Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

Summary of Lot and House History

Definite mention was made of "two lots or two half Acres of land in the City of Wmsburgh, scituate lying and being in or upon the South Side of Duke of Gloucester Street in the said City designed in the Plot or Draught thereof by ye Numbers or figures 17 & 18 together with all houses outhouses Edifices gardens orchards Woods wells waters & water courses and all other improvements advantages privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging..."

1723, November 16, (YORK County Records, Deeds, Bonds, III, p. 413.)^*

1755, July 21, Dudley Digges conveys lot to James Currie. (York County Records, Deeds, VI, p. 26.)

Whereas the said Digges did license and permit one Dr. Kenneth McKenzie, dec'd, to set a tenement or shop on his lots in the city of Williamsburg with liberty to remove the same at any time, which shop the said James Currie hath purchased.

Whereas the said Dudley Digges and James Currie have come to the following agreement that he the said Dudley Digges will grant a lease of the ground whereon the said shop stands with an addition of ten feet more for the whole length thereof for the conveniency of building a shed to hold to the said James Currie or assigns for 14 years.

Abstract from York County Records, Deeds, VI, p. 26.

The above agreement is believed to refer to a portion of lot 18, as archaeological information (see Archaeological Report on lot 18, August, 1939). This indicates that a shop was apparently located on the eastern part of lot 18.

Sometime between 1755 and November, 1760, Dudley Digges sold lots 18 and 19 to William Withers. Lot 18 was occupied by Mrs. Christiana Campbell during Withers' ownership, or at least by the time Withers sold the property in November 1760, and possibly both before and after that.^#

Mrs. Christiana Campbell kept a tavern in Williamsburg for a number of years, on three different locations. Just when she occupied the house on Lot 18 has not been ascertained. In May 1771, she was established at the Coffee House on the Main Street, near the Capitol. Ca. October, 1771, she moved Mrs. Vobes old tavern behind the Capitol. It is safe to say that George Washington had meals at Mrs. Campbell's, as he himself noted this fact in his diaries between the years 1762-1770.

1769 [and] 1770
During the latter part of William Holt's ownership, both Catherine Rathell, milliner, and Freer Armston, a chandler, had shops on lot 18, both advertised their location here in April, 1769. In October of 1770 William Holt conveyed all of lot 18 and 5-½ feet of lot 19 (exactly the same property which William Withers, who had owned both lots, conveyed to Holt in 1760) to James Anderson.^*

The lot designated as #19 was the site of the Brick House Tavern which occupied almost all of the lot width. See Architectural Report, Brick House Tavern, Block 10, Lot 19.

1771
William H. Drinkard begged leave "to inform the Public that he intends to open TAVERN in the House lately occupied by Mr. William Holt..."

1770-1782
There are several references in the Virginia Gazette during 1770-1781, to indicate that James Anderson, was engaged in the trade of blacksmithing in Williamsburg, and that he moved to Richmond as public armourer ca. 1780, when the capital was moved to that city.

Archaeological Date

Archaeological investigations conducted by Herbert S. Ragland in 1931, on Lot #18 brought to light the following foundations. At the north end of the lot set back about 5 feet from the south line of Duke of Gloucester Street, were found the foundations of what appeared to be two distinct buildings, each 20 feet in depth. The foundations of the east building were 30 feet long and extended to within 4 feet of the foundations of the western side wall of the Brick House Tavern. Little remained of the actual brickwork of the exterior walls of the building but traces of the walls on all four sides were clearly marked by the 4a edges of the fill. This wall was 14 ½ inches thick. A foot or two east of the center-line of the building were found the remains of brick steps to the basement. The basement floor of the building was 5 feet below the sidewalk level, and a fragment of brick paving of some extent ran from the approximate center of the building to a point near the southeast 5 corner of the foundation walls. Fragments of brickwork and edges of fill extending from north to south across the center of the building suggested to Francis Duke (see Archaeological Report, Aug. 31, 1939) that there had once been in the cellar of this building, which had presumably been used as a shop, an outer storage room approached directly through an exterior bulkhead, and are inner strong-room for the safekeeping of especially valuable goods.

The foundations of the west building, 38'-2 ½" in length, were separated from the east building by a gap of 5'-10". Nothing remained of the foundation walls of the west building except a wall fragment at the south west corner of the south side, connected with the foundations of, basement steps, but the position of the foundation walls was clearly enough indicated by position of the extensive block of brick paving of the basement floor which was uncovered in the excavation. The depth of the building thus determined by the paving was the same as that of the east building (20'-0") and its front and rear walls lined up with the corresponding walls of the latter building. Since the existence of two separate buildings on the north side of lot #18 did not conform with the information on an insurance plat of 1810 (Policy: #231, issued to Nancy Camp) which indicated the existence there of a continuous building, comprising a 44-foot two-story structure on the west and a 30-foot story-and-a-half wing adjoining this, further archaeological investigation was undertaken in the 5'-10" space between the two foundations. A four foot fragment of wall of colonial brick was found between the south walls of the two buildings, and lining up with these, suggesting that the two original buildings had been joined sometime in the 18th century. The building thus revealed by the foundations 6 would have consisted of the 30-foot-long east wing and a main structure 44'-0 ½" in length conforming to the measurements of the house shown in the insurance plat of l810.

35 feet back of the east end of the house was found the foundation of a 16 by 20 foot building with an outside chimney projecting from its south end. The wall fragments found were few in number but sufficient to establish the position and extent of the building, which was assumed to be a kitchen; this kitchen was also shown in the insurance plat of 1810. Inside the kitchen foundation was found a well, which according to Francis Duke, probably existed prior to the building of the kitchen. A length of brick paving ran west from the kitchen from a point north of the center of the building, and this was assumed to be the remains of a brick walk, and gave the location of the door. Another length of brick paving ran southeastward from a point near the center of the south wall of the house. This may at one time have joined the east-west walk leading from the kitchen.

Just east of the kitchen are two short lengths of a foundation wall, perhaps a smokehouse on Lot #19, which was probably the one shown in this position on the Frenchman's Map.

Beginning about 44 feet to the rear of the west end of the house and extending some 80 feet southward is a series of foundation fragments which, in the main, are designated on the Archaeological Survey Map of March 18, 1934 (Herbert S. Ragland) as brickwork later than that of the colonial period. These, however, correspond roughly in position with the two narrow, elongated buildings shown on the Frenchman's Map, along the west line of lot #18 and may therefore represent the remains of the 7 foundations of these buildings. They may be the foundations of shops built for James Anderson, blacksmith and gunsmith who was armorer to the Commonwealth during the earliest part of the Revolutionary War, and who owned the lot from 1770 to 1798. The accounts of Humphrey Harwood, carpenter and brick mason of Williamsburg, reveal that the latter built a number of forges for James Anderson, and the remains of what are thought to be several forges were found on the lot.

Design Basis for the House Plan

COMPOSITE PLAN OF JAMES ANDERSON HOUSE

The Frenchman's Map of Williamsburg indicates a long and narrow building extending across the entire width of the half-acre lot #18. The outlines of two narrow (20'-0" deep) structures were, as is noted above, discovered by archaeological excavation in the position of the building shown on the Frenchman's Map. The archaeology indicates that these two buildings were at one time joined; in their combined length they 8 coincide with the house pattern of the Frenchman's map.

The aggregate length of the two excavated foundations is 74'-O 1/2" and the indicated width is 20'-0". The reconstructed house was built to conform with the foundation measurements, and has an overall length of 74'-½" and an outside depth of 20'-0".

The Nancy Camp insurance policy of 1810, mentioned previously further supports the evidence of the foundations as to the size and nature of the James Anderson House. It shows, along the north side of the lot facing Duke of Gloucester Street, a wooden dwelling house, two stories high, 44 feet long and 20 feet deep, and attached to the east end of this a one story [story-and-a-half] wing 30 feet by 20 feet. The combined lengths of the two-story building and the wing amount to 74 feet, or ½" less than the combined lengths of the two positions of the building as shown by the excavations, and the width of 20 feet is precisely that of the excavated foundations. The east end of the wing, furthermore, is shown at a distance of 4 feet from Leroy Anderson's [house], which is the exact distance separating the eastern side of the foundation wall of the wing from the western end of the Brick House Tavern foundations. Thus the size and position of the house and wing conform almost exactly with the excavated foundations.

The insurance map indicates two additional buildings along the eastern boundary of lot #18, south of the east wing, viz., a smoke house and a wooden kitchen, 20 feet by 16 feet and one story [story-and-a-half] in height. No archaeological evidence for the smokehouse was found. The kitchen foundations, discussed above, conformed exactly with the kitchen dimensions as given in the map.¹

BRICKWORK

MASONRY

The use of stone for the steps of the main north porch and for the steps leading to the west door of the north shop front is based upon the following evidence:

• 1.The discovery of many stone fragments among the artifacts discovered at the site. These included fragments of heavy molded nosings and of what appeared to be stone paving.
• 2.The fact that stone porch landings as well as stone steps were common in Virginia.

  Cases:

  • a.Steps to President's House, the College of William and Mary.
  • b.James Semple House.
  • c.John Blair (downtown) House.

Stone for the period was usually of English Purbeck or Portland stone. Both are an attractive light gray color. The American substitute for such a stone is Indiana limestone, similar in texture and alike in color. During the time when this building was built, the opening of the second world war made impossible the securing of stone from England. Indiana limestone was therefore adopted.

Treads all have a rounded nosing of 1 1/8" radius, together with a fillet and customary cove beneath the fillet. All stonework is set with 3/16" joints of white mortar. The joints where shown have cut regulets to receive iron cramps set in molten lead. The iron railing of the main entrance was set into the stone steps and attached to the columns.

The steps of the main north porch descend to the right and left of the central platform, paralleling the building. The main entrance porch of the Ludwell-Paradise House has steps similar to these and they are also found at Alexandria. This type of entrance steps is of especially frequent occurrence in Charleston, S. C.; a typical example of them is found in the entrance porch of Blacklock House at 18 Bull Street. An English example, quite similar in its general characteristics to the porch of the James Anderson House, is shown here (Montrose House, Petersham, England).

ENTRANCE STAIRCASE, MONTROSE HOUSE, PETERSHAM, ENGLAND

EXTERIOR WALLS

All outside walls of both the house and shop are faced with weatherboarding.

These weatherboards are of red gulf cypress, selected because of its lasting quality. Most weatherboarding of the eighteenth century in Williamsburg is believed to have been of tulip poplar or pine. These materials as available today are considered liable to rapid deterioration.

Weatherboarding is laid horizontally to the uprights of the building. These boards overlap one another and provide for an exposure of around 6" on an average. The boards are wedge-shaped in section, the upper edge being thinner. The lower edge of the weatherboarding of the main house has a ½" quarter-round, while that of the shop terminates in a ½" bead, a feature typical in Williamsburg.^* Weatherboarding was attached to the "quarters" (studs) by face nailing.

For further information on weatherboarding including full size sections see Record Files of the Department of Architecture, Colonial Williamsburg.

EXTERIOR TRIM

As a natural accompaniment to wood sheathing, all trim at windows, doors, cornerboards, cornices, window sills, sash, etc. is of wood,--again of Cypress.

The cornices of the main house, at front and rear, is what is termed a modillion cornice, since one of its chief features is a series of ornamental brackets, spaced approximately 10" from center to center. These are usually nailed in place.^* "'Tis an established rule," says a Builders Guide, 1734, "that the Cornice have its Projecture nearly equal to its Height ... and yet---" (says this guide) "the Projecture may be safely made a little larger on occasion, particularly when a beautiful Profile is required." In the profile of this house the "projecture" is slightly greater than the vertical height. In addition to the modillions this cornice has, beneath the modillions, a band of dentils, rectangular blocks 1 ¼" wide and 1 ¾" high, spaced about 2 5/8" on centers. This cornice, using both modillions and dentils, is a modification of the classic Corinthian and Composite cornices, the only classic cornice types having both of these features. Among other cornices in Williamsburg which have both modillions and dentils, that of the Old Court House on the Market Square and that of the James Semple House, built toward the close of the 18th century may be noted.⁴ Other Virginia examples of this modified Corinthian cornice are to be seen at Wilton on the James, Henrico Co., built about the middle of the l8th century, where it is used on the main house but not on the hood of the main entrance; Westover, James City Co.; and Ampthill, Chesterfield Co., built before 1732. It is likely that most of the cornices mentioned above as precedent examples are original ones, although some of them may have been changed from their first form during the existence of the house.

CORNICE RETURN, NORTH FRONT OF SHOP - FOR END DETAIL, SEE P. 20

The cornice of the Shop addition is of a simpler design without modillions and dentils and consisting of a crown molding with fascia 19 and bed molds. Its profile is similar to that of Captain Orr's Dwelling and the John Blair House.

A modification of the cornice of the main house is used on the pedimented hood of the main north doorway, where a fretwork, a carpenter's modification of the dentil, has been substituted for the true dentils of the main cornice. This fret motif, it should be noted, is carried around on the interior as well as the exterior faces of the horizontal members forming the base of the three sides of the hood.

The pedimented porch roof resembles in a general way the roof of the main entrance to the James Semple House, with the following differences. The cornice of the Semple hood has true dentils instead of fretwork. The roof is furthermore supported on a full entablature with frieze and an ornamented architrave, while these members have been suppressed in the case of the James Anderson hood, leaving only a simple fascia below the fretwork.

The columns of the porch are unfluted, unlike those of the James Semple House. It is interesting to note that the caps and bases of these columns are of the Tuscan order, in spite of the fact that they are used with what is essentially a Corinthian cornice. Noteworthy also is the fact that the pilasters applied to the wall behind the columns and supporting the hood on the house side not only taper toward the top, but also "belly" outward in a curve (entasis) following closely the curvature of the column. It is customary for pilasters used with columns to diminish toward the top but unusual for them to change in depth from bottom to top.

The question naturally arises, "What was the basis or reason for adopting a not entirely simple doorway design? First of all, porches with pediment, roofs are known to have existed in Virginia from mid-eighteenth century. Fairfield (Carter's Creek) in Gloucester County had such a doorway, undoubtedly of early date. The building itself is authentically dated 1692^*. It is recognized that porches are frequently additions of lesser age than the house. Wales near Petersburg, has a pedimented porch. The house date is given as mid-century.

Since the "ornamental parts of architecture" such as a doorway were usually designed with benefit of builders handbooks, it is reasonable to quote Battley (1750) who recommends pediments over doors with a projection "sufficient to protect the Entrance from the Insults of Rain."^** "Pediments," he goes on to say, "must advance forward, and be sustained either by Trusses ... or with free-standing columns and 20 pilasters." The doorway details, in their correctness of contour, do suggest handbook origin.

The brick-paved porch (5'-6" in width) and two sets of stone steps paralleling the face of the house as was stated under "Masonry", are similar in general design to this feature as reconstructed as the entrance to the Ludwell-Paradise House, where the original foundations were uncovered, indicating the east and west flight of steps.⁵ The curved iron railing is a typical detail, found in Norfolk, Petersburg, and Alexandria. The iron railing of the President's House, College of William and Mary, was used as the model for this design. Another close example is that of the Hughes House, New Bern, N.C. with its similar stone steps and identical rail treatment.

END BOARDS AND CORNICE RAKE

The cornice rake consists of a tapered verge or bargeboard with molded edge bordering the roof, and a 5/8" bead at the lower edge. The rake board terminates as an ogee upon an end board. The end board, shown on p. 10, in following the exact contour of the cornices is similar in principle to that of the Timson House, Williamsburg, but it has, in its complexity, many unique features.

DIAGRAM END ELEVATION OF SHOP WITH WEATHERBOARDING EXTENDED TO RECEIVE CORNICE - SEE FRONT DETAIL, P. 18

The end board to the east wing cornice is absent. In place of an end board the weatherboarding is extended so as to receive the cornice while bed moldings and the crown mold of the upper cornice return against themselves. The basis for this treatment, with a slight departure, is the cornice ends of Captain Orr's Dwelling. For further information on this detail see Sheet No. 207.

CORNER BOARDS

The corner boards occur at the external angles as a finish at the ends of weatherboarding. For the main house as distinguished form the east end addition, the boards are two in number, each approximately 3 ½" in width. These are mitred together, alongside of a 5/8" bead. This type is less common than the single corner board found at the corners of the shop addition. The authority for the use of this double form was the original part of the Taliaferro-Cole House (where, however, it appears to be solid) and the Travis House (northwest corner), and for the single form, the Orell, Bracken and Timson Houses. The double form was very frequently used on hipped roof houses (square or approaching the square in shape) and on square outbuildings.

DORMERS

As reconstructed, dormers occur only on the shop addition. There are three of these to the north and the same number to the south. They are narrow dormers, crowned with a hipped roof like those of the John Blair House and of the Moore House, Yorktown. When the dormer with hipped roof occurs, the slope usually follows the slope of the main roof. Also similar to these examples, and to dormer window of the Bracken House, the sash is framed by singled-molded trim. The sill, square and unmolded is attached to the frame by wood pegs. Similar square sills were used with the dormer windows of the Timson and Bracken Houses. The two-light-wide sash, four lights high, is similar to the dormer sills of Casey's Gift Shop and the Timson House in Williamsburg.

Since many shops at the eastern end of Duke of Gloucester Street, the former business center of Williamsburg, were converted residences or attached additions to dwellings, it was natural that display of goods for window shoppers would be facilitated by enlargement of ordinary sash or by the creation of an oriel display window so typical of the times. Such an oriel shop window was installed at the eastern end of the street façade of the story and a half addition since it is believed that this portion of the residence was a shop.

ORIEL WINDOW OF SHOP, EDMONTON, ENG.

ORIEL WINDOW OF SHOP, BOALSBURG, PA.

The oriel window, unlike bay windows, which are supported on the ground, is projected out from the wall, and supported on an ornamental wood bracket. It is composed of three fixed sash which are set together in the form of a shallow "U" with the main front sash, 2 lights wide and 4 high, paralleling the wall, and the side sash, 1 light wide and 4 high, set at an angle of about 60( with the wall. The projection of the window from the face of the weatherboarding of the shop to the outside edge of the sill of the oriel is about 1'-8 ½". The window is elevated approximately 4 feet from the ground and its height, bottom of sill to top of cornice is about 5' 9". It is covered with a flat seam lead-coated copper roof sloping at an angle of approximately 35(. For further details of the window and its supporting bracket, see working drawing sheet #203.

Oriel windows are Gothic in origin. Such windows or their developed variants may be seen today in the Alexandria and the lesser towns of Virginia. Our illustrations show three old shop window, two of them oriels 23 and the third, though a bay window, similar in many respects to the window of the James Anderson House. The first, an oriel window from a shop in Edmonton, England, is reproduced from a plate, page 134, in The Smaller English House of the Later Renaissance 1660-1830 by Richardson and Eberlein. The second is the window of a confectioner's shop in Boalsburg, Pa., and shows the panelled wooden shutters used to close it. The third is a bay window from an old store at Phillipsport, N.Y.

BAY WINDOW OF OLD STORE AT PHILLIPSPORT, NEW YORK

WINDOWS

Excepting for differences in glass sizes, the sash are almost entirely 3 lights wide by 6 lights high. The center windows over the front and rear entrances to the house are an exception since they are 4 lights wide and 6 high. The four windows at the West end of the house are only 2 lights wide by a height of 6 lights.

ORIEL (shop) WINDOW details may be seen on sheet #203.

PRECEDENT for windows that are 3 lights wide and 6 high is found at Powell-Hallam House, also Carter's Grove, (1st floor sash); 4 light wide and 6 high-as at Annie Galt House, Williamsburg; 2 lights wide by 6 high at Claremont office, Surry County. Dormer sash 2 lights wide by 4 high as at Timson house, Williamsburg.

18-LIGHT WINDOW, MAIN FARM, VICINITY OF WILLIAMSBURG

EXTERIOR TRIM

The main house, has throughout,--double molded trim, 5 ½" wide.

Shop end has single molded trim, 4 ½" wide. Dormer trim for sash enframement is also single molded trim, 4 ¼" wide. Detail sheet #202.

Basement Windows and their grilles.

The basement window opening of the typical Virginia house was probably unglazed during the 18th century. The need for ventilation to overcome dampness and mold was probably responsible for the open window frames. These windows, however, were filled by wooden bars, set in a heavy wood frame.^*

Basement grilles, for the James Anderson House, are of two kinds:

• 1.

  For the main house the heavy frame is 3 ½" x 4 ½" in section and is divided at center by a heavy vertical mullion 3 ½" x 4". The smaller vertical bars, placed diagonally are approximately 4" from center to center. The form for these grilles have a simple O.G. molding at the top and sides.

  25

  Precedent: Taliaferro-Cole basement grilles; grilles at north end of the Wren Building, reduced in scale.

• 2.

  For the Shop End of the house the grilles have a similar frame, but here the bars are placed horizontally. All frames are pinned together with round pegs. See details on Sheet No. 200.

  Precedent: As in the Bracken House basement, and in the Orrell House.⁶

SHUTTERS

First Floor
These are uniformly 1 1/8" in thickness. They have molded panels on 1 side only-(the side that is seen when shutters are open). All shutters of the first floor have three panels, excepting the two shutters at the west elevation, which have but two panels.

Sizes of shutters differ with windows. See window schedule.

Second Floor
Shutters for second floor windows are uniformity 1 1/8" in thickness. They have molded panels on one side only. Shutter sizes are determined by window openings. See window schedule with dimensions.

Precedent for shutters. The design inspiration for the three and also for the two paneled shutters is ascribed to "Wales", a plantation house near Petersburg, Virginia. There were also many shutters of the solid sort found in Williamsburg.

There was an apparent preference for the solid shutter in the "Tidewater" that is rather unique. New England, during the 18th century, appears to have favored louvered shutters for both ground floor and upper story windows. Pennsylvania, on the other hand, developed a practice of having solid shutters below and louvered ones above.^*

Interior shutters (called back flaps) that folded into the jambs of window openings were known to have been used in Virginia almost as early as 1700. Interior shutters appear to have been associated with buildings of brick, as in the case of the Capitol at Williamsburg.⁷

Instances of shutters on the exterior of houses of brick construction are scarce. Examples where found on old photographs include: Carter's Grove, Blanford and the President's House of the College of William and Mary.

BULKHEADS

There are two bulkheads with steps to the basement. These were both revealed when the archaeological digging was done. A similar architectural treatment was given to both examples, namely,--sloped top, double doors, Brick foundation with English bond panels at the two sides; flat barge board with beaded edge and 0. G. treatment as a terminal at lower end of rake.

This sloped top type of bulkhead has abundant local precedent. It has points of similarity with the bulkhead at Captain Orr's dwelling, and is also similar to the example as found and restored at the Taliaferro-Cole shop on Duke of Gloucester Street. The material used for the facing and for doors is cypress. Steps to basement, (East bulkhead) are of brick with oak nosing, based on the frequently found steps in a similar location, as at George Wythe House.

The East bulkhead is 6'-0" wide on plan. The West bulkhead is alike in treatment but differs only in its being 5'-6" wide.

STOOP AT SHOP ENTRANCE

North Side

Foundations are of brick, laid English bond with arched opening added at both sides for ventilation.

Platform and steps are of wood framed and faced after the manner of eighteenth century exterior stairs, and resembles in its treatment stoop and railing used at the Tucker-Coleman House.

The railing consists of a top hand rail 2" x 3", rounded at top and beaded at the bottom. In place of balusters there is a horizontal guard railing 2" x 9", beaded at edges at the sides of the platform and a similar guard railing at the sides of the steps.. See Sheet 101 A.

STEPS AT KITCHEN

South Side

The treads 1 ¾" in thickness are supported by two stringers of 20 thickness beaded at the four edges. There are no risers. Treads are with tenon, mortised into the end stringers.⁸

MAIN PORCH

South Side

The main porch on the south sides located on the central axis of the house proper, is l0'-0" wide and 8'-9" deep and is approached by a flight of 3 wooden, riserless steps supported by wooden stringers. It has a pedimented roof, with the triangle of the pediment sheathed with random shiplap boards. The horizontal entablature, consisting of a cornice and a two-part architrave, without a frieze, is supported by 4 columns, square in plan with corners champfered nearly their entire length; the champfers terminate top and bottom in "lamb's tongues." The columns, the caps of which are modifications of classic capitals, are recalled on the house side by two engaged half-columns similar in design to the columns. A balustrade, the top of which is 2'-10" from the porch floor, extends between the columns and is supported by them, leaving the space between the 2 central columns of the south side free, however, for access to the porch. The balustrade consists of a molded handrail 3 ½" high by 2 ¼" wide, a bottom rail 3 ½" x 2" and rectangular balusters, 1" x 1 ¼" in section spaced approximately 4 ½" on centers. The house wall of the porch is covered with 7/8" random width flush beaded boards, and the curved ceiling of the porch as well as the spandrel between the ceiling and the and the cornice capping the flush boarding of the house wall are plastered. The porch floor is of wood and it and the columns carrying the roof are supported by 9" foundation walls laid up in English bond and provided on either side with openings for ventilation. For further details of this porch, consult working drawings #107 and #204.

Square champfered porch columns similar to those of the James Anderson porch were used on many Virginia houses. Examples which may be cited are the original rear porch of Bel Mede^*, 28 Isle of Wight County, a house moved to Williamsburg by Mr. Thomas Thorne; the west porch of the Barton Mayers House at Norfolk, and a porch of Fairfield, Gloucester County. The handrail is closely similar to an old one at Araby, Charles City County. An instance of a curved plastered ceiling on an 18th century porch is that of the west front porch of the Coke-Garrett House in Williamsburg.

OUTSIDE DOORS

For outside doors see Door Schedule.

GENERAL NOTES

The interior of the James Anderson House was reconstructed on the basis of plan indications revealed by excavations made in Areas A and E of Block 10. (See Archaeological Drawings.) As has been previously discussed the original house appeared to have been one room in depth with a center stairhall. At the east end was attached a one-room-deep shop, having, it is inferred, two outside north entrances.

The interior, as reconstructed, was not intended to be a completely faithful reproduction of the floor arrangement of the James Anderson House of about 1760. The attempt to reproduce rooms of authentic colonial appearance was limited to the main floor hall and its adjoining living and dining areas. Here the woodwork, the stair railing, the mantels and cornices are all patterned after known, measured prototypes of the Williamsburg locality. In other words, the authentically reproduced part of the house is limited to the semi-public areas while the kitchen, baths, and modern closets are installed for the convenience of the house occupant. (See Architectural Records files for policy applying to the making-over of an old house not for exhibition.)

FLOORS

All finished floors throughout the house are of hard pine-mostly edge grained, selected for characteristics similar to those of old pine flooring. Floor boards vary in width from around 4 ½" to as much as 7 ½". The manner of joining by tongue and groove and face nailing are both 18th century practices. The floor finish with wax is intended to follow the practice pursued in the case of the original floor.⁹

STAIRWAY

Main Hall

Type.
Designed as a plain, open-newel stairs. It has a straight run of ten risers and three winders to a resting place called a landing, then five additional risers to the second floor. There is a wide stair well admitting light to the lower hall.

Dimensions.
The main stairs are 3'-4" in width, measured from rough wall to center of stair railing. The hall itself is 9'-8" in width. There are 18 risers from floor to floor, which, divided into a floor-to-floor height of 10'-0" gives us the riser height of slightly more than 7",--a very easy and comfortable rise. Treads, including nosing, are approximately 11 inches. The railing height is 2'-7" at the slope of stairs and 3'-0" at the landing.

Description.
The stairway has an open string. There are three turned balusters to each step. The newel post at the base of the stairs is turned as shown on the detail, herewith.

DROP, NEWEL POST

Special Features.
The newel post of the second floor is terminated by a turned ornamental "drop". The "drop" treatment resembles that of the Wythe House, also with some resemblance to a newel drop used at Liberty Hall.

Precedent.
The plan of the stair hall follows closely the arrangement of the Travis House stairs in Williamsburg. The turned newel post as well as the balusters appear to have been derived from Liberty Hall. The newel post is precisely similar in the two cases. The pulpit stairway of Christ Church, Lancaster County recalls but does not exactly resemble that of the James Anderson example. The latter is more evenly tapered, while the other is slightly "bulbous" in contour.

The derivation of the turned balusters is clearly Liberty Hall. Similar also are balusters of the Semple House and of Marmion of King George County.

The handrailing section is similar to many antique railings of 18th century buildings, kept for study and use by the Department of Architecture, Colonial Williamsburg. See tracing at left together with the James Anderson railing.

SHOP NEWEL & RAIL, WALL RAILING

STAIRWAY (SHOP)

This is a secondary stairway from shop to second story, built partly between walls 3'-0" in width, but having the two lowest treads extended into the room, that is designated as shop on plans. At the third riser a doorway separates the stairway from the shop itself.

There is a newel consisting of a 3 ½" square post with the corners of top cut away with a "lamb's tongue" profile.¹⁰ On the right side, descending the stairs there is a simple handrailing, 2 ½" x 1" attached by hand brackets to railing that is 5 ½" wide. The hand rail is without molded edge, the wall board, however, has a ½" bead at both the top and lower edges.

There are two 4" x 4" pine posts that frame the door on the stairs. The posts also receive the beaded wood facing of the shop walls. A detail of the stairs, wall, door end trim treatment can be seen by consulting Working Drawing Sheet No. 212, Department of Architecture.

Stair Railing of LIBERTY HALL, at Second Floor.

NOTE: The newel posts and balusters served as the design basis for the main stairs of James Anderson House.

Balusters of LIBERTY HALL* served as model for balusters of the Anderson House stairway.

WALLS

The inner walls of the James Anderson house were plastered excepting within the shop and below window sills of the living and dining rooms, where wood facing was applied.

The plastering of walls was done so as to give the plaster surface a semi-rough finish, and was intended to suggest to an observer, the appearance of old plaster that is composed of oyster shell lime and sand. (Bathrooms and kitchen walls, for practical reasons, have a smooth Plaster of Paris composition and finish).

The wood surface for walls of the shop consists of fairly wide pine boards, beaded at edges, fitted tightly together and finished natural. Wall boarding fitted tightly together was used below the chair railing of the dining and living rooms. Here too there is no edge molding and the surface of the wood was painted the same shade as the woodwork of these two rooms respectively. For a detailed glance at the treatment accorded the shop interior, the reader of this report is referred to detail sheet No. 1O2.¹¹

MANTELS

DOOR AND WINDOW TRIM

The door and window trim used throughout the Main house and shop wing, neglecting differences in the size of the architraves and the proportioning of their parts, and variations in the detailing of the construction, may be grouped into four different types -

• 1.Double-molded trim (Fig. #1 at left) is used as exterior door and window trim on the main house only. Trim similar to this is found at the Barlow, Travis and John Blair Houses and the Market Square Tavern.
• 2.Single-molded, double-fascia trim (Fig. #2)is used as interior door and window trim in the main house. The double fascia is suggestive of stone architraves; a stone architrave similar to ours, in fact, is found at Westover, Other examples, essentially like the James Anderson trim, are found at Bassett Hall and the Nelson House, Yorktown.
• 3.Unmolded trim (Fig. #3) consisting of a fascia and bead only, is used as the door trim on the interiors of closets in both the main house and the shop.
• 4.Single-molded trim (Fig. #4) is used as exterior and interior door and window trim in the shop wing only. This is a common 18th Century trim; examples of this were found at Casey's Gift House and the Tabb House.

All exterior door and window trim is of red gulf cypress. All interior trim is of yellow pine.¹²

INTERIOR TRIM
Cornices, Chair Rails, Baseboards

All cornices, chair railings and baseboards are reproductions of colonial types, made of well-seasoned yellow pine.

HOUSE PAINTING (EXTERIOR)

HARDWARE