Raleigh Tavern, Daphne Room

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.