Travelling to the Outer Banks of North Carolina or even Myrtle Beach farther south? Gracefield Hall is a perfect midway overnight stop if you are coming from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York or one of the New England states. You might even want to tour Colonial Williamsburg the next morning on your way […]
Archive | Colonial Williamsburg
Turn TV series auction
Turn TV series auction. Turn, the TV series about Washington’s New York City spy network during the Revolutionary War, finished production on the third and final year. Much of it was shot in Colonial Williamsburg and Richmond. On Monday and Tuesday there was a 2-day on-line auction for over 2,000 furniture items, accessories, and props […]
Fireboards
Thanks to Colonial Williamsburg, I was able to research 18th century fireboards (alternately also called chimneyboards) in the archives. Since our house is a historically accurate recreation of an 18th century Central Virginia plantation house, we want the fireboards to have historically appropriate scenes. How are they used? Colonial fireplaces did not have dampers to […]
Fire Boards
I am researching 18th century fire boards at Colonial Williamsburg and will visit the historical interiors collection later this week. They are also called chimney boards and were used to close off a fireplace opening during the summer when the fireplace was not being used. Kitchen fireplaces never had fire boards because that fireplace was […]
Glowing Review
A glowing review from Dean and Lisa Kropp, who spent four days at Gracefield Hall while they attended a friend’s wedding and did some sightseeing. What a fascinating couple! What do “YOU” get when you mix up a guy who’s; 1. A pilot; 2. Drives from Providence Forge, Virginia to Long Island – New York […]
Table Utensils
Table utensils can come in a bewildering array. A picture of a table setting at a B&B was posted on a B&B owners group Facebook page, showing numerous utensils. That brought out a discussion about the need for that many utensils and the usages. My contribution was: until the early 18th century it would have been […]
Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival started in the late 19th century, when interest revived in our colonial American history, and continued to the mid-20th century. What started as a return to simpler, purer days, soon turned into an architectural and decorating style. Consumerism was just beginning in the 18th century; but, only the upper one or two percent […]
Colonial House – Part 22
Colonial House On October 9, 2015, we received the final permit to open our bed and breakfast. We named it Gracefield Hall after the road on which we lived in Maryland before moving here. We have posted in the first floor passage a replica of an 18th century license to operate an ordinary. The license […]
Colonial House – Part 21
Colonial House The kitchen has visible in the ceiling the exposed floor boards for the second floor, supported by exposed beams. Kitchens were typically left unfinished with whitewashed walls and ceiling. A large cooking fireplace at the far end of the kitchen provided a place to prepare meals and boil water for washing clothes. Kitchen […]
Colonial House – Part 20
Colonial House The bedchamber at the rear of the second floor, the Green Guest Room, is the largest of the three guest rooms. There is no crown moulding in this room; just a chair rail. The woodwork is painted a bright green to enliven the room in the afternoon when the room gets minimal light. […]
