The Raleigh Tavern opened in 1932 as one of the earliest exhibition buildings at Colonial Williamsburg. One of the rooms open to visitors was the Daphne Room, a private room offered to tavern guests for holding meals and meetings. Interior decor for the Daphne Room consisted of a dining room ensemble, patterned wallpaper, and brocade curtains. Later research led to a reinterpretation of the room with plain painted walls and curtainless windows.

Above the fireplace hangs a painting entitled Imaginary Landscape (accession #1931.101.3), a gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.  In anticipation of guests' needs, a bottle case or cellaret (accession # 1930-58) is pictured to the left of the fireplace. Cellarets functioned as portable wine cellars for holding wine and bottled spirits at mealtimes.  

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Interior furnishings and decor reflect curators' views in the 1930s as to how Williamsburg's historic interiors may have looked in the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, with new research advances over the years, the Raleigh Tavern's interiors have changed and evolved to reflect a more authentic and accurate view of each room's likely contents and arrangements.]]>
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Interior of Raleigh Tavern's Common Dining Room, 1935. The portrait above the fireplace features the Marquis de Lafayette (accession # 1930-593), the young French major general who commanded an American division under General Washington at the 1781 Battle of Yorktown. An early eighteenth-century gateleg dining table (accession # 1930-72) is also exhibited in the center of the room, surrounded by other furnishings and decorative items along the room's perimeter.

The Raleigh Tavern was the frequent scene of both jollity and consequence. Burned to the ground in 1859, the tavern was reconstructed from published illustrations, insurance policies, and archaeology that uncovered most of the original foundations. Interior furnishings and decor reflect curators' views in the 1930s as to how Williamsburg's historic interiors may have looked in the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, with new research advances over the years, the Raleigh Tavern's interiors have changed and evolved to reflect a more authentic and accurate view of each room's likely contents and arrangements.

 

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Interior furnishings and decor reflect curators' views in the 1930s as to what Williamsburg's historic interiors may have looked like in the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, with new research findings evolving over the years, the Raleigh Tavern's interior furnishings have changed to reflect a more authentic and accurate view of each room's likely contents and arrangements.]]>
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Interior of the Raleigh Tavern's Daphne dining room, 1935. The family portrait on the wall, entitled Family Group With Two Servants, was painted in England in 1790 (accession #1939-290).  Under the portrait, two mahogany knife boxes (accession #1930-303, 1) are featured on either end of a sideboard table.

The Raleigh Tavern was the frequent scene of both jollity and consequence. Dinners and dances rivaled in elegance those at the Palace and burgesses reconvened at the tavern when they were dissolved by royal governors prior to the Revolution. Burned to the ground in 1859, it was reconstructed from published illustrations, insurance policies, and archaeology that uncovered most of the original foundations.

Interior furnishings and decor reflect curators' views in the 1930s as to how Williamsburg's historic interiors may have looked in the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, with new research advancements over the years, the Raleigh Tavern's interior furnishings have changed to reflect a more authentic and accurate view of each room's likely contents and arrangements.

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Interior furnishings and decor reflect curators' views in the 1930s as to how Williamsburg's historic interiors may have looked in the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, with new research advances over the years, the Raleigh Tavern's interiors have changed and evolved to reflect a more authentic and accurate view of each room's likely contents and arrangements.]]>
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After its restoration in the early 1930s, guests at Colonial Williamsburg could rent rooms in the tavern to experience some colonial ambiance. The Great Room served as a gathering spot for conversations, games, and special occasions. Its focal point is a large round table encircled by Windsor chairs. A desk, high chest of drawers, side table, armchair, and ladder-back side chair complete the furnishings. ]]>
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After its restoration in the early 1930s, guests at Colonial Williamsburg could rent rooms in the tavern to experience some colonial ambiance. The Great Room served as a gathering spot for conversations, games, and special occasions. Its focal point is a large round table encircled by Windsor chairs. A desk, high chest of drawers, side table, armchair, and ladder-back side chair complete the furnishings. ]]>
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Colonel Edward Champion Travis built the home in 1765 and it acquired several additions as successive owners occupied the site. Travis served in the House of Burgesses and was its most prominent colonial occupant. The house became a residence for superintendents of Eastern State Hospital in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Eastern State Hospital turned the building over to the Williamsburg Restoration in 1929 and this led to its temporary move to Duke of Gloucester Street to become a restaurant between 1930-1951.]]>
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A popular restaurant for tourists in the 1930s, the Travis House stood for a period of time along Duke of Gloucester Street on the site formerly occupied by the Palace Theatre. Its menu featured dishes inspired by colonial recipes. The structure moved back to its original location at the northeast corner of Francis and Henry Streets in the early 1950s.

Colonel Edward Champion Travis built the home in 1765 and it acquired several additions as successive owners occupied the site. Travis served in the House of Burgesses and was its most prominent colonial occupant. The house became a residence for superintendents of Eastern State Hospital in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Eastern State Hospital turned the building over to the Williamsburg Restoration in 1929 and this led to its temporary move to Duke of Gloucester Street to become a restaurant between 1930-1951.]]>

The original tavern structure burned down in 1859 but the remains of the original foundations allowed for the restoration of the building to its eighteenth-century appearance. John Dixon constructed the original around 1749 and used it as a combination dwelling and shop. Later additions allowed the building to be converted into a tavern operated first by Thomas Craig and later by Gabriel Maupin.

After its restoration in the early 1930s, guests at Colonial Williamsburg could rent rooms in the tavern to experience some colonial ambiance. The Great Room served as a gathering spot for conversations, games, and special occasions. Its focal point is a large round table encircled by Windsor chairs. A desk, high chest of drawers, side table, armchair, and ladder-back side chair complete the furnishings. ]]>

The Raleigh Tavern was the frequent scene of both jollity and consequence. Burned to the ground in 1859, the tavern was reconstructed from published illustrations, insurance policies, and archaeology that uncovered most of the original foundations.

Interior furnishings and decor reflect curators' views in the 1930s as to how Williamsburg's historic interiors may have looked in the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, with new research advances over the years, the Raleigh Tavern's interiors have changed and evolved to reflect a more authentic and accurate view of each room's likely contents and arrangements.]]>

The caption reads: "Passing seasons bring changing settings in many exhibition areas, as this parlor's Christmas decorations of candied and fresh fruits in English delft containers attest."]]>

The caption reads: "Lighting the candles in the Supper Room of the Governor's Palace where eighteenth century guests refreshed themselves after an evening of dancing in the Ballroom. The Chinese hand-painted rice paper on the wall, and the pagoda-like form over the door, show how China and India influenced the taste of the day."]]>
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The caption reads: "Documentation for Palace furnishings includes an appraisal of Governor's Fauquier's effects in 1768; a detailed inventory of Lord Botetourt's possessions in 1770s; and the listing of Governor Dunmore's losses when he fled the Palace in 1776."]]>

Interior furnishings and decor reflect curators' views in the 1950s as to how Williamsburg's historic interiors may have looked in the eighteenth-century. Nevertheless, with the advance of new research findings over the years, the interiors of the Governor’s Palace have changed to reflect a more authentic and accurate view of the building’s likely contents and room arrangements.

According to the caption: "The ballroom wing of the Palace, containing ballroom and supper room, was added about 1751 when extensive repairs were undertaken."]]>
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The caption reads: "Elegant and spacious, this stair passage, with its pine wainscot, welcomes visitors to the home of the first president of the Continental Congress, where the Comte de Rochambeau headquartered in 1781, and the Marquis de Lafayette was entertained during his triumphal return to the United States in 1824."]]>
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The caption reads: "The library-office in the home of Peyton Randolph, one of the leading statesmen of colonial America, who served as the First President of the Continental Congress. Furnishings are based on the inventory of Randolph's estate prepared shortly after his death."]]>
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Interior furnishings and decor reflect curators' views in the 1930s as to what Williamsburg's historic interiors may have looked like in the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, with new research findings evolving over the years, the Raleigh Tavern's interior furnishings have changed to reflect a more authentic and accurate view of each room's likely contents and arrangements.
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