Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Colonial Williamsburg 2013, Day 4

Our fourth day activities started with a visit to the silversmith, where the apprentice entertained our questions and offered significant insight into the use of precious metals in the 18th century.

This image shows some of our party in the retail store in the next room that primarily displayed jewelry and had chocolate for sale.  Strange combination?  I think they know their clientele well.

Wetherburn's Tavern had changed in subtle ways since we last visited, but retains many of the charms of one of the few original structures in town.  All of the objects in this private room (excepting the tablecloth) are 18th century antiques that appear to have fared well over time.

Another of the 88 original structures is the dairy behind the tavern, which is the building on the left.  The reconstructed smokehouse and well cover are the other structures in this photo.

On our tour of Peyton Randolph's home we discovered new wallpaper in a more gothic style than what had hung here previously.

Tara, Gretel, Karen, David, and Annette navigating road hazards on Colonial Street south of Nicholson Street.

The Mary Stith is used for some intimate music programs, and even the rear of the home displays considerable colonial charm.

The tailor has a new apprentice.  Michael told us a bit about himself, and then showed us the summer-weight men's suit he's working on.  I suspect we'll get to know him better in the future.

The wigmaker tried (in vain) to convince our ladies that a wig would be preferable to their natural hair.  Since we only pretend to live in the 18th century, we weren't buying her arguments, although the wigmaking process is pretty interesting and her finished products were very impressive.

Finally, a view of the Bruton Parish bell tower from across several yards and pastures.  Conveniently hidden from view is the scaffolding that surrounds most of the rest of the building to aid a current construction project.

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