On our long Labor Day weekend, we visited Richmond, the Battle of Williamsburg Redoubts, and the Mariner’s Museum. The best part of those days was seeing the Houdons of Washington and Lafayette in the state capitol.
(Photos linked for each location above, except for the Mariner’s Museum which doesn’t allow publication of photography. Too bad because they have amazing things to see!)
Arriving in the history area we enjoyed the red devon and the colonial nursery before eating dinner.
Then we enjoyed the evening program…a Capital Concert.
Harpsichordist Peter Pelham – 1774
Sitting in the assembly room where the burgesses met, we enjoyed the ambience of candles flickering from the chandelier and throughout the room.
Initially the interpreter gave us the historical background on Peter Pelham who lived and worked in 18th century Williamsburg as the town organist, harpsichordist, and jailer!
Additionally, he taught the colonial governor’s children and played at official concerts for the governor.
Plus he played duets with Thomas Jefferson…Pelham on the harpsichord and Jefferson with the violin.
Jefferson had high regard for Pelham’s musical abilities.
After the introduction, the interpreter walked behind the historic giant speaker’s chair and came out the other side…this time as Peter Pelham.
For each piece he played he had stories with an unexpected twist.
King Henry VIII
Before playing one of the songs he refused to give the name of the composer.
Instead he explained it was composed two hundred years before…Peter Pelham is in 1774.
Promising to announce the composer after the song, he said it would be someone completely unexpected!
After playing the beautifully interesting piece, Pelham asked us for guesses.
William Shakespeare? James I? Queen Elizabeth?
King Henry VIII! (That’s what a classical education does for you!)
When this interpreter visited a British museum recently, he saw the score King Henry VIII had written and he memorized it!
The musical interpreter was playing for us from memory.
Hail Britannia
Peter Pelham played Hail Britannia two different ways.
The first time he played the popular way of the time, and the second time his new and improved way!
At the end of the program, he taught us the chorus so we could all sing a few rousing verses of Hail Britannia.
After answering queries from the audience, he met with us outside.
When I started to take a picture of him talking to my son, the musical interpreter saw my camera and asked someone to take a picture of all of us together!
Charleton’s Coffeehouse Reconstruction
The next morning, we visited the brickmaker and the blacksmith, busily making bricks and locks for the rebuilding of the Charleton’s Coffeehouse.
Ann Wager of the Bray School – 1774
Then we went to the Mary Stith house to meet Ann Wager of 1774, who taught African American children to read at the Bray School.
Philanthropist Dr. Thomas Bray of England organized schools to teach black children (boys and girls) to read, slave and free, in the British North American colonies.
After Benjamin Franklin suggested opening the first school Bray School in Philadelphia in 1758, its success led to Benjamin Franklin encouraging Williamsburg to do the same, which they did in 1760.
Incidentally Franklin visited Williamsburg in 1756 while on duty for the post office.
While there he received the first honorary degree awarded by the College of William and Mary.
Ann Wager has taught the Bray School since its inception in 1760. One of her most famous students is Gowan Pamphlet, who became a Baptist preacher, and was later freed.
We greatly enjoyed meeting her because my daughter portrayed her for a project related to a Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip.
Piano Forte at the Raleigh Tavern
At Raleigh Tavern we attended Music for a Revolutionary Generation.
After listening to a violinist and pianist, we toured the piano forte.
The piano fortes were new to the century and shaped smaller and more boxy than the previously popular harpsichord.
In a harpsichord, the strings are plucked; in a piano forte, a hammer hits the strings.
With a harpsichord, there is one volume; with a harpsichord, there is a range a volumes.
Due to the range of piano fortes, music was written with new ranges, from pianissimo (soft) to forte (loud).
Once again, we heard lots of interesting tidbits of history to go with the songs.
Autumn drizzling in
The rain lasted a short while. It was an extremely cool day. There was a hint of autumn in the air. A few of the leaves are turning.
In Texas the blazing heat roughly continues through September, with an occasional cold front.
Bits and Bridle Tour
After weeks of trying to obtain tickets to the Bits and Bridles tour we finally secured them!
While waiting for everyone, we met a family we had seen the night before.
They were all in costume and I think they do some historical reenacting themselves.
During our conversation, he gave my son a great tip to alleviate some of his struggles.
We saw the area where the horseshoes are stored and how the horses are taken care of with various shoes.
We learned about each of the different carriages, since they were parked during the lunch hour.
Two different saddles were on display, an English saddle and a side saddle for ladies.
My daughter got to try out the side saddle.
We saw the baby goats.
Then we got to see the horses which have their names on their stalls.
The ones that team up have names that fit in a pair.
- Matthew and Mark
- Luke and John
- Brigadier and General
I love this creativity since I have a thing for names!
The stable was impeccably clean.
Only the horses used for the day in town or who are ill stay in the stable.
Otherwise the horses stay in the fields.
While off duty in the winter, the horses’ shoes come off so they are foot loose and fancy free in the fields.
Then we saw various chickens. Only one was the meaty, used by the middling sort.
The wealthy showed off their wealth with the fancier chickens, not caring if they were meaty or not.
While listening to the downsides of this Sikie, we observed the chicken cocking her head from side to side. Who, me?
Street Theater Music
Music and dancing rang out in the streets, heralding all that the street theater was about to begin. The Monday street theater program can be read about here.)
Chownings Tavern
Being a drizzly chilly day, we went to Chowning’s Tavern to enjoy potato leek soup, cornbread, and ribs.
While waiting for our food we shelled peanuts and listened to period music.
As we left the historic area, my son played his fife using the tips he had learned that day. Wow! What an improvement.
As we drove by one of the pastures, four of the CW horses were playfully chasing each other around the field.
A cozy evening…the sun was setting, it was drizzling, the air was cool and brisk, the large trees were mostly in verdant green although a few anxious leaves are a bit anxious provided an autumnal splash of color.
The horses running in this setting added to the aura of the 4mph society we left behind to reenter the crazy world of the 21st century.
