The Outer Banks, Part 2: The Beauty of The Past

Just like experiences shape your definition of fun, the things that you find beautiful are an extension of what touches your heart.  It could be in the faces of your children, a place that holds good memories or a time period that shows not only romance, but strength and courage.  

Tony and I are both history buffs.  I enjoy touring old houses and marveling at how people could live without the "necessities" that we enjoy now (translation:  do not take me to a campground unless I can plug in electric rollers and shut the door of a private bathroom!)  And it's the little things that you never think about that just blow my mind.  Recently, we toured an old house and the guide mentioned that due to the heat of the south, the windows would all be open during the day and there were no mesh screens.  Screens weren't invented yet.  Well, duh.  Of course, they weren't, but I didn't think of that.  So, I asked, did that mean that bugs were free to fly in the house, land on food, lay eggs and do the annoying things that bugs do when they get in the house.  Yes, was the answer.  And, since there were no fabricated mattresses, you slept on hay and other soft floral material covered by a bed sheet.  That meant that when you got up the next morning, chances were good that you would have little bites all over you from sleeping on whatever was in bed with you.  Yuck.  

In addition to the bugs, often time human waste would just be dumped outside, so with the windows open, on top of the smell, the bugs would be able to land and explore that waste and then bring it back into the house on their little feet.  Nice.  

For my money, forget inventions like the automobile and electricity, let's hear it for the people who invented mesh screens and indoor toilets!  Those are my hero's!

I think Tony looks at history from a "why did something  happen," and for mechanical things, "how did it work," point of view.  

While in New Bern, we toured Tryon Palance; the first English governor's home. It was beautiful and functional.    You could see Tony's mind working in the kitchen as he talked to the cook about how the weight system worked to pick up heavy pots and pans taking them to and from the fire and how meat was placed on a very simple rotisserie to move in circles for consistent cooking on the hearth.  It even  had a drain for the juices that cooked off.  We saw that salt and other spices were shipped from England in large wooden barrels as well as apples and other fruit.  I could see Tony identifying in his mind, the things in our kitchen and matching them to the items the cook was explaining.  

Of course, the Place was built in the style of royalty and political success enjoyed by the hierarchy in England.  King George III, appointed William Tryon to be his acting governor in New Bern, which was at that point, the capital of the state of  North Carolina.   

William Tryon brought John Hawks, a famous English architect, to North Carolina to build an official residence for he and his family, but also to  serve as the meeting place for the General Assembly.  It had to be lavish enough to entertain royalty and reflect allegiance to England.  

John Hawks designed the entry way with the butler's room on the right and the governor's study on the left.  When visitors came, they were seated in the entry way that boasted complex, detailed crown molding and a large, equally  detailed fireplace. The butler would greet and welcome them to the house and then inform the governor of their arrival.  If the governor was receiving visitors, the butler went back to the entry way or parlor and escorted the visitor into the study.  From the governor's study, visitors had business and political meetings in the room adjacent to the study.  It was in this room that the General Assembly of North Carolina met.  Pictures of King George III, and Queen Catherine Regina were prominently displayed in this room along with other important English noblemen, some of whom had visited the house.  It is said that George Washington attended a party at Tryon Palance and danced with 17 women.  

The Palace, in Georgian architecture,  was finished in 1770.  It was "balanced," meaning the front door was in the middle and rooms on one side of the house had matching rooms on the other side.  The number of windows matched each side and structures on either side of the main house were the same--built in the same material, and built with that same balanced feeling.  The main door would have a huge family coat of arms right over the door that announced to the world that someone of importance and means lived here.  

Unfortunately, Governor Tryon was moved to New York by King George III to be governor in that state and he literally just picked up and moved, leaving the Palace full of furniture.  Everything was auctioned off and the structure was empty.  There was a fire in 1798, that destroyed the main house and it wasn't until 1959 that the Palace was reconstructed.

Take a walk through the Tryon Palace.  Just like Disney world, the guides take on the persona of the roles they are playing.  It was a beautiful place and a great way to spend an afternoon. 

The first look at Tryon Palace from the street

The chandelier and crown molding in the entry way

The detail work around the ceiling

A period piece painting outside of the study

The writing desk of the governor

The extensive and real, law books from the period

Queen Catherine Regina in the General Assembly room 

The Tryon Coat of Arms 

King George III, in the Assembly Room.  His portrait

 and Queen Catherine's flank the massive fireplace

The chandelier and detail work around the windows in the General Assembly Room 

The room set up for a General Assembly meeting.  For parties, this room would be cleared for dancing.  This is where George Washington danced.

This is the "withdrawing" room; a room off of the General Assembly room where the ladies gathered after a party, while the men smoked and talked politics.  Mrs. Tryon used to play the "spinet," the piano like instrument against the wall.

The fireplace in the "withdrawing" room 

The detail work on the fireplace in the "withdrawing" room 

Our guide, Sahar, in the dining room 

The floating staircase.  Only guests and important people used this staircase. 

 The family and servants used a smaller one on the other side of the wall 

Sahar talks to Tony about the size and furnishing in a guest room 

Sahar, in costume, as a ladies maid in the house

Sahar and Alma, the butler's wife and lady in charge of the house

The cook house, where cook explains to Tony how the fireplace works with weights and meat skewers.  Being in costume, she only uses the material that were available in the 1700's, like a sand timer. 

Notice the height of the fireplace, as cook tells Tony about the cast iron pots she uses 

Cook explains that the fire never went out in the cook house.  

Food would be transported to the main house by servants or slaves.

The first "microwave" oven!!  Cook explained that food often 

burned in this because of the uneven heat in this small oven

The servant's/slave room off of the kitchen where

 they would eat and sleep

This seating piece had a rounded back and would be pulled in

 front of the fireplace for warmth

On the far left side, there is a cradle and baby clothes on top of it.  In the back, a large standing  iron pot to clean clothes.  It had to be carried outside, filled and then dumped.  

The fireplace in the servants room 

The unmarried male servant's room/beds. 

 A far cry was the beautiful rooms for the family.

The unmarried female servant's room/beds

An original fire bucket, complete with the coat of arms and a 

numbering system so you could find your property after the fire.

The coat of arms above the main door of the palace

Next Up:  The Beach, Orville and Wilbur!