The Raleigh Tavern was a

tavern A tavern is a type 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 that ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

, 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

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

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

, 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 The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

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 Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...

. 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 Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...

, an important figure in the English settlement of Virginia. A

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

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 time before 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 in November 1751, and Lord Botetourt 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 enacted in 1766 and 1767 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to enable administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after Char ...

. 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 (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...

, 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 de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

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 those terms, is wooden siding (construction), siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Cla ...

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 museum depicting life in Virginia's colonial capital city. It stands on Duke of Gloucester Street 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