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Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont » Hampton Roads » Williamsburg » Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area » Secretary's Office

Secretary's Office

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1748. 1939–1940 and 1960, restoration. East end of Duke of Gloucester St.
  • (Photograph by Jeffrey E. Klee, courtesy of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
  • (Photograph by Jeffrey E. Klee, courtesy of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
  • Attic framing, detail of king-post truss (Photograph by Jeffrey E. Klee, courtesy of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

Built after the fire that destroyed the capitol in 1747 to house the secretary of the colony and for “the Preservation of the Public Records and Papers,” this brick building served as Virginia's clerical center. The colonial chief clerk trained all future county clerks here and maintained the official records of land grants. The building's quality and construction parallel those of Virginia courthouses and Anglican churches of the same era. Its refined brickwork is punctuated with a gauged brick frontispiece matching those at nearby Carter's Grove.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Richard Guy Wilson et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Capitol
Public Gaol
Raleigh Tavern
William Finnie House
Benjamin Powell House

Citation

Richard Guy Wilson et al., "Secretary's Office", [Williamsburg, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-01-HR2.

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