October, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



377 



in the hall a fine old paneled mantel rising up to the ceiling. 

 Ancestral portraits grace the walls of the great hall, in which 

 are included those of Robert called "King" Carter and 

 Judith Armistead, his first wife, both being notable portraits. 



To the right of 

 the entrance is the 

 morning - room, in 

 which there is a fine 

 old mantel. The 

 drawing - room, on 

 the river side of the 

 house, is oblong in 

 its form. The en- 

 trance to it from the 

 hall is marked by a 

 very handsome 

 double transom, 

 while the doorway 

 leading into the 

 dining-room has a 

 heavy molded cas- 

 ing surmounted by a 

 carved pediment of 

 unusual beauty and 

 surrounding a door 

 of mahogany. On 

 the walls of the 

 drawing-room are 

 more ancestral por- 

 traits, including a 

 portrait of Charles 

 Carter and one of 



his second wife, Ann Butler Moore. Other portraits are 

 John Carter and his wife Elizabeth Hill; Edward Hill, the 

 builder of the house, and his wife; Mrs. Williams, a Welsh 

 lady, and three portraits by St. Memin of Williams and 

 Robert Carter, and Mary Nelson, the latter's wife. 



The fireplace is of great beauty, with its fine carvings and 



Family Portraits in the Main Hall 



the drawing-room, adjoins the latter, and thus fills out 

 the river front of the house. It is a handsome room with 

 paneled walls and heavily molded cornices. The dining- 

 table, of mahogany, is antique and good in its design, 



and the s i d e - 

 board, of the Em- 

 pire period, is also 

 an antique. The 

 o 1 d Carter silver, 

 marked with the 

 Carter crest, some 

 of which is shown 

 on the table and 

 sideboard, ' is still 

 preserved by the 

 present owners of 

 "Shirley," as well as 

 much more which 

 is now on exhibition 

 at the Jamestown 

 Exposition. The 

 crowning glory of 

 the room, however, 

 is the portrait of 

 Gen. George Wash- 

 ington, painted by 

 Charles W i 1 1 s o n 

 Peale. 



The second story 

 of the house con- 

 tains a large open 

 hall extending the 

 entire depth of the building and opening into the verandas 

 built at either end. Three large bedrooms open from this 

 hall, while the third floor contains an equal number of 

 sleeping-rooms. 



Across the bowling green in front of the house are two 

 brick buildings, one containing the kitchen and dairy, both 



a paneled over-mantel with finely carved border. Inhere 

 are some fine old pieces of furniture placed about the room 

 which were formerly owned by the founders of "Shirley," 

 but most of the furnishings are of a later period. 



I he dining-room, which is entered from both the hall and 



of which have stone slab floors. The dairy has marble 

 troughs, through which the cool spring water continually 

 flows, while the other building contains the servants' quar- 

 ters. Di\ iding these structures is a high fence and hedge, 

 beyond which are the farm buildings. 



