Governor's Palace - Williamsburg, VA - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

In Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, there is a large and ornate brick building called the Governor's Palace. This building is a replica built on the original foundation of the palace that used to house the royal governor of Virginia. The American Series Guide for Virginia has the following text about the building:

47. The GOVERNOR'S PALACE (open 10-6 daily summer,10-5 winter; adm. $1) is an authentic reconstruction of the brick house erected as a residence for royal governors soon after Williamsburg became the capital. A wide green flanked by a double driveway leads to the palace and its dependencies. At the end of the green the driveway turns in a loop before a fine iron-grilled gate. This stately entrance, topped with an elaborately scrolled heading and flanked by the British lion and unicorn, leads into a formally landscaped forecourt enclosed by the palace building, two dormered flankers, and a curving brick wall at the front.

The palace rises two full stories to a denticulated cornice beneath a steep and many-dormered hip roof, surmounted by a balustraded platform and a tall lantern cupola rising in two octagonal stages between multiple chimneys. The design of the five-bay facade is in keeping with the earliest phase of the Georgian style-narrow many-paned sash windows with wide architraves set almost flush with the brick openings, a simple square-transomed doorway beneath a centered wrought-iron balcony, and a brick string course between the first and second stories. The plan of the main block was originally square, but in 1751 it was extended by the addition of a 'ball-room' wing at the rear. In the gable end of this wing the royal arms of the first Georges, wood-carved and gaily painted, overlook the palace gardens.

About a reconstructed KITCHEN and SCULLERY, close to the west side, cluster small brick outbuildings-smokehouse, laundry, dairy; and there are still others on the east side. The huge formal gardens, roughly square in total plan, embrace a CANAL and FISH POND along the western edge. There are ten separate gardens including box, fruit, and kitchen gardens, a maze, and a bowling green-all completely restored, their rectangular forms thickly set in eighteenth-century fashion with trim hedges and walks in intricate geometrical patterns.

The interior is notable for its fine woodwork. The wide entrance hall, most of the passages, and several smaller rooms are fully paneled. In other rooms the wall surfaces and some of the woodwork have been painted in the original soft shades of gray-green, yellow, and blue. The walls of the library, directly above the entrance hall, are covered with antique Spanish tooled leather. Furnishings and interior decoration, chiefly in mid-eighteenth-century style, have been restored in lavish detail. As mentioned by Lord Botetourt, coronation portraits of George III and Queen Charlotte, by the court painter Allan Ramsay, hang against the pale blue walls of the large and stately ballroom, flanking the door to the music room. Among other portraits in the palace are those of the Honorable Mary Howard, by Sir Peter Lely; of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza, after the school of Lely; and of Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, by Van Dyck.

The construction of this haven for 'exiled' royal lieutenants was begun in 1705 under Henry Cary. The bulk of the work was accomplished under the direction of Governor Spotswood, and the building was completed by 1720. The palace was the hub of Virginia social life-convivial symbol of royal prestige and fount of royal authority until 1775. Governor Fauquier held intellectual bachelor dinners with Dr. William Small, George Wythe, and Thomas Jefferson. Here Sy Gilliat, slave violinist to Governor Botetourt, played for entertainments. Possessed of 50 suits, Gilliat usually wore a 'powdered brown wig, with side curls and a long cue,' and 'His manners were as courtly as his dress.' The building burned in 1781, while in use as a hospital for American soldiers wounded at Yorktown. Two smaller structures facing the forecourt were torn down in 1863.

The entire establishment and extensive gardens have been reconstructed since 1930 upon their excavated foundations according to a plan drawn by Jefferson; an illustration of the buildings as they appeared between 1732 and 1747, which was found on a copperplate in the Bodleian Library at Oxford; and almost 300 pages of source material. Minute inventories taken by three governors and many contemporary descriptions have made possible accurate restoration and refurnishing.

--American Guide Series: Virginia - A Guide to the Old Dominion.

Today, the Governor's Palace is still open for touring, though you can only obtain tickets through Colonial Williamsburg, and it is in an advanced admission price for a packaged offering. To get to the palace, find a parking lot (the closest is the Colonial Williamsburg visitor parking lot), then walk to the palace (following a map).

Following are a few notes on changes to the palace since 1940, from the Colonial Williamsburg web site. From the 1930s to the 1980s, the palace was decorated with what was thought to be furnishings and silverware of the Colonial period. Research on the location revealed that these furnishings were of the Colonial Revival period, which is not always accurate to that period. In 1981, the palace was renovated using the detailed inventory list of Governor Botetourt's furnishings. In 2006, the palace was done over to reflect when Governor Dunmore, his wife, and six of seven children lived. This included the new display of swords and rifles in the front hall.

The gardens were beautiful. Immediately after leaving through the back door, we entered the bushy and grassy garden. We went through the maze, which is pretty intricate, though there were holes through the bushes likely from years of impatient people. The pond has several great views including a view from a bench placed at the northern end. The kitchen was open for people to look in and a guide talked about the Colonial cuisine with example dishes that could be looked at but unfortunately not eaten. One night, we were treated to a period concert where two of the oldest instruments present, a reed organ and a harpsichord were featured.

Is it worth the little extra to go through? Absolutely!

Sources:

Colonial Williamsburg (Governor's Palace):
Visit Site

University of Virginia (Xroads - American Guide Series: Virginia):,br> Visit Site

Book: Virginia Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 325-326 Year Originally Published: 1940

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