Greenhow Brick Office Architectural Report Block 13-2 Building 20 Lot 160

Greenhow Brick Office Architectural Report, Block 13-2 Building 20 Lot 160Originally entitled: "Architectural Report Greenhow Repiton Brick Office Building ("Debtor's Prison") Block 13, Colonial Lot 160, Building 20"

A. Lawrence Kocher and Howard Dearstyne
1949

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series - 1262
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library

Williamsburg, Virginia

1990

Greenhow-Repiton Brick Office
See Comment

[hand-written notes included with report]

A.L.K Copy
Dec. 2-49

Page

Title	At time job was done: AEK = Vice President & Resident Architect SPM = Director Archit'l Dept.
1	Some iron bars were in late Gable windows & late bars were in basement windows. There were iron shutter bars only on outside of first floor window set diagonally & used when shutters were closed.
5	?-1. Possibly 3d quarter as glazed headers not used - as at Wythe House & Tower of Bruton Church.
8	English Bond often appears inside - here it was Flemish - an important point.
9	1st Sentence: Suggest "most 18th century brickwork in Tidewater Virginia".

Exterior General

Should mention removal of later exterior shutters including the hardware & resulting patching of frames, trim etc. There should be a record of this change. Also the frames & trim of the windows should be covered for the exterior.

Considerable restoration had to be done at the Front door. The old arch was in place but height of opening had been lowered and later filled in with brick. The whole op'g had to be reopened and repaired, then the frame, trim, transom, door etc. were restored - the precedent for which should be mentioned.

The basement door was a difficult problem. The op'g had to be repaired etc. & the frame, trim, door and sill restored (the latter presented a special problem). JWH can give you the precise information.

[illegible notes in left-hand margin]

Throughout I believe original wood lintels over openings had to be taken out and replaced which was difficult. I think they were replaced with concealed steel members. JWH will recall ^{yes [illegible]}

Door in North Elevation: A former door shown in photo. N-4605 [cut-off] 48-@-68 can be seen later bricked up - but JWH will. heading up to it on the exterior were marks in the brickwork indicating former steps. This item should be covered in the record.

Did we use a brick spatter or gutter? ^{gutter [illegible]}

p. 14	Basement Grilles: precedent for new frames, [illegible], sills etc. & use of glazed sash inside.
p. 16	Chair rail: The evidence was wood nailers set in the brick wall. These were at several heights. Some were doubtless used for casework nailing. The location of the restored chair rail was based on inspection & judgment of the proper height to select among the 2 or 3 possibilities.
	Interior window trim: should the stools be mentioned as some were old. Above the windows is an interesting feature we have not seen before. The top of the trim is ± 3 inches below the bottom of the beaded back board of the cornice. Instead of the usual plaster a wood piece covers this space & is joined to the back board with small mortices, tenons & pegged joints. See details & J.W.H.
	Did we restore old sash pulleys or install new ones? I believe the top sash are fixed & the bottom sash removable.
p. 17	Baseboard: "beak" should be bead. Should precedent be quoted.
p. 18	mention of closet door under the stair - is this original? ^{no - new door [illegible]}
	" " precedent for newel & hand rail.
	" " corner cup-board - its purpose & precedent. See JWH.

First Floor General

[illegible notes in margin]

mention of flooring - is it new or antique - how nailed & laid etc.

" " fireplace - what brick used 6 bond, was western damper used, how old flue was repaired & rebuilding of portions of chimney above, plaster face?, also typical sunk panel in back wall, etc.

Second Floor

mention of baseboard and other trim. Some access panels installed which are not authentic. Door schedule covers doors but not trim which might be mentioned here.

General

Hardware needs to be covered.

First floor framing was very difficult - some old members removed, others strengthened and new ones installed.

Second floor framing ditto. -- also difficult to maintain original floor thickness.

Roof framing ditto. -- JWH can explain the above.

Basement - mention in passing what was done.

Paint Colors - some original colors were found and were copied - these should be noted.

Should JWH report on the structure he found in with this report?

The Greenhow-Repiton Brick Office is shown at left, (restored) note the relation of office to the Repiton House at right. Plan of Brick Office at left.

Plan of Brick Office

ARCHITECTURAL REPORT
GREENHOW-REPITON BRICK OFFICE BUILDING("Debtor's Prison")
Block 13, Colonial Lot 160, Building 20

ARCHITECTURAL REPORT
GREENHOW-REPITON BRICK OFFICE BUILDING
(Debtor's Prison")
Block 13, Colonial Lot 160, Building 20

The Greenhow-Repiton Brick Office Building was restored by the Department of Architecture of Colonial Williamsburg, Inc. in consultation with Perry, Shaw and Hepburn, architects.

Property was acquired, June 15, 1946
Restoration was started May 21, 1948
Restoration was completed December 31, 1948

A. E. Kendrew, Director of
The Department of Architecture
S. P. Moorehead, Assistant
Director and Designer

All measured drawings, sketches and final drawings by John W. Henderson. Drawings checked by Phillips Russell.

This report was prepared by A. Lawrence Kocher and Howard Dearstyne, for the Department of Architecture (Architectural Records). September 9th, 1949

An architectural report entitled The Debtor's Prison which was written by John W. Henderson in February, 1947 has been appended at the end of this report (pp. 1a-6a).

GREENHOW-REPITON BRICK OFFICE
(Debtor's Prison)
Block 13, Colonial Lot 160, Building 20

This building, located on Market Square, was known for many years as the "Debtors' Prison" yet no evidence has thus far come to light to indicate that it was built for this use.^* The windows throughout were substantially barred, the larger ones had reinforced shutters. This would suggest that it had at one time been used as a jail, but the architectural evidence reveals that these are late additions, possibly when it served as a city jail.

Nineteenth century insurance policies designate the building variously as a brick house,, a brick dwelling and as a lumber house. This written evidence is all from the period between 1801 and 1806 and for this reason does not i furnish information as to the first or 2. early use of the structure. To judge by the character of the building itself, there is considerable likelihood that it was built as a dwelling and shop combined; and, as a matter-of-fact, the first design proposals made by the Architectural Department, contemplated its restoration as a shop.

THE BUILDING DESCRIBED AND ITS USE

The original brick building, which came down to us relatively well preserved and unaltered, was perhaps much too finished in its detailing to have been erected as a jail. A noticeable characteristic of the building is its skillful brickwork, which as we will note includes all the bricklayers devices used in "fair and substantial building." Within the building there are also evidences of similar care in that the single first floor room is provided with complete trim, including a cornice, chair rail, baseboard and, surprisingly, interior shutters, - elaborations, taken together, that gave the building a richness and fitted it for use as dwelling and shop. As such, the sales room of the establishment would have been on the first floor and the living quarters above, while the basement could have served for storage; or in the event that a craft was carried on within the building, - for manufacturing purposes.

The history of the ownership of the building seems to support the assumption that it was built to serve as a place for the sale of goods or, possibly, for their storage. John Greenhow, the first recorded owner, was---a merchant in the town from about 1755 through 1787. He kept a store, at which time he inserted a notice in the Virginia Gazette (1766) which gives its location as "near the Church." It is therefore quite possible that he carried on his business in this building. Its position 3. at the side of the Market Square Green would have made it ideal for commercial purposes. John Greenhow's son, Robert, the next owner, may also have held the building as a shop or store, since he was, like his father, a merchant. It may be noted in passing that Robert was a prominent citizen of Williamsburg, who served for several years as its Mayor and twice represented the County of James City in the Virginia legislature.

The reader of this report should not be misled by the use of the term, "office", to designate the building. There were in Williamsburg in colonial times a number of small buildings called "offices," which were used by lawyers; scriveners, men who drew deeds, contracts and other legal papers and who copied documents; factors, representatives of English exporting firms, and others as places to transact business with their clients. The word was, on the other hand, also very frequently applied to outbuildings or dependencies generally. It is in this sense that it is here used. A more definite title was not assigned to the building, since, though the evidence seems convincing that it was originally a shop, some doubt does still exist concerning this. (For a detailed discussion of colonial shops, stores, offices, etc. in Williamsburg, see the reports, "Buildings for Trade and Storage in Eighteenth Century Virginia" in the Architectural Records Files.)

A CONVENIENT HOUSE OF BRICK

The office suggests the one-room house type described at an early date in instructions to Lord Berkeley for settlers in Virginia (1642): "That for raising of towns every one … shall within a convenient time, build a convenient house of brick 24 feet long and 16 feet broad 4. with a cellar to it."^* Its size, 26'-6" x 18'-4", is very close to that of the "convenient house," and it is probably an eighteenth century descendant of the latter.

One of the few contemporary drawings of building groups of Virginia was recently discovered illustrating the Yorktown harbor. In that view the majority of houses appear as small in size, apparently the "convenient Virginia house" of the early settlers.^**

[Drawing of Yorktown Harbor]

WHEN WAS IT BUILT

The approximate age of the original building can with a considerable degree of certainty be determined from its architectural 5. characteristics. Its steep roof slope (50°), the extensive use of rubbed brickwork, the segmental arches over the openings in the basement, and its resemblance to early brick buildings in Williamsburg generally, indicate that it was probably built during the second quarter of the eighteenth century. The assignment to the building of an earlier date than this is probably not warranted in part because, brick masons in general did not in their work attain to the degree of refinement of the office brickwork until about the period mentioned.

LOCATION EVIDENCES

The office now stands on lot 160 about 16 feet directly to the rear of the reconstructed Repiton House, and it stood in approximately that relation to the house which occupied the Repiton site at the beginning of the nineteenth century, since Robert Greenhow in a drawing made in 1801 gives its distance from the house as 15 feet. This is the earliest record of the office and in it and the insurance policies covering the building from 1806 down to 1860 the latter is without exception owned by the persons owning the house and the other buildings on lot 160. Probably to provide a more convenient means of entering the office. from the house, a door, which had been bricked up long before the restoration of the building began, was at some unknown time subsequent to the original construction period broken through the north wall. These facts do not prove that the office and the dwelling were originally built and 6. KEY TO PLAN BASED ON DRAWING BY R. GREENHOW, 1801 E. "an excellent brick house with cellar and one chimney, 15 feet from house F." F. "a house ... with shed back, 4 chimneys, with cellar" N. Smokehouse. O. Shop. M. Stable. L. Necessary house. owned by a single individual but they do make it appear probable that the two structures had long been associated with each other. If they were, in fact, built by the same owner the question immediately arises as to why the office should have been constructed of brick when the main dwelling was of wood. The most plausible answer to this which occurs to the writers of this report is that the builder of the office deemed it necessary to make it a fire safe building, probably to insure the protection of valuable stocks of materials which were to be stored in it.

EXTERIOR

PLAN TYPE

The Greenhow-Repiton Brick Office has the simplest possible plan with a single rectangular room on its main floor and with a stairway at one angle leading up to what was once a single, and later a pair of rooms on the upper floor. There is no positive evidence to support the theory that access to the basement was solely by way of an outside doorway at the lower side toward the west. Nor was evidence discovered at the building to confirm the existence of a stairs accessible from the door beneath the lowest steps. A further discussion of stairs in found elsewhere in this report.

T,his uncomplicated plan is not novel for Williamsburg. There were many single room dwellings and dependencies. As an "excellent brick house with a cellar" it is probably representative of many of the early lesser dwellings of Virginia.

Plan Dimensions of the Building

The brick office measures 26'-10" in its overall length, not including the chimney. Its width is 18'-8½".

The chimney at the south end is 7'-0¼" in width and its outside projection is 2'-0".

Design Type

The building is a story-and-a-half type with a steep A roof. It has a doorway with transom and an 18 light window on either side, composing its principal facade. Two dormers are placed over the windows of the ground floor. It has one chimney of fairly large size at one end. We have noted that there are several houses of this description shown on 1755 drawings of Yorktown.

BRICKWORK

The brickwork of this building is of unusual importance as a demonstration of excellent workmanship in bricklaying of the 18th century. The brickwork includes such features as a water table with a rubbed brick slope; rubbed brick for flat arches above all windows and over the doorway, also for all outside corners of the house above the water table, for angles of the chimney, jambs of windows and doorway, and finally as an edge to the brickwork at both the north and south gables; glazed headers supplement the rubbed brick at the gable edge of the south elevation. These follow the roof slope at the south elevation and serve as a border. The brick bond is Flemish, both below the water table and for all walls.

Brick Sizes and Mortar

The brick sizes as measured at the site are 8-5/8" x 2-¾" x 3-7/8". Ten courses of brickwork measure 32¼" from center to center of joints. The mortar conforms with the common or usual oystershell-lime 9. mortar as found in most eighteenth century brickwork in Virginia. It is a grayish tan in color and it is composed of a local sand and oyster shell lime. The joints average 5/16" In width, excepting that the joints for rubbed brick arches and for other rubbed brickwork varies from an approximate 1/8" to 3/16" in width.

Color of Brickwork

The color of brick is on the red side and can be characterized as having a limited range of reddish brown, and resembling in appearance the brick color of the Wythe House. An occasional glazed header is found among the regular run of brick. There is no attempt at producing a brick pattern by the use of glazed headers.

TOOLS USED IN BRICKWORK

The attached illustration shows the common tools used by, the bricklayer in England, about the date 1700. The description of these tools as well as the explanation of use are from Joseph Moxon's Mechanick Exercises, pages 245-248 and Pl. 1 opp. p.237. This work was published in London, 1703 and is the third edition.

1. "A Brick Trowel to take up the mortar with, and to spread it on the bricks ... also to stop the joints.
2. "A Brick Ax , with which they cut Bricks to what shape they please, as some for Arches both straight and Circular, others for the mouldings of architecture..."
3. A Saw made of Tinn, to saw the Bricks which they cut.
4. A Rub-stone , which is round, and is about fourteen Inches in Diameter ... on which they rub the Bricks which they cut into several shapes, and also others which they cut not, being call'd Rubbed Returns , and 10. Stretchers.
5. "A Square , to try the bed of the Brick, ... to make the Brick square, or at Rectangles one side with the other, which is done by rubbing it on the Rub-stone till it exactly answers, or fits to the Square.
TOOLS OF THE BRICKLAYER BY JOSEPH MOXON
6. "A Bevel , by which they cut the undersides of the Brick, of Arches straight or circular to such angles as the arches require, or for other uses.
7. "A small Trannel of iron, or a large Nail ground'd to a large Nail ground'd to a sharp point, with which they mark the brick.
8. "A Float Stone used for rubbing mouldings.
9. "A Ruler , 12" in length to draw straight lines with the Trannel or Nail.
11.
10. "A Banker, to cut Bricks upon ...
11. "A Pier of Brick-work ... to lay their Rubbing-Stone upon.
12. "A Grinding Stone to sharpen axes, Hammers, Trowels, &c.
13. "A Pair of Line Pins of Iron, with a length of Line ... about sixty feet in length.
14. "A Plumb Rule about 4 feet long.
15. "A Level about 10 or 12 foot long.
16. A large Square
17. A Ten Foot and Five Foot Rod.
18. A Jointing Rule.
19. A Jointer of Iron.
20. Compass to describe mouldings.
21. A Hammer to drive nails for scar folding ...
22. "A Rammer , to Ram the Foundations.
23. "A crow of Iron, to dig through a wall, and also a Pick Ax.

EXTERIOR CORNICE

There were fragments of an old cornice found (most complete on the east side) which made it possible to faithfully reconstruct the cornice. It is believed that these deeply weathered fragments may have had their origin when the building was first built.

Main Cornice

The cornice, as we examined it -- restored, consists of a crown molding and fascia above an 8½" overhang. The bedmolding is a familiar profile and as shown on the accompanying drawing. The traced outline of the measured drawing and the restored cornice are superposed.

12.

CORNICE END BOARDS

These end boards, designed to receive and close the ends of the cornice, are old and are believed to be original. Because of this probable original condition, an outline drawing shown at left records the pattern of these boards. This silhouette is probably unlike any other endboards of the locality, since the carpenter-craftsman seems to have exercised his creative instincts in creating them.

Cornice Restored

DORMERS

When this building was taken over for restoration in 1946 the roofing was of metal and there were no dormers. The only light admitted to the second floor was from three small casement windows in the gables. These windows, it was soon decided, because of their crude jamb treatment and rough framing, were late additions, possibly of the 19th century.

The existence of early dormers was anticipated and proved by the discovery of plaster cracks that outlined completely, two dormers facing the east and two towards the west. Later on when the plaster filling was removed, the original dormer framing was brought to light. The sill height from floor as well as the height of dormers was thus definitely fixed.

The dormers are reconstructed after the design and construction methods of the eighteenth century. The width indicated three lights wide. The dormers of the Bracken House with their triple width lights 13. and tapered barge boards were used as precedent for this reconstruction.

ENTRANCE STEPS

After the removal of the late, unroofed porch, openings in the foundation wall beneath the doorway were found and carefully plotted on graph paper. These openings appeared as a descending line of what appeared to be headers left out. From this condition and from a study of patching mortar, it was decided that there were three risers that lead to a platform at the entrance. The openings in the brick wall are of peculiar interest since they were discovered to be, not for brick headers, but for oak nosing applied to risers and treads of brickwork. A comparison was made with the similar steps at the west side of the Wythe house and finally a similar run of steps was installed. At the Wythe house, a study was made of Virginia precedent for such steps, after which a "dummy wooden porch was made and tried for discovery of a satisfactory riser and tread relationship for ascending and descending the steps. Following the Wythe house example, the "office" steps were built to conform with them. The risers consist of two courses of brick laid flat, over which the oak nosing 2-5/8" x 3-½" is placed. Full details of these steps and of the platform may be examined, see working drawing sheet #206.

WINDOWS

On the east elevation there is a window on each side of the main doorway. The two windows of the west elevation are directly opposite to these.

When the field work on the building was started only one window existed on the west elevation. A window toward the north end of 14. this wall, had been bricked up but its location was visible through the patching and because of the mechanically ground flat arch above that remained in place when the window was closed. In addition, some of the brick closers at the sides of the window opening remained in place.

The windows are 18 light, - 3 wide by 6 lights high. Practically all of the glass is original or a century old.

Window sills are all new, fitted to repaired window frames, or in the case of the north-west window, to a new frame. The window sills with their square face almost flush with the face of the wall, follows closely the sills of Dr. Blair's Brick Storehouse, a building almost of the same size.

BASEMENT GRILLES

There are two basement windows, centered under the first floor windows. There is a single rear basement window, beneath the one that had been bricked up; all had segmental relieving arches above the opening. The basement window on this side is somewhat larger than those on the front. All of these basement windows had iron bars, dating, it was believed, from the use of the building as a jail. These were removed and in their place horizontal wood bars were installed, as shown on sketch.

Sketch - Basement Grille

INTERIOR

As has been indicated in our general discussion, the principal floor consists of a single room, lighted by 4 windows. After the removal of plaster from the walls, there was found no evidence for the existence at any time of more than this single room on the first floor. "Some holes in the old floor along the west side, also wood nailing blocks in the brick wall indicate the former presence of some sort of rack or bins." The architectural features of the room consist of: a fireplace mantel (reconstructed) at the south end of the room; a stairway partly original at the north-east corner, interior cornice, (old), chair railing (backband in place) and baseboard, (new).

CHAIR RAIL

When the house was examined and measured, [1945] evidence was found indicating the existence of a chair rail board, about 7" in width. The bottom edge was about 38½" above the original floor level. In reconstructing the wall trim, some slight departures appear to have 16. been made from these dimensions. The back band, as restored, measures 5 7/8" in width, and its position in relation to the finished floor was lowered to approximately 32". It is believed that this was done so as to conform with the band of the corner cupboard and also of stair railing.

Chair Rail

The inspiration or precedent for the chair rail molding is attributed to the Powell-Hallam house. It is a design, with slight modifications, that is frequently found in the Williamsburg locality. Its slight departure from the Powell Hallam prototype, consists of the substitution of a ¼" cove mold at the bottom of the profile in place of a fillet.

The Interior Cornice consists of a 3½" crown molding and a backband with the usual molded lower edge. In places where the cornice was damaged, repairs were made. It is, in general, old and original.

Interior Window and Door Trim

The window frames (east facade), with their single molded trim, excepting the renewed sills, were considered to be of the 18th century. The two original ones, on the east front, were therefore patched, while the windows of the west facade were new, following the profiles of the originals.

The renewed window sills are unmolded and square, their exterior face projecting but slightly beyond the face of the exterior brickwork. The precedent for the window sills is the Archibald Blair 17. Storehouse, Block 18, Colonial Lot 46.

The windows of the first floor were pronounced, by the architectural examiner^* to have modern sash and modern interior shutters. The shutters, however, were replacements of older ones. The precedent for character and molded detail is the Wythe House. It is probable that the splayed jambs are additions of the 19th century, although splayed sills are known to have existed since the time when the Capitol was built.

BASEBOARD

All baseboards of the first and second floor had vanished. "The removal of plaster disclosed wood nailers for a base." A 4½" high baseboard with a ½" beak at the top edge, was installed on both the first and second floor."^**

MANTEL

There was a modern mantel at the south end of the first floor room. Examination showed that the existing back and jambs were repairs, along with sundry adjustments to make a basement fireplace possible. All of these additions were demolished and the outline of the fireplace in its first form determined. The chimney piece is new, being a reduced replica of an "antique" mantel kept in a storehouse of Colonial Williamsburg. This served as an authentic example or model for restoration. The hearth is of brick laid on a prepared modern trimmer-arch of masonry. The hearth pattern is the familiar one for brick laid hearths of 18. Williamsburg. See Architectural Report Files for further information on fireplaces, including hearth, of Tidewater Virginia.

STAIRWAY

The stairs to the second floor existed, almost as they are restored, but they had undergone rather extensive repairs and some structural parts had been recently added.

The location at the angle of the room, is a traditional one. The door beneath the turn of the stairway was considered by some to be an actual way, by a steep ladder, to the basement. Such a door and steep steps exist at Menokin, [1769] Richmond County, Virginia and at the Coke-Garrett House [west stairhall], in Williamsburg.

The evidence in favor of a stairway beneath the upper steps, as they were rebuilt, consists of the placement of a doorway off center at the north gable end, (slightly west of center) as though the center location would have interfered with the stairs. In addition, the existence of steps to the basement, found in place when the house was taken over was considered a sufficient basis for retaining the arrangement as found.

The stairway is L shaped and consists of 14 risers from floor to floor. These start along the easterly wall with three straight risers, 19. then they make a left turn by means of 3 winders; next continuing in a straight turn to the second floor. The riser height is approximately 9½". The treads, including the nosing, measure 10½". This is a normal and fairly comfortable rise.

The width of the stairs is 2'-6½" from the finished plaster wall to the center of the handrail. The newel post, 3" square is anchored to the lowest step and has a handrail, restricted only to the lowest steps. At the center of the winders there is a second 3" square post which rises from floor to ceiling. Its location was determined by paint traces and nail holes on the structural frame above the ceiling. From this post to the second floor the stairway is enclosed behind diagonal wood sheathing. The inclined soffit of this part of the stairs is plastered. A rope handrail, attached by rings to the north wall, is a safety provision, installed for the comfort and convenience of the present-day occupant.

The stairs to the basement is separated from the room for safety by a railing, although there was no discovered basis for such a rail, and as reported by the architectural examiners. A trap door, sheathed with flooring, makes it possible, to completely close off the basement steps.

SECOND FLOOR

The second floor had been divided, at an early but undetermined date into two rooms, one beyond the other and in addition a stair hallway. The floor boards of this level are wider than on the ground floor and were old and in poor condition. These defective floor boards were replaced, where it was found necessary, old and sound ones salvaged from 20. old buildings. During the process of stripping off the plaster, -- the dormer locations were confirmed and replacements were made as has been previously noted. The small fireplace with a hearth set upon the old floor was recognized as a late and dangerous addition and was therefore, bricked up. Casement windows were also removed as anachronism. These have been previously discussed.

Stairway as it appeared in the Greenhow-Repiton Brick Office Building 1946, before restoration. Note the sawed off top of center newel post, also doorway under the lower four [illegible]

21.

Cracked plaster in four places on the second floor, revealed the locations of four dormers. After the plastering was removed the original framing with sill height and head was discovered. The dormers were restored, following precedent of the same period.

22.

PAINTING SCHEDULE AND COLORS
GREENHOW-REPITON BRICK OFFICE
-Debtors' Prison-
Block 13, Building 20

EXTERIOR PAINT SCHEDULE

All exterior trim, light gray #732.

Exterior Doors and Screen Doors, green #734.

All Sash and Transom, Cream #733.

Basement Sash, dark brown #168.

INTERIOR PAINT SCHEDULE

First Floor
Surface	Color	Finish

Woodwork (except as noted)	Blue #194	Satin
Sash	Cream #132	Satin
Baseboard	Black	Glossy
Stair Newel and Handrail	Dark Brown #168	Glossy
Plaster Walls and Ceiling	White Dri-wal	Usual
Fireplace plaster face.	Black	Glossy, plus coat of Simoniz.

Second Floor
Surface	Color	Finish

Woodwork	Blue #194	Satin
Baseboard	Black	Glossy
Plaster Walls and Ceiling	White Dri-wal	Usual
Sash	Cream #132	Satin

23.

Basement
Surface	Color	Finish

Doors	Gray green #293	Satin
Other Woodwork, except as noted	Gray #184	Satin
Stair Treads	Stained, brown	Waxed
Ceiling Joists and bottom of Floor Boards	White, Dri-wal	--
Baseboard	Black	Glossy
Stair Rail & Newel	Dark Brown, #168	Glossy

DOORS

FIRST FLOOR
Location	Size	Characteristics	Original or Reproduction


Main door at north side.	3'-2"x6'-8"x1½"	Paneled on outside, diagonal sheathed on inside face.	Reproduction
Door to basement	2'-3 ¾x4'-8½"	Batten	Section of floor with batten on under side.

SECOND FLOOR

Hall to north room	2'-5½"x6'-2"x1 1/8"	Paneled	Old, slightly repaired.
Between two rooms	2'-8¼x6'-2 5/16"x1 1/8"	Paneled	Old, repaired and refitted.

24.

GREENHOW-REPITON BRICK OFFICE (DEBTORS' PRISON)
Block-13, Colonial Lot 160, Building 20

Facts Relating to the Architecture of the Office, Gleaned from the Research Report of Mary A. Stephenson, August 1946.

According to tradition the building was a Debtors' Prison, and although the authorities of the City of Williamsburg about 1744 ordered that a city prison be built for the commitment of debtors, criminals and offenders, no evidence has been discovered to indicate that this building was the one built for the purpose.

The Frenchman's Map (1782) is the earliest proof that we have that there were buildings on lot 160. A square building facing the Market Square, just behind a larger one fronting on the main street is evidently the Greenhow-Repiton Brick Office. The College Map (c. 1791) and the Bucktrout Map (1803) both show the name "Greenhow" on lots 159 and 160.

The brick house back of the Repiton dwelling is described in various documents as follows:

1.A drawing made in 1801 by Robert Greenhow, Williamsburg merchant, of lots 159 and 160, which he owned at the time, describes the building as an "excellent brick house with cellar and chimney 27 feet by 18 feet, distant from house F [the Repiton House] 15 feet."
2.The following descriptions of the building are found in insurance policies taken out on the property between the years 1806 and 1860: 25.
- "excellent brick house with cellar and chimney 27 feet by 18 feet"
- "brick building covered with wood one story 20 x 24"
- "Lumber House 1 story Brick walls covered with wood"
- "Dwelling brick covered with wood bordering on Court House Square"
- "Brick Dwelling covered with wood one story 20 x 24"
- "Brick Dwelling covered with wood 1½ stories"

In the investigation of the building prior to its restoration no indication was found that it had an inside basement stair; an inside basement stair existed in the house, but this was definitely late. In a deed of 1857 (discussed in the Research Report) in which Mary E. Neal conveys the building to Susan Brown, a negress, she also grants the latter "the privilege of a free passage way to her Cellar." Apparently the deed conveyed the house only to Susan Brown with no land around it. The clause giving her a free passageway to her cellar seems to corroborate the findings of the architects that the only basement entrance (at least in 1857) was the outside one on the west side.

26.

ADDENDUM

Documentary and literary references to the Greenhow-Repiton Brick Office. These notes were of assistance in forming an opinion of the building, relative to its use, age and architectural treatment.

The brick office was described as a brick house back of the Repiton dwelling. It is mentioned and more fully described in various documents as follows:

1. A drawing made in 1801 by Robert Greenhow, merchant, owner of lots 159 and 160, includes the notation;-an "excellent brick house with cellar and chimney, 27 feet by 18 feet, distant from house F [the Repiton House] 15 feet.
2. Insurance policy, dated May, 1806 , of H. Louis Giradin, son-in-law of Robert Greenhow. Of the Repiton house it is noted: "This Building is contiguous within 30 feet of 4 wooden houses & 1 Brick, Covered with Wood."
3. In a policy of May 12, 1809 , Robert Greenhow describes the building as a "Lumber House , 1 story, Brick Walls, covered with wood, 27' x 19'.
27.
4. In another policy of April 5, 1810, covering a part of lot 160, Greenhow designates the building as a "lumber house" and values it at $1,000.
5. A policy of August 1811 for the shields property (lot 159) indicates the building to be occupied by Shields and that it "is within 30 feet of our brick building covered with wood ..."
6. The brick "lumber house" is again insured; this time fro 1816, by Joseph Repiton.
7. In May 1839 Benjamin Bucktrout , the owner of the property, insured the eastern part of lot 160. The building is described as a "Brick Dwelling covered with wood, one story 20 x 24."
8. In a policy of 1846 taken out by Bucktrout's heirs, the building is described as a "Dwelling, brick covered with wood, bordering on Court House Square."
9. In 1853 the Bucktrout Estate , wishing the property, designated the building as a "Brick dwelling covered with wood 1½ stories.
10. In 1860, Susan Brown, a negress, insured the building, located on the "West side of Court House Green ... The Dwelling ... is 1½ stories, walls of brick, roof of wood."

28.

CONCLUSIONS

The restoration of the Greenhow-Repiton Brick Office has left little to conjecture or for reconstruction based upon precedent of the period. Because so much of the original building and its parts remained in place and undisturbed; because it was so little altered by additions or even by repairs, it can be accepted as a close approximation of the building as it was built and as it stood for approximately two centuries.

Among the very few unsolved questions related to the building are the following:

What is the exact date when the building was first built?
Was it first used as a shop or store?
What were the uses to which the basement was put? Its full story rear suggests the possibility for its use as a workshop such as for carpentry. In connection with a basement shop, the main floor could very well have been a supplementary work space, along with living quarters in the second story.

The stairway has undergone some alteration from time to time, but its old form is rather closely shown as rebuilt. The stairway to the basement, it is believed by the authors of this report, was In the first part of its history,--a steep stairs or ladder beneath the lowest 5 steps and not the more convenient stairs probably added during the 19th century. In no other way can we account for the door beneath the steps. That such a door would serve a closet is not probable because of the extremely limited space and also its extreme inconvenience.

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There are several examples of utility stairs in Virginia-beneath the lowest run of steps. These have been previously cited.

On the whole,--the building appears as an original building with all its exterior features as they were designed. These include the doorway, windows, cornice, chimney, basement windows with their brick relieving arches and, perhaps most important,-with all of the very excellent brickwork such as water-table, rubbed brick arches, jambs and gable trim. It is one of the exceptionally fine examples of Williamsburg architecture of lesser size.

Footnotes

^It is known, however, that the eighteenth century Williamsburg citizen was subject to imprisonment for debt. The colonial Gaol, near the Capitol provided a special cell after 1722 with some few comforts for such prisoners.

^Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. II, p. 284.

^Views of Yorktown and Gloucester towns, 1755 an article by E. G. Swem, Virginia Magazine of History, April, 1946.

^* "Debtors Prison", an Architectural Report on the Existing Building, by J. W. Henderson, Feb. 17, 1947.

^** Ibid, p. 5.

Sources of Information Reviewed as Preparation for Writing this Report.

Files of the Department of Research and Record , Colonial Williamsburg.
Files of the Department of Architecture , including working drawings, specifications and progress photographs of restoration work. Also old photographs and drawings of the building taken by staff members and others.
Research Report , Greenhow, Repiton Brick Office, (Debtors Prison) Block 13, Building 20, November 5, 1947 prepared by Mary A. Stephenson.
Architectural Report , Block 13, Colonial Lot 160, titled: An Architectural Report (Debtors' Prison) on the Existing Building. By J.W. Henderson, February 17, 1947.
Correspondence in reference to the project - Files of Colonial Williamsburg.
Deeds, Wills, and Inventories and other property records in the Department of Research and Record.
The Frenchman's Map.
Notes in Research Department telling of the establishment of a market on Market Square Green, Colonial Williamsburg.
Handbooks of Eighteenth Century Architecture as basis for and as a check on building practices and materials of the eighteenth century.
Reference Books on Colonial Architecture of Virginia and Maryland in the Colonial Williamsburg and Architectural Department Library.
Visit to the house, exterior and interior.
Consultations with J.W.H., who was in charge of measurements and preparation of drawings.
Visit to the Paint Shop to establish information on colors used in exterior and interior of the house. Color notes made when the house was thoroughly examined by the Department of Architecture.
Field Notes made of the building and its surroundings.

31.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED IN ARCHITECTURAL RECORDS

The word "existing " is used in these records to indicate whatever in the building was in existence previous to the restoration by Williamsburg Restoration or Colonial Williamsburg.

The phrase "not in existence " means "not in existence at the time of restoration".

The word "modern " is used as a synonym of "recent " and is intended to indicate any replacement of what was there originally and of so late a date that it could not be properly retained in an authentic restoration of the building. It must be understood, however, that restored buildings do require the use of some modern materials in the way of framing as well as modern equipment.

The word "old " is used to indicate anything about a building that cannot be defined with certainty as being original but which is old enough in point of time to justify its retention in a restored building for the period in which the house was built.

The term old and original is used as an indication of age and to suggest that the building or part of a building is thought to be of the period when the structure was first erected.

The word "ancient " when used in these reports is intended to mean "existed long ago " or "since long ago ". Because of the looseness of meaning, the term is seldom used and then, only to denote great age.

"Antique " as applied to a building or materials, is intended to mean dating from before the Revolution.

32.

"Greek details ", "Greek mouldings " are references to the mouldings, and architectural treatment featured by the Greek Revival, dating in this locality approximately from 1810 to 1860.

Length signifies the greatest dimension of a building measured from end to end.

Width is used in the reports to mean the dimension of a building measured at right angles to the length.

Depth , as applied to the size of a lot or house is the dimension measured at right angles to the street.

Pitch is here interpreted as meaning the vertical height from floor to floor.

The term "restoration " is applied to the reconditioning of an existing house in which walls, roof and most of the architectural details are original, but with replacement of decayed parts, and some missing elements such as mantels, stairs, windows, cornices, dormers.

The expression, a building "preserved ", has reference to a building in its pristine condition, without replacement of elements, such as stairway, windows, paneling, mantels, flooring. The term preservation does imply however, necessary repairs, to protect it from weather, decay, excessive sagging.

"Reconstruction " is applied to a building rebuilt on old foundations, following the documentary description of the original structure. The reconstructed Capitol, as an example, is a rebuilt building, following the precise descriptive specifications for construction as given in Acts of the Virginia Assembly, 1662-1702, also with use made of pictorial data, the Bodleian Plate, recorded measurement and drawings.

33.

It is to be noted that the existing roof covering, whether original or modern, has been replaced in all the restored buildings - with a few minor exceptions, by shingles of fireproof material (asbestos cement) because of the desirability of achieving protection against fire.

Revised April 1, 1949

33a.

ADDITIONS TO THE REPORT

as suggested by Mr. S. P. Moorehead, December 1, 1949. Where additional information could be added to the pages as prepared, that method of correction and addition was used.