the inventories of the Williamsburg tavernkeepers often included their personal belongings and since none of these inventories lists 38 silver cans in large numbers, we can assume that these silver items were not used often in the taverns.

Additional evidence of the kind of drinking vessels used in colonial taverns is provided by Ivor Noël Hume, archaeologist for Colonial Williamsburg. Findings from excavations in Williamsburg and Yorktown indicate that blue and grey stoneware tankards from the Rhineland and English brown stoneware were commonly used in the Virginia taverns. Stoneware mugs which were produced locally have also been excavated at both Williamsburg and Yorktown.

Large amounts of glassware were also included in the tavern inventories though the exact use was often disguised by vague inventory references. It can be assumed that the glass rummers, tumblers, common glasses and even the drinking glasses often listed in tavern inventories were used to serve many of the drinks available in the taverns. Then too some of the inventories list glasses according to specific uses: wine glasses, beer glasses, cider glasses, jelly glasses, and syllabub glasses. The individual circumstances and preferences of the tavernkeepers probably determined whether certain drinks were served in earthenware, metal, or glass containers. Wine and spirits generally appear to have been served in glasses, but drinks such as punch, cider, rum, and ale seem to have been served in a variety of containers.

Perhaps brief mention should be made about two types of drinking containers, steins and black jacks, which Do not appear to have been used in eighteenth century Virginia. As early as the sixteenth century the term black jack was used in England to describe a leather jug or tankard; however, this use of the term Does not appear in the eighteenth century inventories of Williamsburg tavernkeepers.

When you leave to inspect the tavern kitchen and other outbuildings 39 you will see the tavern stable lot. Many eighteenth century tavernkeepers could be considered as also being in the transportation business since they usually had horses, chairs, and carts for hire. Inventories of tavernkeepers likewise give evidence of these items: Marot had one coach, one cart, and ten horses; Bowcock had a large and a small tumbrel, one old waggon, and eight horses; Wetherburn had seven horses, one chair and harness, and one waggon and harness; and Hay had five horses, one phaeton and harness, and one single chair and harness.

The significant architectural features of this room are:

All of the window sashes, their frames, and the trim are original, patched and repaired as necessary with the following exceptions: The west window on the south wall was made into a Door in the nineteenth century. The sash now in place there, and the lower part of the frame and trim are new. There is much original glass in the original sashes. Also, the trim of the center window on the north wall is new.

The upper portion of the marble surround of the fireplace is original to the room. The lower portions, however, are new. The originals were removed long ago and fragments of them were found by archaeological investigations in the front and rear yards. These fragments provided information as to the molding profiles of these originals and were copied in the pieces now in place. The marble surround may have been intended to carry a narrow shelf, matching several others in Williamsburg, but there is evidence that such a shelf wag never installed. The brick hearth is new.

Most of the flooring is original with the exception of the northwest corner, which is largely refloored.

The door to the Great Room with its frame and trim are new, but the door to the rear porch is original, as is its frame and trim, patched and repaired as necessary. It is the only surviving exterior door, and has been useful as a precedent for several reconstructed features in the building. The transom sash above the door is original.

The Summary Architectural Report is a resume of information on the subject building, condensed from data filed in the Architects' Office. It is intended for use by authorized personnel within Colonial Williamsburg, and by visitors having a serious interest in colonial American architecture. It is not for public distribution.

SUMMARY ARCHITECTURAL REPORT
MR. WETHERBURN'S TAVERN
BLOCK 9 BUILDING 31

The two lots (colonial Lot Numbers 20 and 21) on which Mr. Wetherburn's Tavern was later built were purchased from the Trustees of the City in or before 1716 by Richard Bland, Merchant and Burgess. The property, with whatever buildings Bland built on it, was purchased in 1727 by Nathaniel Harrison of "Wakefield", Surry County. Harrison died shortly thereafter and the property was left to his son Benjamin, who held it until 1738. In that year colonial Lots #21 and #22 were purchased by Wetherburn, tavern keeper. The exact date when Henry Wetherburn acquired colonial lot #20 is not known. (Note: for complete information about ownership., biographical materials., etc, see Mr. Wetherburn's Tavern Research Report by Mary A. Stevenson.)

Shortly after his purchase of the property, and probably by 1742, Henry Wetherburn built the first (east) portion of the extant tavern building, which will be explained in the following text. A large addition to the west was added by 1752. This with the original eastern portion, forms the facade which, restored, faces the Duke of Gloucester Street today. Between 1755 and 1760 a shed wing was added to the southeast rear corner.

After Wetherburn's death in 1760 the building had a succession of owners and was subjected to differing uses throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The property and building was purchased in 1918 by Mrs. Virginia Bruce Haughwout, who held it until her death in 1956. Colonial Williamsburg, Inc. leased the property from Mrs. Haughwout's estate in 1964 for a period of 100 years, with the privilege of restoring the eighteenth century tavern building, removing modern additions and outbuildings, etc.

Beginning in 1965 the building was subjected to intensive architectural and archaeological investigations. Armed with the findings of these investigations working drawings, specifications, etc., were drawn up and the physical of restoration work began in 1967.

In the following Summary Report the various building phases will be brief discussed and their architectural features noted will be briefly, with emphasis on the original pieces still in place. The exterior will be explained first, one elevation at a time, and various rooms will then be explained.