Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

Introduction

The John Lockley site, Block 14, Archaeological Area E, was first investigated in 1950 by Mr. James Knight. At that time the foundations of a structure built in several phases were exposed and recorded, along with the remains of three outbuildings. No further excavations were carried out until late January 1976 when a portion of a previously recorded wall line and part of the fill of a cellar were again exposed in preparation for the construction of a new visitors' facility to serve the Merchants Square area.

Historical Summary

The majority of the James City County records were destroyed during the Civil War. From the few remaining documents, Miss Mary Stephenson prepared a history of Lots 41 & 42.¹ From this research paper have been gleaned the majority of the following historical references.

Colonial Lot 41 was granted to John Blair, merchant, by the trustees of Williamsburg, January 6, 1719, and to Thomas John January 12th of the same year.² No explanation of this duplication of ownership has been found. Information relating From Frenchman's Map 1782? 2 to either of the aforementioned "owners" building on Lot 41 is not available.

John Lockley, a painter, plasterer, boarding house owner, barkeeper, merchant, and general entrepreneur, is the first documented occupant of the site. Lockley was resident in the city as early as 1773 when he was employed by Mrs. Vobe as a barkeeper.³ The following year he was taking boarders at his own house, but the location of this dwelling is not known.⁴ An advertisement in the Virginia Gazette of November 4, 1775 gives Nicholson Street as the position of Lockley's establishment.⁵ The first known record of his being on Lot 41 occurred in July 1778 when Lockley offered for sale cod fish, sugar and plums at this place "near the college."⁶ Late notices in the Gazette in 1779⁷ and 1780⁸ refer to his keeping boarders. Taxes for Lots 41 & 42 were charged to Lockley in 1782.⁹

Lockley sold the two aforementioned lots to Wyatt Coleman in 1785.¹⁰ No profession is listed for Coleman, but he was charged tax on a billiard table in 1794. This table was not used 3 in an ordinary, as no license for such was issued to Coleman that year.¹¹

The property became part of the Coleman estate in 1798¹² from which James Moir bought it by 1801.¹³ Williamsburg tax lists show Moir holding title until 1810.¹⁴

The following year, one Thomas Turner is listed as owner, having bought Lots 41 & 42 from Moir.¹⁵ Turner, who held a retail merchant's license from 1809 until 1821,¹⁶ had died by April 1823, leaving a widow, and naming Richard Donnelly as administrator of his estate.¹⁷ Mrs. Turner still occupied the dwelling in 1836, with William Welsh, a retail merchant, renting the "store" from 1834 to 1838.¹⁸

The Reverend Scervant Jones acquired the property after the death of Mrs. Turner in 1838,¹⁹ and occupied the site until his demise in 1854.²⁰ During the period of his occupancy, 4 students from the college were taken as boarders in "offices" located along Henry Street.21

Taxes were charged to the Jones estate through 1858,²² but the next year the title to the land had been transferred to Charles C. P. Waller.²³ Waller, a storekeeper and clerk for the Asylum, abandoned the property between 1861 and 1865.²⁴ He again paid taxes on the lot in 1865 with the notation that his dwelling (Fig. 1, buildings B & B1) had been completely destroyed.²⁵

Archaeology

As has been previously noted, archaeological investigations were pursued in 1950 by James Knight of Colonial Williamsburg. At that time the majority of the structural information used in this paper was recorded. The method of excavation was to outline foundations by trenching along such features and digging "cross trenches" to attempt to locate additional building remains. Following the outlining of the discovered features and the recording of the same, no fill was removed from the interiors of the cellars except that which lay next to the walls; thus no stratigraphic studies had been made, and all stratigraphy overlying the walls was lost.

On January 20, 1976 archaeologists watched trenching preceding the construction of the new visitor facility. As expected, the trenches for seating of foundations of the northern portion of the new structure cut the fill of the western cellar of the John Lockley House. The fill from approximately one-half of the cellar was removed prior to the construction of the new bus shelter.

The cellar fill comprised, in descending order, brick rubble, a layer of plaster, mixed gray loam, and a dark ashy stratum, all sequentially overlying the natural clay floor of the basement (see Fig. 2, Section B-C). Topsoil, clay, and all but three inches of the brick rubble were removed mechanically. Following the removal of the remaining rubble by hand, the plaster layer (E.R. 2124A and 2124B) was excavated, yielding quantities of white and dark gray over white painted plaster, along with pipe stems offering a mean date of 1758 (see Appendix I), and artifacts ranging in date from the mid-eighteenth century to post 1830.

The mixed gray stratum (E.R. 2124C) was removed next. This layer contained "white ware"; a hard semi-porcelain, and earlier types of ceramics, fragments of plaster, and pipestems which when analyzed gave a mean date of 1773 (Appendix I). The other artifacts date the fill as post 1825, as opposed to the early pipestem reading.

Several features were located beneath the mixed gray, some of which might have cut the stratum, but were not identifiable because of the homogeneous nature of the fill. An area of brickbats (E.R. 2124E) was found resting on natural and surrounded Plate I. View from the west showing the re-excavated south wall (E.R. 2124Z) and brick pier (E.R. 2124P). CW Neg. #76-1693 6 by a thin layer of sand (E.R. 2124W), all below the gray mixed fill. No form to the brick feature was perceived except in the two northern-most bricks, which were laid square to each other. Possibly this was a walkway across a damp cellar floor.

Also under the gray fill was a post hole (E.R. 2124K). The hole contained fragments of an early eighteenth-century pharmaceutical bottle and a brick. As the latter had been placed in the bottom of the hole, a support seating is implied, but because of the limited scope of the excavation, the structural relationships of this and other holes investigated within the cellar is not clear.

The layer of black ashy fill was next to be taken up. This stratum (E.R. 2124F) covered the northwestern quarter of the excavated area and varied in thickness from just a stain along its southern and eastern extremities to two and a half inches at the cut for the new building's north wall. A test in the northern balk revealed that this stratum continued to gain in depth toward the northwest. It should be noted that the western bulkhead located in 1950 is in the region of the deepening fill and as the cellar entrance would have received more wear than the surrounding area, as fill could have been deposited to absorb moisture and level the floor. Artifacts recovered from the layer date post 1785, but with a Binford pipestem dating of 1768.

Among the other features noted beneath the dark ash (E.R. 2124F) was a shallow deposit of mixed ashy fill (E.R. 2124N) which contained creamware, and sealed two holes (E.R. 2124S and E.R. 2124T). Both holes contained a mixed dark ashy fill and 7 were cut by the new construction trench. The first hole (E.R. 2124S) is dated in the period 1740-1750 and the second as post 1770.

Four other post holes were revealed following the removal of the black layer. E.R. 2124H and E.R. 2124L were of colonial date with E.R. 2124V as post 1750 and E.R. 2124J dated as after 1800. As has been previously noted, no relationships between the post holes and foundations could be found.

Under the gray and black strata was a very thin greenish clay (E.R. 2124M) that appeared to have been tracked across the floor. Stratigraphic studies south of the southern wall revealed a layer of similar color and texture deposited after the digging of a large hole in which the cellar sits. This stratum is cut by the seating trench for the wall. It is probable that the greenish clay found above the natural floor of the basement is the remains of the early clay fill. Beneath the greenish clay along the western extent of the excavated area, a shallow deposit of light colored sand (E.R. 2124G) overlay the natural floor.

One architectural feature was located in the confines of the 1976 excavations (Plate I). A brick pier measuring 2' 7" x 2' 9" (E.R. 2124P) was exposed following the removal of brick rubble. The pier was seated into the mixed gray fill. As the brickwork lay along the line of the proposed new foundation, it was decided to dismantle the feature for study. The bonding of the pier was irregular, with the outer brick courses laid in random fashion of rectangular bricks (see Appendix II), and the center made up of brickbats (Plate II and inset 1, Fig. 2). A soft Plate II. Close-up view from the southeast of pier (E.R. 2124P) after the removal of gray mixed fill (E.R. 2124C) showing stratum (E.R. 2124R) beneath the brickwork. CW Neg. #76-1692 8 yellow shell mortar was the bonding agent. After the brickwork was taken up, the fill beneath (E.R. 2124R) was investigated, and creamware was recovered from it.

The cellar's south wall (E.R. 2124Z), which had been excavated in 1950, was re-examined (Plate III). Although only three courses survived in the area of excavation, enough remained to show that the foundation was constructed in an unusual manner, using both rectangular and "compass" or well bricks (see inset 2, Fig. 2, Appendix II). Unfortunately, the cellar's interior stratigraphy could not be studied in relation to the wall, as previous archaeological trenching had removed the fill abutting the brickwork. A shallow builders trench, south of the wall, was seen in the eastern section (see section C-D, Fig.2). The use of a seating trench for a cellar wall is unusual but not unheard of. Most foundations were laid on the natural basement floor even when the hole dug for the cellar is larger than the dimensions of the finished structure.

South of the wall, a large area of fill was noted in the stratigraphic sections revealed by the construction trenches. The fill extended nine feet to the south and across the full east-west extent of the excavated area. It rested on a flat "bottom" cut into the natural clay at the same elevation as the cellar floor. Six strata comprised this fill. Beneath the topsoil was a three inch layer of fine brick rubble (E.R. 2124X) from the demolition of building "A" (see Fig.2), laying atop brown-gray sandy loam (E.R. 2124Y). Beneath the loam, sticky yellow redeposited clay (E.R. 2125A) was found above a sandy yellow clay (E.R. 2125B) overlying a thin deposit of grayish shell Plate III. View from east looking west of portion of extant southern wall (E.R. 2124Z). Note use of well brick in conjunction with rectangular brick seen looking west. CW Neg. #76-1691. 9 mortar (E.R. 2125C). The bottom stratum (E.R. 2125B) was a silty gray clay. This clay, mentioned in the discussion of the internal stratigraphy, had been formed between the digging of the large hole and the construction of the southern cellar wall, as attested by the mortar overlying it. This excavated area beyond the cellar's confines may have resulted from brick-clay digging or a miscalculation in the size of the intended cellar hole. Whichever was the case, the nature of the stratigraphy indicates that the area stood open for some time before construction began, and that fill was needed to bring the ground surface back to grade following the raising of the south wall.

Architectural Phasing

Insurance plats and the Frenchman's Map (ca.1782) are the primary sources of information concerning the many changes in the configuration of the John Lockley House during the ninety plus years that structures stood on the foundations uncovered by archaeological investigations. The correlation of the documentary evidence with the archaeological findings enable the formulating of a chronological phasing for the various construction and destruction activities that took place on the site (Fig. 1).

Mr. Knight exposed structural remains suggesting an "L" shaped building measuring 62' 0" x 20' 0" with an extension on the south of the eastern element when the house had grown to its largest configuration. The excavations in 1976 added only the brick pier (E.R. 2124P) to the record of architectural features.

The Frenchman's Map shows a long, rectangular building on 10 Lot 41, measuring approximately 62' 0" x 20' 0" and facing north to Duke of Gloucester Street (Fig. 1). This would be the house occupied by John Lockely. Comparing the Frenchman's drawing with the Knight plan, it is certain that by 1782 three building phases had been completed (see Plan, Fig. 2). The earliest structure on the lot (Phase I) measured 38' 0" x 20' 0" with a cellar. Next, two closets were added at each end south of the chimneys (Phase II). The western chimney may have been the second addition, but further excavations would be needed to substantiate this premise. Following the adding of the closets, a 27' 0" x 20' 0" structure (Phase III) was attached to the eastern end of the first building. Entrance to the new wing's basement from the Phase I cellar was effected by the removal of a portion of the basement's eastern wall. The three construction periods brought the house to the shape noted in 1782.

After the Frenchman's Map, the only drawing or written descriptions of houses on Lot 41 come from insurance plats, the first of which was issued in 1802 for James Moir. The accompanying sketch is identified as "a dwelling house 60 x 20 feet 2 story high built of wood and covered with wood."²⁶ These dimensions parallel those of the combined first, second, and third phases with an error of only two feet in length.

Moir again insured his holdings in 1806, but by this time further additions had been made to the house, which then was described as "a wooden dwelling house 1 story Dutch roof 24x36 11 with an extension. . .wooden also one story high 38x18 to the west."²⁷ An addition (Phase IV) had been built south of the Phase III house. Until 1806, the bulkhead at the western end of the earliest house was the only recorded exterior entrance; but when the new extension (Phase IV) was built, its cellar was entered through a bulkhead to the south. The southern wall of the Phase III foundation was breached in two places to allow movement between all the cellars. Also, a well shaft was overlayed by the Phase IV construction. It is not known, however, if the well had been abandoned previously or rendered useless by the wing (see map #1).

(Henceforth, phases I and II will be referred to as Building "A" and phases III and IV as Building "B" and "B1" respectively.)

The property was insured by merchant Thomas Turner of his executor in 1815, 1823, and again in 1830.²⁸ Although no changes were noted between these dates, it is of interest that in 1830 a "store" was insured.

The Reverend Jones became owner of the western part of the lot, and during his ownership, the house was insured in 1839, 1840, and 1853.²⁹ The policy of 1839 and subsequent notations give only a plan for Building "B". John S. Charles, in his "Recollections" spoke of ". . . a very large and attractive 12 frame Dutch-roofed house, with platform along the side and end with substantial railing, with its front on Duke of Gloucester Street. The western end of this house was distant about forty feet from Henry Street. To the south and west of this house was a beautiful grass lawn."³⁰

From the Charles account we know that by 1860, Building "A" was no longer standing. The probable destruction date for the earliest house was in the period 1839-40 when Jones prepared the lot for the boarding of students in "offices" along Henry Street. The artifactual evidence from the cellar supports that conclusion and suggests a deposition date earlier than the date for the fill-- close to 1835.

Following the removal of Building "A", new foundations and walls had to be constructed for the western end of Building "B". This structural addition (Phase V) crossed atop the chimney base at the eastern end of Building "A" (see Plan, Fig. 2).

A final policy was issued in 1860 to Charles Waller, who owned the house, Building "B" and "B1", until it was burned during the Civil War. Thereafter, the lot was divided, but by then all the colonial building had gone.

The pier located in 1976 cannot be attributed to a particular building phase. Seated as it was beneath Building "A", halfway between the north and south wall and approximately one-third of the way east-west, there are few possible explanations for the use of this post 1775 feature. The most plausible may 13 be that it supported a sagging beam.

Artifacts

Artifacts recovered during the John Lockley salvage operations present a wide range both in time and style. The known life span of the western portion of the structure, Building "A" (ca. 1778-1839), was a period of many changes in household goods used in America, especially the ceramics.

Rhenish and English brown saltglazed stoneware, green-glazed and black-glazed coarse wares of imported utilitarian types were found throughout the strata studied. Locally made Colono-Indian shell-tempered wares were also found.

The tableware ceramics recovered included delftware, white salt-glazed stoneware, creamware, pearlware, white ironstone and Chinese export porcelain.

Delftware found came from post 1825 contexts in all but two cases. In post hole E.R. 2124S and E.R. 2124V defltware was the only ceramic excavated.

Few pieces of white saltglaze were recovered. One white salt-glazed rim sherd of the "Barley" pattern and various body fragments were found in contexts of at least 1769, the majority being recovered from post 1825 features.

Creamware, which began to be imported into the American colonies ca. 1769, was also found in limited quantities. Royal pattern plate rims as well as portions of a mug, teapot, small bowl, and a strainer were present, along with a single piece of black transfer printed creamware in the mixed gray stratum, E.R. 2124C. A single piece of feather-edge creamware was 14 recovered from beneath the brick pier in E.R. 2124R.

Pearlware, which co-existed with creamware at least by 1785, was found with many sherds being excavated in E.R. 2124A, B, and C. Examples of hand painted, transfer printed, "annular", "finger-painted" and shell-edged pearlware were recovered from layer dating after 1825, except in E.R. 2124F where it was the latest artifact. Of note are two sherds, both from transfer-printed plates and marked on the underside. These fragments from E.R. 2124C and E.R. 2124D bore the numbers 10 and 7 respectively.

The latest ceramics in the cellar fill were ironstone or white ware, hard semi-porcelaineous wares which began replacing pearlware in the market ca. 1820.

A dwarf ale glass stem was found in E.R. 2124F, stratigraphically the earliest cultural deposit in the cellar. The balustered, writhen stem from 1750-1760³¹ is the only piece of stemware of note from the site. The other glassware of interest came from post hole E.R. 2124K. Here fragments of a pale green extremely thin walled, possibly seventeenth-century style, pharmaceutical bottle were excavated.³²

Fragments of white clay tobacco pipe bowls and stems were the most prevalent artifacts in the cellar and were recovered at every level of the fill. (see Appendix I)

The incuse mark IB was found on the back of fifteen whole or partial pipe bowls having a spurred shape attributed to 15 ca. 1730-1760. (Oswald Type 22)³³ Two complete bowls ca. 1730-1780 (Oswald Type 12)³⁴ with no markings, as well as a single bowl ca. 1730-1760 (Oswald Type 27)³⁵ with the initials SA on the base, were excavated. Fragments of three bowls bearing the mark G H were also recovered. It should be noted that all the bowl types identified relate well to the stem dating of Appendix I.

Six decorated or marked pipe stems came from the site. Three of these have rouletting and relief decorations similar to examples from Nottingham and Chester.³⁶ Two stems, one with horizontal lines around the pipe has the letters ]ELANN following a break in the stem and the other, marked WAS[ in relief on the side of a plain stem before a break, were researched but no information as to their manufacturer was found. A plain stem fragment marked MORGA]N LIVERPOOL, has been identified as being made by a William Morgan, two of whom are listed as pipemakers in Liverpool, one in operation from 1767 to 1796 and the other noted only in 1803. Both are known to have exported pipes to America.³⁷

A mouthpiece fragment coated with a yellowish-green glaze was found in stratum E.R. 2124C along with a large number of pipe fragments attributable to the third quarter of the eighteenth 16 century. Studies of 25 unglazed mouth pieces found no evidence of smoking and only two of the bowls or bowl fragments showed burning. It is probably that most of the pipe sherds recovered from the site are from pipes broken before use, possibly en masse, then thrown into the cellar.

A wine cock marked LANDERS FRARY & CLARK on the handle, a broken candle snuffer, and a weight with the number 20 (actual weight 30 grams), all of brass, were among the few metal objects recovered from the site. These are classed as topsoil artifacts as they were found during the removal of the rubble and soil over-burden.

Artifacts recovered from the cellar of the Lockley House were primarily concentrated in the mixed gray fill, E.R. 2124C, and features beneath it, a stratum built up during the life of Building "A", and subsequently sealed by destruction rubble and soil.

Conclusions

The structures located by Mr. J.M. Knight in 1950 and re-examined in 1976 had been built in several phases bringing it to maximum size ca. 1806. After the first house was complete at some point before 1782, closets were added and a two story house with gamble roof was built joining to the east. The adding of Phase IV between 1802 and 1806 created dimensions that would be unchanged until 1839-40, when the structure became smaller, and remained so until its destruction around 1865.

Much can be said concerning the life of the building after 1782 but little is known of it before 1778. This opens avenues for further study. Did Blair or Jones build on the lot and thus 17 hold title? If so, was building "A" that structure? If this is not the answer, who did erect the early building on Lot 41 and when? Further archaeological investigations may yield information concerning a date of the first construction on the site and thus answer some of the questions posed. This is data that archival research alone cannot provide because of the loss of pertinent documents, but until additional work is done, both archaeological and archival, the history of this structure existing in the colonial capitol of Virginia and the people associated with it, will be incomplete.

APPENDIX I
Tobacco Pipe Stems from the Cellar Hole at the Lockley Site Examined in Relationship to the Binford Theory of Stem Hold Dating.
by Audrey Noël Hume

Among the artifacts recovered from the Lockley cellar hole (E.R. 2124 - E.R. 2124C-14.E and E.R. 2124F-14.E) were 906 stem fragments of clay tobacco pipes. The Binford theory of stem hole dating was applied to each group (and to the sum of them) with the following results:

Examination of the ceramic and glass associated with these stems showed that the cellar had in fact been filled in around 1835. Here, then, is a graphic illustration of the serious mistakes that can be made if evidence of pipe stems is alone used as a substantive guide to the dating of archaeological contexts. Mr. J.C. Harrington¹ gave the first warning over twenty years ago; it was confirmed by later work on the Binford theory at Williamsburg,² and once again is demonstrated by the 1976 finds at the Lockley site.

APPENDIX II

APPENDIX III

Note - The clay floor which is under all fill in cellar area is natural and has orange and light red brick fragments pressed in.