two story brick house of five
rooms, was called the school and here slept Col. Carter's three sons,
their tutor and the overseer. Corresponding to the school house at the
other corners of the mansion were the stable, the coach house and the
work house. The beauty of the lawn and the graceful sweep of a long
terrace which ran in front of the mansion testified to the abundant
care and taste expended in planning and laying out the grounds. East
of the house was an avenue of splendid poplars leading to the county
road, and the view of the buildings through these trees was most
attractive and beautiful. One side of the lawn was laid out in
rectangular walks paved with brick and covered over with burnt oyster
shells, and being perfectly level was used as a bowling green. In
addition to the buildings already mentioned there were close to the
mansion a wash house and a kitchen, both the same size as the school
house, a bake house, a dairy, a store house and several other small
buildings.[111]

Some of the mansions of the 18th century were much larger and more
beautiful than Nomini Hall. Rosewell, erected by the Page family, was
of immense size, containing a large number of halls and chambers, but
it was singularly devoid of architectural beauty and presented
somewhat the appearance of a hotel. The Westover mansion was very
large and could accommodate scores of guests. It was surrounded with
so many buildings and outhouses that to visitors it seemed a veritable
little city.[112] Chastellux, who was a guest of the Byrds in 1782,
says that Westover surpassed all other homes in Virginia in the
magnificence of the buildings and the beauty of the situation.[113]

It was the interior of these mansions, however, that gave them their
chief claim to elegance. The stairways, the floors, the mantles were
of the finest wood and were finished in the most costly manner. In the
beautiful halls of Rosewell richly carved mahogany wainscotings and
capitals abounded.[114] At Monticello the two main halls were given an
air of richness and beauty by the curiously designed mantles, the hard
wood floors and the stately windows and doors. John Bernard, who
thought the Virginia mansions lacking in architectural beauty, stated
that internally they were palaces.

The furniture was in keeping with its surroundings. It was frequently
of hard wood, beautifully decorated with hand work. All the furniture,
except that of the plainest design, was imported f