Market House, Market Drayton, Shropshire, England, 1824. This gabled, open-sided market house illustrates a relatively refined but small market structure, treated as a temple. Note how the center pair of columns in the gable end are more widely spaced than the others, suggesting that the principal axis of circulation for shoppers was down the center of the building, with market stalls on either side. This is the arrangement adopted for the Williamsburg Market House (photo: Photograph by Jeffrey E. Klee, CWF).
In two early Reconstruction Blog posts, architectural historian Carl Lounsbury described the market day scene: what you might see, hear, and smell, and how markets functioned in 18th century towns. Architectural conservator Matt Webster then walked us through the process of calculating quantities, and producing (by hand) the materials needed to reconstruct Williamsburg’s Market House. But how did we get from “there” to “here”? In this post, architectural historian Jeff Klee describes the architectural field work that informed working drawings for Williamsburg’s 18th century Market House.
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The Courthouse was built in 1770 and 1771 on Market Square. It was here that Williamsburg’s citizens assembled at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, 1783, to celebrate the end of the war with England – just as they had gathered seven years earlier to hear lawyer Benjamin Waller proclaim from its steps the Declaration of Independence. The Courthouse served the Williamsburg community for more than 160 years. Confederates used it as a hospital after the Civil War Battle of Williamsburg, and by the time they carried off their wounded, the doors and windows were gone as well – used perhaps for firewood….
The Tayloe House was constructed between 1752 and 1759. Col. John Tayloe, one of the wealthiest men in 18th-century Virginia, purchased the property in 1759 for 600 pounds, a very high price for a frame house at that time. Tayloe probably used it as a town house during the years he served on the Governor’s Council….
The William Lightfoot House stands on the south side of Duke of Gloucester Street, across the street from the Ludwell-Paradise House. This part of the Duke of Gloucester Street was less commercially attractive in the 18th century than the east end since it was farther away from the Capitol. The lots were not subdivided, so this area appears to have more open space. The William Lightfoot House is one of the 88 original buildings in the Revolutionary City. It belonged to a Yorktown merchant whose business brought him to Williamsburg frequently enough that he built a home to use during his visits. Today the house serves as a private residence….
By John Watson