Sir John and Peyton Randolph House - Williamsburg, VA - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

In Williamsburg, Virginia, that is considered part of Colonial Williamsburg, there is a dark red house on the corner of North England Street and Nicholson Street that is John and Peyton Randolph House.

The American Guide Series book for Virginia has the following about this house:

53. Sir John and Peyton Randolph House (adm. by arrangement)is a long rectangular frame dwelling erected about 1715. Built as two dwellings, the house was bought in 1724 by Sir John Randolph, whose 'person,' according to The Virginia Gazette, was 'of the finest turn imaginable.' Sir John was an enlightened economist whose services as Virginia's representative in London ushered in the colony's greatest period of prosperity. His mission in 1729 resulted in a loosening of restrictions on colonial trade, and led, through passage of Virginia's tobacco inspection law in 1730, to the vast expansion of tobacco trade during the next half century. On his trip in 1732 to present 'The Case of the Planters of Tobacco in Virginia' he played an important part in the controversy over Sir Robert Walpole's tobacco excise bill. His grasp of the theory and advantages of excise taxation so impressed Walpole that he was knighted-the only native Virginian ever so honored-by George II, then under Walpole's thumb. He was the first to report legal cases in Virginia and collected papers used later by William Stith, his nephew, as sources for the first comprehensive Virginia history.

Sir John's son, Peyton Randolph, who inherited the home, was chair- man of the first three Virginia conventions and first president of the First Continental Congress. His service in the cause of revolution ended by his death in 1775. Rochambeau, La Fayette, and Washington had headquarters here before the Siege of Yorktown. Mrs. Mary Monroe Peachy, owner of the house in 1824, entertained La Fayette. When he left the tavern nearly all the company followed him to his quarters at Mrs.Peachy's where a number of ladies assembled to see him.

--American Guide Series: Virginia - A Guide to the Old Dominion, p. 326-327 (est.)

The entry does not discuss much about the house, itself. The online interactive map has a couple paragraphs about the house when you click on it. The paragraphs state that the house is among the oldest, most historic and best preserved houses in Colonial Williamsburg. The oldest section was built by William Robertson (who owned a windmill behind the house) in 1715 and faced North England Street. John Randolph bought the house in 1721 and later bought land to the east of the house and built another house in 1724. These two were later joined by a structure between them. The house also had several buildings in back, including a two story kitchen and servants quarters, which have been reconstructed and can be visited today. The house was renovated in 1939 and was opened for tours in 1940 (the same year the book was published). In 1967-68, another major renovation was done on the house. The last major change was that the house was painted red instead of white with green shutters.

The house is furnished for a family typical of the wealth and prominence that the Randolph family had. Little of the furnishings are original to the house. The servant-slave quarters, the laundry room, and the kitchen are also furnished as you would expect to find at that house. The construction of these outbuildings were done in 1997.

The house is accessible by parking the car at a designated parking lot (there are at least two about the same distance away - about a half mile), then walking onto the grounds. To actually tour the house, you will need to purchase admission at the Visitor Center or online. Tours take approximately 30 minutes.

Source:

University of Virginia (XRoads - Virginia, A Guide to the Old Dominion):

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Book: Virginia Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 326-327 Year Originally Published: 1940

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