I have written before about our visits to Colonial Williamsburg here , here, here and here. Today I want to share with you our visit to the Governor’s Palace at Christmas. When you go to Williamsburg, the town itself is essentially free to visit. However, to enter many of the buildings and participate in the events you will need a pass which is well worth the money. Last year when we went in the Spring with Keith’s brother and his wife, they had a special where Virginia residents could come back and visit all year long when the multi day pass was purchased. So, that is what we did. We went back at Christmas to see the Revolutionary City celebrate the holidays.
Our tour of the Governor’s Palace starts outside in a courtyard area where you can smell the food cooking in the kitchens. And this sweet lady was our tour guide. Don’t you just love her holly sprig pinned to her cap?
When it is time to enter, you enter through the front door into the lower middle room. And this is what everyone that visits usually remembers because this is where the Swords, Pistols and Muskets are stored.
It is a very impressive display. Not only is the woodwork amazing, but you have all these wonderful displays of weapons adorning the walls.
The muskets are displayed in neat rows above the fireplace with more swords on either side.
Over the door arranged in a half moon around the crest are pistols and more swords. And look at the hinge on that door…I love it!
Now I am not one to decorate with munitions and weaponry, but is that not just a pretty way to display your pistols? I mean, I know it is meant to impress your enemies and let them know you have the right stuff to take care of them should they want to revolt, but it really is pretty, not just functional.
I can see why the men and boys tend to linger here.
Really, isn’t this a pretty display of weaponry, too? And I can see where this kind of thing would look great in some kind of huge hunting lodge with a bunch of leather covered big cozy chairs and a roaring fire and lots of plaid….oh, but back to the tour of the Palace, which by the way really isn’t a Palace, but just a large residence where the Governor of the Colony lived.
And this is the stairwell. The walls are covered. Completely. But, you have to remember, the Governor and his men had to be ready to protect the colonists at a moment’s notice, so even though these look like pretty decorations, they actually served a purpose.
When you take the tour, you have an opportunity to see a few rooms on the main floor, such as the front parlor. I love the paneled walls and all of the trim. The details are amazing and the craftsmanship that you find in this building is just wonderful.
Now this is what they called a service room, across from the parlor. I just love the yellow walls in this room.
This room is kind of like a Butler’s Pantry. It seems to store household service items mostly. And there is even a collection of birdcages in one corner.
Look at all of the glassware serving pieces lining the shelves. I imagine glassware like this was quite expensive and not common.
And of course, there is a built in cupboard for the silver. I love that cupboard.
Next on our tour we were taken upstairs to see several of the bedrooms. Just a note about these pictures. The Palace does not have much in the way of interior lighting so I had to use the little built in flash on my camera, which really did not help much and in fact kind of made some of the pictures hard to make “pretty” even in Photoshop with my basic skills. There are lots of huge windows in each room to let in natural light, but it was rainy and overcast so many of the rooms were extremely dark and using the flash was the only way to capture most images on a quick tour. And, I really only took pictures of things that interested me, not every single detail and not even all of the rooms that we toured. So don’t let my cruddy pictures talk you out of going to visit the Palace for yourself!
Anyway, the first room we visited upstairs was that of probably a governess. It wasn’t much to witness compared to the other rooms, but I did snap a picture of the mantle with one of the FEW holiday decorations found inside the house. I just love the simplicity and elegance of that white vase full of pine and berries.
Next it was on to the Governor’s Wife’s Room. Oh that fabric!
I really love that fabric! Very lady-like indeed!
And isn’t that fireplace beautiful? I love the delft tiles and vases.
The next room was the sitting or family room. And here is The Lady’s dressing table.
And of course a place for the baby.
And these walls are actually upholstered with fabric. Beautiful red damask with gold gimp trim. This was where the family would spend most of their private time.
Another ornate fireplace. Look at that grate! And that is Keith in the mirror!
We headed back downstairs and stopped by the Great Dining Room where I took a few more photos of details that I liked.
I just love that trim! And the paneled walls.
Next we entered the Ballroom. Behold, decorations! Simple pine garland swags adorned the huge windows in this room. Again, a simple, yet elegant decoration.
And, today we were greeted by John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore. The Earl of Dunmore, also known as Lord Dunmore, was the last Royal Governor of Virginia.
He was most gracious to allow us an audience and entertained us with stories of life at the Palace and even answered questions.
One thing when you visit the Revolutionary City…each visit can be different from the previous one because you are reliving a different part of the city’s history. Our guide explained when we entered that we were viewing the Palace during the period of Lord Dunmore’s term. There were previous Governor’s before him and that each Governor made changes to the Palace while they were in residence. In fact, when we were there last Spring, the tour was more about the servants and slaves that worked in the Palace for the Governor and his family. So even if you have taken the tour before, you need to take it again, because you will probably see a different perspective of life in the Palace.
Another part of the Palace I was intrigued with were these big stoves, or furnaces in the Ballroom and in the next room. These rooms are enormous and did not have fireplaces. So these huge, ornate furnaces provided the warmth necessary to heat these huge rooms without being an eyesore. In fact, they really are works of art in a way.
I love the ornate trim above the doors in the Ballroom. And of course the crown! You can see the next group waiting to enter behind the doors, it gives you a frame of reference as to how enormous this room is and how hard it would be to heat.
The last room on our tour was the Supper Room, the largest dining area in the Palace.
The table was set with an unusual and ornate serving piece filled with pineapple, fruit and nuts for a holiday feast.
And again, more wonderful trim and decoration to feast the eye on.
And here is another of those decorative furnaces. Even the flu connection has decorative trim…it kind of looks like a crown.
And here was the last of the holiday decorations inside the Palace…a simple pine garland adorned with pine cones.
And when you are finished with the guided tour, you exit from the Supper Room into the garden.
From there you are free to tour the gardens on your own or explore other parts of the grounds such as the kitchen, scullery or even the basement where wines, beers and cheeses were stored.
I hope you get the chance to visit the Revolutionary City someday if you have not done so already. It is a fascinating place and they really know how to bring history to life. You can find out more about Colonial Williamsburg here, and as they say in the Capitol, Huzzah!
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