Hallowed Heritage: The Life of VirginiaTorpey, Dorothy Margaret
History
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia
Torpey, Dorothy Margaret
Virginia -- Civilization
The houses in Virginia whose construction is believed to have been
directly affected by the English Renaissance or Georgian Period of
architecture were built after 1720. Since the College of William
and Mary had been established at Williamsburg and the colonial
capital had been changed from Jamestown to Williamsburg, this area
had become the greatest cultural center as well as the seat of
government of Virginia. It is commonly believed that the important
buildings in Williamsburg in 1720--namely, the Wren Building at
the College of William and Mary, the Governor's Palace and the
Capitol--actually set the pattern for architectural designs for
private homes and public buildings throughout the colony.
The Wren Building is the only structure in America designed by
the great Sir Christopher Wren and is the oldest academic hall in
the United States. The original design of Wren had to be altered
slightly because of the terrain of the country-side. The building,
consisting of the commonly used sandy pink brick foundation
material, is a two-and-one-half storied rectangular building with a
steep roof which includes twelve dormer windows. The roof is topped
by a plain cupola in the center with two huge chimneys on either
side. Although the Wren Building was burned and rebuilt on three
different occasions, in 1928 some of the original walls were used
as the basis for the restoration and repair of the Wren Building as
part of the Williamsburg Restoration Project.
The Governor's Palace illustrates another Georgian architectural
design in Williamsburg. It consists of two stories rising to a
cornice topped by a steep, many-dormered roof. Atop the roof is
a platform with a lantern-cupola. There are narrow sash windows
on the façade and a plain square-transomed doorway with a center
wrought-iron balcony overhead. There are separate buildings for
the smokehouse, dairy, kitchen and laundry. Above the doorway of
the Governor's Palace is the carved coat of arms of George II and
Britain's Royal Lion and Unicorn. The fine paneled woodwork in the
interior of the palace and the antique tooled leather walls of the
library are also noteworthy.
The Capitol at Williamsburg, originally completed in 1704 and
later reconstructed on the original foundations, is a two-storied
H-shaped brick structure with semicircular bays on either end and
a connecting gallery in the center over an arched porch. The roof
of the gallery is topped with a cupola which has the arms of Queen
Anne, a clock and the Union Jack, one above the other. The Capitol
was restored in 1920.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account