Padlock, iron with brass trim, ca. 1618-1650   

Plate lock for exterior door, iron, ca. 1618-1650

Window frame for casement window, iron, ca. 1618-1650

Kitchen firedog (holds logs above the hearth, or food above cooking fire), iron, ca. 1618-1650

Research sidebar

Architectural Hardware from the Manor House

Contributed by Edward A. Chappell, Roberts Director of Architectural and Archaeological Research at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. His chapter on architectural hardware for The Chesapeake House, edited by Cary Carson and Carl Lounsbury, is due out from University of North Carolina Press in 2013.

Virginia--or the Chesapeake region in general--is a wonderful place to pursue architectural research on early buildings because the archaeological record is so rich. There are countless early historic sites in many regions of the US, but the Chesapeake has received intensive modern archaeological investigation. The resulting collections are unparalleled and well-provenanced. I regard the Flowerdew Hundred Collection prominent among these; I used the collection in writing and illustrating my chapter on architectural hardware for The Chesapeake House. I consider the wrought-iron hardware from the manor house and associated buildings quite important--they form a useful counterpoint to what has been found more recently at Jamestown’s 1607 fort.