Historic house in Virginia, United States
Carlyle House is a historic mansion in Alexandria, Virginia, United States, built by Scottish merchant John Carlyle from 1751 to 1752 in the Georgian style.
It is situated in the city's Old Town at 121 North Fairfax Street between Cameron and King Street. To the west, the Gadsby's Tavern is found one block away and Christ Church is three blocks away. To the south, the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop is located three blocks away. To the east, Torpedo Factory Art Center and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum are located two blocks away.
The house, which is architecturally unique as the only stone 18th-century Palladian Revival-style residence in Alexandria, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and was restored in 1976.
Construction.
Carlyle began the construction of his house in 1751, using indentured and slave labor. Carlyle house has two sets of stairs: The main stairs (wider) are located in the center of the house, they communicate the first floor with the second floor. The servant stairs (narrow) are located in the right side of the house and connect from the ground floor with the first and second floors.
The house has two chimneys made of stone, they are the lungs of the house. The heat was obtained from the burning of charcoal and wood in the fireplaces; the heat ascended from the ground fireplaces to the fireplaces in the first and second floor, releasing the smoke to the exterior of the house and exchanging it with fresh air in the top of the chimney.
The doors were 6 foot 2 inches to keep in more heat during winter time when the door were open. The nails used to construct the house were handmade by a blacksmith.
The house had space for entertaining, private, family, and servant use. The house has 3 closets, two in the main chamber, possibly to keep dishes locked up, and were used by servants after asking the lady of the house the menu for the day and the correct dishes to use for serving. A third closet is located in the music room. John Carlyle also built several outbuildings for both household and business needs.
Carlyle or someone associated with the house's construction is believed to have sealed the body of a cat within the house's foundation for good luck, a custom that was prevalent in the British Isles and northern Europe.
Style.
The home was built in stone in a mid-Georgian style, therefore has the following characteristics:
It is symmetrical and balanced with halls in the center of each story, while the left and right side are copies of the other one from top to bottom; The right and the left side has two windows, and two chimneys, one on each side of the house.
It has simple and bold details around the building and doors.
The front door has an arched shape with bold molding and a bold keystone.
It has quoins at the corner of the building.
The house has a hipped roof, specifically a bonnet roof, also called reversed gambrel.
Stories.
The house is composed of a ground floor and two main floors. The halls are located in first and second floor, at the center of the house.
Ground floor.
The kitchen, the servant stairs, and the cellars are located on the right side of the ground floor or basement. The spinning room is located on the left side of the ground floor. It has a back door that connects to the gardens.
First story.
The first floor contains dates addedhe main or front door that separates the yard from the main hall, which is located in the center of the house. The main stairs are located at the back area of the hall, which also has a back door that communicates with the magnolia terrace, the back yard and the garden of the house. The left side of the floor is the more public side of the floor, in which the music room and the dining room are located. The right side of the floor (when seen from the front of the house) is the more private side of the house, in it is located the main chamber (John Carlyle's bedroom), and in front of it, John Carlyle's studio and the servants' stairs.
The visitors that came through the front door were received by a servant (Moses) at the main hall. During celebrations the hall was used as a dance hall, currently, it displays a copy of the Fry-Jefferson map, painted by Peter Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson's father) and Joshua Fry on its wall.
The music room is located beside the main entrance, in this room Sarah Carlyle Fairfax (Sally) practiced the spinet songs that she and her mother learned when they received music lessons at Mount Vernon (George Washington's house and plantation). The portrait of John's brother, George Carlyle, is located in this room. The color of the wallpaper is green. It has a fireplace.
The dining room is located next to the music room. It is preserved in its original form and looks as it would have appeared in the 1750s, as there were not many modifications in this area. The color of the wallpaper is blue, the details of the wood were handmade and the color of the walls and room were used to welcome and impress their guests. It also has a fireplace to warm up the room in winter. The portrait of William Carlyle (John Carlyle's father) is located in this room.
The main chamber was located on the right side of the house, beside the main door. It belonged at the time to John Carlyle and his wife Sarah Fairfax. The two windows in the bedroom faced the front of the street. It has a portrait of his mother, Rachel Murray Carlyle (painted when she was in her twenties), which was located in front of their bed and above the fireplace. A replica of Sarah Carlyle's wedding dress is exhibited in the room, a close-bodied gown with a petticoat (it used a mechanism to fold it when passing through narrow doors). The wooden floor in front of the fireplace of the bedroom has visible burn marks resulting from the explosions of the air trapped in the charcoal and wood resins: at the time the fire screen had not yet been invented. It is possible that the two lockers in the bedroom were used to lock up their cloth and or their dishes.
In front of the main chamber are John Carlyle's studio and the servant stairs that communicate with the ground and second floors.
John Carlyle's studio is located in front of his room. It contains his desk, a divan and a copy of the John Carlyle portrait that was sent to his brother. In the portrait his hand is painted inside his waistcoat, this represents a painting technique that started in 1750 called hand-in-waistcoat. The style was used to indicate leadership in a calm and firm manner, and at the same time, it was easier to paint. The room was also used as a dinner table for the family to spare the main dining room. The floor was made of silk and it had rhomboid patterns. At the time, ships arriving to the dock could be seen through the studio windows. The room also contains a fireplace.
Second story.
John Carlyle's children's bedrooms were located on the second floor. The second-floor hall is located at the center of the house and above the main floor hall and is accessible to the first floor both through the main stairs and through the servant stairs.
In the hall many books are displayed, among them an 8th edition of "The Gardeners Dictionary" by Philip Miller (1768), the 16th edition of "The Gardeners Kalendar", also by Philip Miller, aRivernd Volumes II and III of "The Poets of Great Britain" by John Bell that collect the works of Alexander Pope.
George William Carlyle's room was located on the left side of the floor.
Sarah Carlyle Fairfax and Anne Carlyle's room was located in front of their brother's. In this bedroom, there is a copy of Sarah Carlyle Fairfax's wedding dress on display. It is probable that Penelope (Penny) took care of Sally and Anne and slept with them during wintertime to share body heat, or slept in front of their bed or in the aisle between the bedrooms.
On the right side of the second floor is located a room showing the way the house was originally constructed, which also has a fireplace. In front of it are located the servant stairs and another room.
Front yard.
At the time a regulation stipulated that no house would use a front yard to maximize the use of space. To solve the obstacle Carlyle bought 2 lots, lot 41 and lot 42, and it became the only house with a wide front yard in the area. At the time, Carlyle was a member of the board of trustees that regulated the use of the land in the city.
Back yard.
In the 1700s the backyard was located in front of the river, but during the following decades the land was expanded filling the area with old boats and other materials, today is located in front of N. Lee Street and at two blocks of distance from the Potomac river.
History.
George Washington, a native Virginian who studied mathematics, trigonometry, and land surveying in Lower Church, prepared two maps of what later became the city of Alexandria. The first map was the "Plat of the Land" drawn in 1748: it was a copy of a prior map.
When the lots for the new town of Alexandria were auctioned in July 1749, John Carlyle purchased the lots 41 and 42, situated between the Potomac River and the town's market square, ideal for his merchant business.
Congress of Alexandria.
King George II sent Edward Braddock with two regiments of British regulars (2500 troops) to America to fight in the French and Indian War that started in 1754, they arrived on 20 February 1755 in Hampton, in the colony of Virginia. In April 1755 they came to Carlyle house, and it became the initial headquarters for Major-General Edward Braddock in the Colony of Virginia. On April 15, 1755, was held the Congress of Alexandria in which Braddock met with five colonial governors, Horatio Sharpe (Maryland's governor ), Robert Dinwiddie (Virginia's governor), James De Lancey (New York's governor), William Shirley (Massachusetts' governor), and Robert Hunter Morris (Pennsylvania's governor).
They convened in the dining room of the house and here Braddock first suggested the idea of levying additional new taxes on the colonists to help with the cost of the war, and also decided to make an expedition to Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War. George Washington, who was appointed as major in the provincial militia in February 1753 by Robert Dinwiddie (Virginia's Royal Governor), urged Braddock not to undertake the expedition and became a volunteer "aide-de-camp" to Braddock. Nevertheless, Braddock decided to undertake the expedition, resulting in the death or injury of two-thirds of Braddock's troops and also in Braddock's own death.
Slavery.
Carlyle was a slaveholder for much of his life, and derived much of his personal fortune from both slavery and the Atlantic slave trade. He utilised them as forced labour in both his household and his multiple business ventures. As with many other slave owners of the period, Carlyle held a paternalistic approach towards his slaves, and considered them primarily as parts of his assets. He was also "active in importing, buying, selling and owning slaves", which was a common activity at that time.
Many of Carlyle's slaves lived and worked in his properties; in the Carlyle House, in a foundry located on the same lot as the house and on his three slave plantations. When Carlyle died in 1780, there were nine slaves living at the Carlyle House: Moses, Nanny, Jerry, Joe, Cate, Sibreia, Cook, Charles and Penny. In the colonial era, as many as twenty-five slaves might have lived and worked within its walls and in the various outbuildings, and the jobs they could have done included being a blacksmith, chef, nanny or domestic worker. Slaves in Alexandria were able to learn new skills and jobs and live a community with free African Americans, this allowed them to run away from slavery and got freedom and live with their friends in nearby towns.
American Revolution.
The ideological and political revolution in British America that started in 1765 originated with