hat could afford to indulge in the costly and
elegant surroundings that became so common later. And the owners of
newly acquired fortunes were often fully satisfied with the plain and
unpretentious life to which they were accustomed and not inclined to
spend their money for large houses, fine furniture, or costly silver
ware. As time went on, however, the political and social supremacy of
the aristocracy, the broader education of its members, and the great
increase in wealth conspired to produce in the colony a love of
elegance that was second only to that of the French nobility.

During the 17th century the houses even of the wealthiest planters
were made of wood. Despite the fact that bricks were manufactured in
the colony and could be had at a reasonable price, the abundance of
timber on all sides made the use of that material almost universal
during the greater part of the colonial period. Shingles were used for
the roof, although slate was not unknown. The partitions in the
dwellings were first covered with a thick layer of tenacious mud and
then whitewashed. Sometimes there were no partitions at all as was the
case in a house mentioned by William Fitzhugh. This, however, was not
usual and we find that most of the houses of the wealthiest planters
contained from four to seven compartments of various sizes. The
residence of Governor William Berkeley at Green Spring contained six
rooms. Edmund Cobbs, a well-to-do farmer, lived in a house consisting
of a hall and kitchen on the lower floor and one room above stairs. In
the residence of Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., were five chambers, a hall, a
kitchen, a dairy and a storeroom. The apartments in the house of
Mathew Hubbard, a wealthy planter of York County, consisted of a
parlor and hall, a chamber, a kitchen and buttery. Robert Beverley,
who played so important a role in Bacon's Rebellion and in the
political struggles following that uprising, resided in a house which
contained three chambers, a dairy, a kitchen and the overseer's room.
The house of William Fauntleroy, a wealthy land owner, contained three
chambers, a hall, a closet and a kitchen.[106]

The surroundings, of the planters' residences were entirely lacking in
ornament. In the immediate vicinity of the house were usually grouped
stable, hen house, kitchen, milk house, servants' house and dove-cote.
Near at hand also was to be found the garden, which was devoted to
both vegetables and flowers. Around it were alw