Rights and reproductions]]> Rights and reproductions]]> Exterior of the William Lightfoot House, viewed from Duke of Gloucester Street, 1935. "The William Lightfoot House and Kitchen on the south side of the street belonged to a Yorktown merchant whose business apparently brought him to Williamsburg so often that he felt the need for a local dwelling."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 52).

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Exterior of the President's House at the College of William and Mary, view from the courtyard, 1935. "Built in 1732-1733, the President's House has been the residence of every president of the College of William and Mary save one...During the last stages of the Revolution, British General Cornwallis used the house briefly as his headquarters. French officers serving under General Rochambeau occupied the house for a short time after the siege of Yorktown..."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 109).

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Exterior of the Brafferton building, College of William and Mary, view from the courtyard, 1935. "At first, the Native American students had a classroom in the Wren Building and lodged elsewhere in the town. The Brafferton was completed for their use in 1723. Until the Revolution cut off revenue....there were always some Indians -- often a dozen or more -- at the college." The Brafferton and the President's House appear to be nearly identical, "...although the Brafferton is actually somewhat smaller."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 60, 105).

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Exterior of the Brafferton building, College of William and Mary, view from the courtyard, 1935. "At first, the Native American students had a classroom in the Wren Building and lodged elsewhere in the town. The Brafferton was completed for their use in 1723. Until the Revolution cut off revenue....there were always some Indians -- often a dozen or more -- at the college." The Brafferton and the President's House appear to be nearly identical, "...although the Brafferton is actually somewhat smaller."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 60, 105).

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The structure to the right (across Francis Street) is the William Finnie House, one of the eighty-eight original buildings at Colonial Williamsburg. A gowned female costumed interpreter (once referred to as a "hostess") is shown standing in front of the house. The Finnie House is named after William Finnie, who resided in the home from the 1770s to early 1780s and held the office of quartermaster general of the Southern Department during the American Revolution. The Finnie House holds the distinction of retaining an appearance most closely matching its eighteenth-century form throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ]]>
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When Colonial Williamsburg first opened as a museum in the 1930s, Duke of Gloucester Street consisted of a combination of exhibition buildings and commercial establishments. Several grocers operated small food markets in restored or reconstructed structures.


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Rights and reproductions]]> Exterior detail of the John Blair House, oblique view looking west down Duke of Gloucester Street, 1935. "The John Blair House and Kitchen on the north side of Duke of Gloucester Street was the home of a prominent family of Virginians. The Reverend James Blair (1655-1743), founder and first president of the College of William and Mary, came to Virginia in 1685....The original, easterly part of the John Blair House was built early in the eighteenth century. It is one of the oldest houses in Williamsburg. Town tradition has it that the stone steps at both doors came from the Palace Street theater. The steps were added when the house was lengthened twenty-eight feet to the west sometime during the second quarter of the eighteenth century."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 103-104).

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Exterior of the John Blair House, view from Duke of Gloucester Street, 1935. "The John Blair House and Kitchen on the north side of Duke of Gloucester Street was the home of a prominent family of Virginians. The Reverend James Blair (1655-1743), founder and first president of the College of William and Mary, came to Virginia in 1685....The original, easterly part of the John Blair House was built early in the eighteenth century. It is one of the oldest houses in Williamsburg. Town tradition has it that the stone steps at both doors came from the Palace Street theater. The steps were added when the house was lengthened twenty-eight feet to the west sometime during the second quarter of the eighteenth century."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 103-104).

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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.]]>
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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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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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The Finnie House holds the distinction of retaining an appearance most closely matching its eighteenth-century form throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Restoration efforts in 1932 and 1952 mainly focused upon bringing a few elements of the entrance porch, such as the Doric columns and architrave, back to their original classical forms.]]>
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Christopher Ayscough, the namesake of the shop, tried operating a tavern on the site between 1768-1770. Other shopkeepers, including Catherine Rathell, Matthew Holt, and Jacob Bruce, briefly occupied the store and sold various goods to townspeople.

The structure survived from the eighteenth century, although it was hardly recognizable due to the enlargements and modifications made in the nineteenth century. Once restored to its eighteenth-century appearance, the building exhibited such features typical of a commercial establishment as a gable end entrance and large shop window.]]>
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This slide shows the entrance of the Ayscough Shop in 1935, when it housed the Forge and Wheel, a retail establishment. As noted on the sign, the shop sold decorative ironwork, pottery, and other items.

Christopher Ayscough, the namesake of the shop, tried operating a tavern on the site between 1768-1770. Other shopkeepers, including Catherine Rathell, Matthew Holt, and Jacob Bruce, briefly occupied the store and sold various goods to townspeople.

The structure survived from the eighteenth century, although it was hardly recognizable due to the enlargements and modifications made in the nineteenth century. Once restored to its eighteenth-century appearance, the building exhibited such features typical of a commercial establishment as a gable end entrance and large shop window.]]>