Dorminghurst grew out of the forest under the influence of a master mind. The mansion was one of those plain, square, two-storied brick structures,--dormer windows for the attic rooms, and a detached kitchen in the rear (connected with the large dining-hall by a covered passageway). The office was built in line of the eastern elevation of the dwelling, and connected with the house by a covered way. The store-house, smoke-house, brew-house and bakery, besides the servants’ quarters and the stables, were all built of brick and formed a quadrangle enclosure and a court in the center. The doors of all buildings were massive oak and secured by the heaviest fastenings of iron. All windows on the ground floor had heavy shutters, and an underground, secret passageway led from the house to a door under the stables. The structures were enclosed thus to guard against Indian attacks. A handsome porch and steps led up to the massive front door, which entered into the great hall that extended through the middle of the building. A double staircase, starting in the middle of the great central hall, met on a common landing, which led to the sleeping chambers. Large double parlors on each side of the hallway were connected by folding doors. The large, well-lighted front room on the east side was used as the library, and the large hallway to the rear of the staircase was used as the dining and living-room. All the apartments had vast chimney-places, commodious enough in the openings to receive huge logs of wood for good cheer in winter. Grotesque blue and white tiles, imported from Holland, embellished the massive brick-work of the chimney, and above the mantels were arched niches adorned with rare old china and heavy silver-ware, which on state occasions saw service at table. The furniture of a Colonial house in 1730 partook, like the house itself, of simplicity, and in design was more useful than ornamental. Mahogany was little known in Pennsylvania, yet used to some extent in the West Indies; oak and black walnut served for the cabinet woods. Chairs in profusion were found only in the houses of the most substantial. Choicely carved chests-of-drawers, cupboards, high-backed chairs and tables found their way from Europe only by the grace of ship-masters, so that imported Colonial furniture was rare and expensive. However, each town of importance had its list of cabinet-makers and joiners who fashioned their handiwork after the design of articles imported and thus supplied the needs of the new country.