GREEN PLAINS 



N exceptionally pretty excursion is to take the Mob- 

 jack Bay boat at Norfolk or Old Point and steam 

 out through Hampton Roads into the Chesapeake 

 Bay; then on, and up Into Mobjack Bay, and ex- 

 plore its tributaries — East, North, West and 

 Severn Rivers. The largest of these and the most 

 beautiful Is North River, twelve miles long, and more than a mile 

 wide at Its mouth. As the boat turns from Mobjack Bay, into 

 this river, its course carries It very near the point of land on which 

 is situated, in Mathews County, "Green Plains," the home of 

 the Roys since the latter part of 1700. 



"Isleham," the home of Sir John Peyton, a relative of Mr. 

 James Henry Roy, and his marriage to Elizabeth Booth, of "Belle- 

 ville," Gloucester County, just across the river, seem to have been 

 the Inducements to him to leave Essex, the home of his forefather, 

 Dr. Mungo Roy of Revolutionary fame, and erect one of the most 

 attractive and complete establishments In Tidewater Virginia, in a 

 location incomparably beautiful. The river is like an Inland lake, 

 and on a bright day the handsome homes are reflected in the water 

 all along the shores, as if in a mirror. 



Green Plains mansion Is of brick, composed of a large central 

 building, of two stories and an immense attic and cellar, with wings 

 on the east and west of one story. A broad hall runs through the 

 house from north to south, with two rooms on either side on first 

 and second floors. The stairway with two landings, the carved 

 and paneled woodwork, the recessed windows with their broad 

 seats and enchanting cupboards In the sides of the mantels, are In- 

 teresting architectural features. 



There were Innumerable outbuildings, many of brick and most 

 substantially built; the carpenter's shop, the weaving room, the 



[158] 



