A Visit to Lloyd House

I work in Old Town Alexandria, and for those of us with an inclination towards historic buildings, it's an area that really scratches an itch. While I've been working close to it for several months now, I hadn't yet made it to the Lloyd House. It was definitely an oversight on my part.

For months, I'd walked by the Lloyd House, at the corner of Queen and Washington Streets, and admired the impressive brick facade and wonderful Georgian symmetry. For months I'd thought to myself that I really must make a visit. And finally, one very gray, rainy weekday afternoon, I made the time to visit. And I have to say that I was rather impressed.

The home is now the office of the City of Alexandria's Office of Historic Alexandria, but the first floor is open to visitors. As was the case on this particular day, the house is also bookable for events, and there was a buzz as preparations were made for a birthday party being held there that very weekend. 

My friend and I had a lovely time walking through the first floor, and were given insights into the history by a lovely OHA staffer. The first floor was a delight from the moment we stepped through the heavy wooden door. 

A deep powder blue coated the walls (a recent restoration had led to the discovery that a color similar to this had been used around the turn of the 18th century, when the home had been built), and the long hallway offered a pleasing air of grace and graciousness. 

On one side of the hall, the dining room took up the length of the house, while a smaller parlor (and staff kitchen) were on the other. 

The dining room was all white, showcasing the aged wood flooring and accenting the rather lofty height of the ceiling. 

Our guide showed us a hidden feature in a window, built-in shutters (that still work, even 200+ years later). 

As in many Virginia homes of the period, the room was fairly unadorned, though incredibly elegant. It wasn't hard to imagine a lively evening in this room, as members of the Alexandria well-to-do danced and reveled in this very room.

 Several portraits adorned the walls, including one of George Henley Smoot, an ancestor of the Smoot family who were residents of the home in the first half of the 20th century. 

The Smoots were owners of the house after the nearly hundred year residency of the titular Lloyd family, and appear to have been the last private owners to reside in the house.

Ambling across the hall, we entered the parlor room, and noticed an adorably whimsical Lloyd House dollhouse, charmingly primitive and a wonderful piece to have.

I was more than a little enamored with the staircase, as it somehow gave the impression of soaring without being as grand as some of its contemporaries. On the second floor landing, the banister curved gracefully into a half circle, and continued up to the third floor. It was a staircase made for photographs. 

Residing in the second floor hall was a bust of Benjamin Hallowell, founder of the Lyceum (in close proximity to the Lloyd House) and tutor to a gentleman you might have heard of - Robert E. Lee.

All told, the Lloyd House is quite a satisfying place to spend some time. While certainly not as popular as some of the local historic homes (Mt. Vernon, Woodlawn, Gunston Hall), the Lloyd House is well-restored and offers a look into Old Town's past. I actually enjoyed being the only two in the home, as I like having a guide to myself (not to mention not dealing with the fanny-packed tourists that tend to clog the bigger name sites during the never-ending DC area tourist season). For those seeking a bit of history and quiet, the Lloyd House should most certainly be on your radar. Additional photos below. 

  



    

Photos copyright Megan Petty

In Photos - Beaufort, NC

Beaufort, North Carolina. September 2014.

Photos copyright Megan Petty

A Visit to Bath

I've been going to the Southern Outer Banks for four years now, spending a relaxing summer week walking along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean on Bogue Banks. I've always enjoyed the smallness of the area, the pace far less harried and far less crowded than childhood trips to the Delaware beaches. Not to mention the undulating blues and greens of the water, a very definite change from the steely, murky chill of the ocean further north. 

These trips to North Carolina have rekindled a dormant interest of mine: pirates. While I'm not thinking of donning an eye patch and role-playing as a pirate wench anytime soon, I do find the history of the buccaneers rather interesting. Coastal North Carolina certainly has deep connections to pirates of yesteryear, though none casts quite as large a shadow as does Blackbeard. 

Every summer, I always drive by the legendary seafaring scoundrel's (alleged) home in Beaufort, Hammock House, but only this past month ventured to another of his supposed digs, Bath. 

A sleepy hamlet about an hour from my home base of Pine Knoll Shores, Bath lays claim to being the oldest town in North Carolina (circa 1705). It's not to say historical preservation efforts don't exist in Bath, it's just that there isn't as much in the way of truly old structures as I had anticipated there might be. Another thing I found mildly puzzling was the lack of emphasis placed on Blackbeard and his possible tenure in Bath. 

That being said, one overpoweringly sultry September morning, I made the drive to Bath. The drive was full of quiet two-lane roads and lots of scenic farmland, which I've found to be typical of Eastern North Carolina.  It's a really pretty part of the world.

Beginning my visit, obviously, at the Visitor's Center, I then walked over to the nearby house with the gambrel roof, the Van Der Veer House. It's been restored, though only the first floor is open to visitors. The rooms these days hold Bath-centric exhibits and relics, and there is the odd mention of Blackbeard peppered throughout. It was a darling house, though I wish the upper floor had been open as well.

After that, it was back in the car with air-conditioning going full blast for a few short minutes for the drive over to the Bonner House, my favorite of the handful of Bath homes open to the public. The charming white house is located on what I consider to be the prime piece of land in town. Located on a point where two creeks meet before feeding into the Pamlico, the home is surrounded by natural beauty, kissed by breezes and blessed with calming, scenic creekside views.

The main floor consists of two gracious rooms, the parlor/drawing room and dining room, and one bedroom. As with many historic homes, few of the contents actually belonged to any of the home's families, but the rooms are lovely. 

I couldn't help myself, and I snuck a photo of the dining room (sorry, Historic Bath, but I just loved this house). I found the home cozy and rather lovely. The furnishings were well-chosen and fit the character of the home perfectly. Of special note were the dining chairs, accented with an unusual tulip decoration, the likes of which I haven't seen before. A bedroom accessed from the dining room was converted to accommodate extra family members, according to our guide. 

Upstairs, three bedrooms followed the modern tendency in that the two secondary bedrooms were quite small, while the master was comfortable and roomy. Painted baseboards were a unique decorative touch, as was a splendidly-colored dresser in the master that would be a covetable designer piece in any modern home.

After heading back downstairs, navigating the tricky half-step at the top of the stairs, we ventured out to the kitchen building. Not original, the place was set up with all the kitchen tools one might need in the eighteenth century. A staircase at the side led to what would have been sleeping quarters for house slaves. I took one last look at the creek from the Bonner House's front porch, and one last look at the names of various ladies of the home's families that were etched in the window glass. A house well worth being toured, in my opinion. 

Next, it was back to the Visitor's Center for the final tour of the day, the Palmer-Marsh House. The home, which struck me as something you might see much further north than North Carolina, was built for a gentleman of French/Gaelic blood, and then inhabited by the Palmer and Marsh families. Definitely not the style of house I'd expect in North Carolina.

The hall was large, and the ceilings unusually high. As with the Bonner House, furnishings were not original to the house, but were period. One of the first floor rooms was typical to merchants, in that there was a door opening to the street to allow the master of the house to do business while keeping it away from the main part of the house. 

Upstairs, the bedrooms were all of a good size, another surprising feature of the Palmer-Marsh place. The most unique, and curious, feature of the home was the basement kitchen. In an era where most kitchens were, quite sensibly, kept away from the main house, the P-M House kitchen was in the basement. Not only that but the floor was not finished, and given the area's propensity to have ground water issues with heavy rains the kitchen must have been a terrible place during summer storms. It would have been a hot, muddy mess.

One last drive through the streets, and then it was back to the beach. All told, I'm quite happy to have finally made it to Bath. I just hope they start to cash in a little more on their Blackbeard ties, loose though they may be.  Perhaps someone will do some excavation and discover some Blackbeard site, leading to additional tourist appeal. And appeal for history nerds like me!



Photos copyright Megan Petty    

Hello.

What is it about old places, old things, that appeals so very much? I always imagine who might have crunched along an oyster shell drive many years ago, or turned the pages of an aged book years before me. The past fascinates me. And life itself is destined to become history, if you really think about it. 

When you get right down to it, I'm just a girl who loves to love old. 

Welcome to Among The Yesterdays, where I'll be talking about a variety of things, especially if they're old.


**photo copyright Megan Petty**