The Raleigh Tavern was a

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

, and was one of the largest taverns in colonial Virginia. It gained some fame in the pre-

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Colony of Virginia as a gathering place for legislators after several Royal Governors officially dissolved the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...

, the elected legislative body, when their actions did not suit the Crown. It was also the site of the founding of the Phi Beta Kappa Society on December 5, 1776. Rebuilt in 1930–31, it was both the first building to be reconstructed and to be opened as part of

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...

. Unlike several other taverns in Williamsburg that operate as restaurants or inns, the reconstructed Raleigh Tavern building serves as a museum, showing visitors how the tavern would have appeared. It was named after Sir Walter Raleigh, an important figure in the English settlement of Virginia. A

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

bust of Raleigh sat above the entrance door.

History

From 1699 to 1779, Williamsburg served as the capital of the colony of Virginia. As such, there were numerous taverns to host legislators and other visitors having business with the government while the House of Burgesses was in session. The original tavern is believed to have been built some point prior 1735. It changed ownership and keepers numerous times, continuing in use as a tavern, eventually being acquired by local cabinetmaker Anthony Hay (father of jurist George Hay) in 1767. The tavern was an institution in Williamsburg; auctions as well as balls were held under the Raleigh's aegis. The tavern was the site of reception dinners held for at least two Royal Governors upon their arrival to Virginia:

Robert Dinwiddie Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 ...

in November 1751, and

Lord Botetourt Baron Botetourt ( ) is an Abeyance, abeyant title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Hereditary peer#Writs of summons, writ of summons on 19 June 1305. It became abeyance, abeyant in 1406, was recalled from abeyance in 1764 for Norborne ...

in October 1768. In May 1769, the Raleigh Tavern began its role as a center of sedition when Governor Botetourt dissolved the

, because of resolutions against the

Townshend Acts The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties, were a series of British acts of Parliament passed during 1767 and 1768 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to fund administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after the ...

. After its dissolution, the burgesses immediately convened in the Apollo Room as the 'late representatives of the people' and adopted the Non-Importation Agreement. The House of Burgesses was reconvened by the Governor in November that year. This room was the frequent rendezvous of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first a ...

, and other Revolutionary patriots. They met here in 1773 to develop intercolonial committees of correspondence. Dissolved by Governor Dunmore, the Burgesses met again in the Apollo Room in May 1774. The

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

was entertained at a banquet here in 1824, and the building remained in continual use as a tavern until it burned at the hands of an arsonist in 1859.

Architecture

Based on period prints, the present reconstruction is an L-shaped white

weatherboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

building with 18 dormer windows. The main room of the Raleigh Tavern was a banqueting hall known as the Apollo Room. Accounts note that the Latin motto ''Hilaritas sapientiae et bonae vitae proles'' ("jollity is the offspring of wisdom and good living") was written over the mantel. Historian Lyon Gardiner Tyler wrote of the room that it "witnessed probably more scenes of brilliant festivity and political excitement than any other single apartment in North America".

Reconstruction

The tavern was reconstructed in 1930–31 on its original foundation. At a ceremony overseen by Virginia Gov.

John Garland Pollard John Garland Pollard (August 4, 1871April 28, 1937) was a Virginia lawyer and American Democratic politician, who served as the 21st Attorney General of Virginia (1914-1918) and as the 51st Governor of Virginia (1930 to 1934), as well as on t ...

, the tavern opened to the public on September 16, 1932, thus marking the opening of Colonial Williamsburg. The reconstructed Raleigh Tavern is one of the more modest but popular attractions of

, a

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

museum depicting life in Virginia's colonial capital city. It stands on

Duke of Gloucester Street Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...

in contrast to the elaborate Capitol Building.

Notes

References

External links

Raleigh Tavern at Colonial Williamsburg
{{coord, display=title, 37.271910, -76.695670 Colonial architecture in Virginia Buildings and structures in Williamsburg, Virginia Colonial Williamsburg Taverns in the American Revolution Taverns in Virginia Buildings and structures completed in 1931 Historic district contributing properties in Virginia Rebuilt buildings and structures in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Williamsburg, Virginia Drinking establishments on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia