"Clerestory House, State Route 31, Surry, Surry County, VA"
HABS photo, Library of Congress.
Unfortunately there is nothing detailed in the HABS report accompanying this photo. The "clerestory" (pronounced 'clear story') is the row of continuous windows across the roof, taking the form of a long dormer-like extension. This kind of window/roof design is common on industrial buildings (mills, factories, etc.) from the late 18th century to the present. Finding them on houses is unusual, but there is a cluster of them in southeastern Virginia. The best study I'm aware of covering these is Elizabeth P. Hoge's, "The Clerestory Dwellings of Southeastern Virginia," University of Virginia.
I wasn't able to definitively locate this particular building, though Hoge has a photo of a house in Surry Co. that nearly matches... hard to tell because many exterior details are obscured (see below, page. 46, Hoge). She also gives a different location-- Rt 10 vs. Rt 31.
Hoge theorizes that the clerestory houses were built by someone who was familiar with the construction of industrial buildings in the northern states and had a connection to southern Virginia through the cotton trade. They seem to be confined to a relatively narrow time window and geographic area, which lends credence to her theory.
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John Woodhouse home, ca. 1760. Â Princess Anne, Virginia. HABS photo, Library of Congress (HABS VA,77-NIM.V,1--4)
Cool picture of the dormers in enfilade.
There’s an interesting description of this house in Sadie Kellam’s book, Old Houses in Princess Anne Virginia. In addition to architectural details, she also notes a seemingly secret hiding place in the house. Quote below:Â
“At least three generations of Jonathan Woodhouses made their home in [this house]. We know that a Captain Jonathan was the son of Major Jonathan, son of Captain William, Sr. On each side of the front of this home are the letters, W.W.P. 1760.
“From the description in deeds of an adjoining property we know that in 1756 Horatio Woodhouse (one of the many) bounded a certain fifty-acre tract on the east. When this same acreage changed owners in 1788 Captain Jonathan is recorded as on the eastern boundary. It has been disappointing to us not to be able to prove conclusively that Capt. William Woodhouse, whose wife was Pembrook, built the home. In this we have not been successful.
“This building is of the decidedly Dutch gambrel. The angle at the eaves is more acute than the corresponding angle in any of the other gambrel houses now standing in Princess Anne.
“All four walls are of brick, Flemish bond, and 14''' thick. The height of the walls on the outside from the ground to the eaves is 12'. The two rooms (there is no hall) on the first floor measure 10' to the ceiling. The front and rear windows are deeply recessed. Each measures 38" in width, 6'8" in height. The mantles are very high with narrow shelf. A pretty chairboard, wide floor planks, old doors with H & L wrought iron hinges, lead one to believe that the original woodwork has been preserved through the years. The wood is all heart pine.
“The house faces east, the south end to the lane leading to the main road. The larger room is on the south and it is into this that the front door gives entrance. By means of a blind stairway in the smaller room on the north one goes above to the rooms directly under the gambrel. In the room immediately reached there is a brick well by the chimney, beneath the floor. This well is several feet deep. Very probably it was made for the safe keeping of valuables. The strange hiding place and the Dutch gambrel make this house just a little different, stimulating one's imagination to find the answer to the whim that caused the Woodhouse (Mr., Capt., or Maj..'') to build differently.”
Published 1938.
********************
Ah, the so-called “Dutch” gambrel, which leads to every house like this being called a “Dutch Colonial.”Â
I’m also in love with the preface to Kellam’s book:
“This little volume is the outgrowth of a series of journeys up and down the roads of old Princess Anne. At hrst there was no thought of a book, only an album collection of kodak pictures with maybe a jotting here and there where emphasis would be laid on account of an unusual feature. Interest among our friends rather spurred us on toward a more pretentious undertaking.
Should these notes come into the hands of one who knows architecture as an art or science, bear in mind that the authors are laymen, whose only excuse for committing their findings to print, is the sincere desire to preserve for coming generations a record of what is left today of the homes builded in Princess Anne prior to 1800. Pray, therefore, be "To our virtues very kind, To our faults, a little
blind."
Mount Wharton, near Accomack, Virginia. HABS photo, Library of Congress ( HABS VA,1-____,3--1)
Survey notes: “Main house approx. 25 x 50 feet and has cellar. South end gable…of brick. This end in ruins July 1940. Scalloped shingles on main hose and [south] wing.”Â
Later additions on early houses are quite common, and Eastern Shore houses often have “telescoping” series of added rooms, making the houses much longer than they are deep. Mount Wharton shows a good example of that trend. The addition likely represents one or more 18th or 19th century add-ons to the core 18th century building. Note the exposed frame and rafters in the ruined section of the building and also the small outbuilding behind.
John Woodhouse home, ca. 1760. Â Princess Anne, Virginia. HABS photo, Library of Congress (HABS VA,77-NIM.V,1--5)
From the HABS survey: “Brick, Flemish bond; story and a half; garabrel roof; end inside chimneys; front three bays; center door; window sash 9 over 9 lights; three shed dormers on roof, 6 over 6 lights. Plan—two unequal rooms, front and rear door entering larger end, stair ascending from it.”
Note the date brick inscribed “1760″ and the W. WH (?) above it, possibly for a William Woodhouse. Nice jack arch above the window. Look also at the unpainted window frames (with old shutter pintles) and dormers. The roof shingles look relatively new.Â
John Woodhouse home, ca. 1760. Â Princess Anne, Virginia. HABS photo, Library of Congress (HABS VA,77-NIM.V,1--3)
From survey: “Brick, Flemish bond; story and a half; garabrel roof; end inside chimneys; front three bays; center door; window sash 9 over 9 lights; three shed dormers on roof, 6 over 6 lights. Plan—two unequal rooms, front and rear door entering larger end, stair ascending from it.“
I don’t find a floorplan, but “two unequal rooms” sounds like a derivation of the much older Hall & Parlor-type house favored by earlier Virginia small-time gentry. If it was the room with the exterior doors, it would’ve had the front and back door, plus the staircase ascending to the second story, and would have served multiple functions in addition to being an entryway, circulation space, living area, and who knows what else. Note the stucco on the front corner; maybe the bricks were chipped or worn and the stucco covered up the damage. I love the chimney drip courses.
The exterior stairs would’ve likely been wood and have rotted away, hence the oddly high-looking doorstep.Â
I believe this house is still standing (according to a popular search engine), though the landscape around it has long since been swallowed up by Virginia Beach.
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