AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



November, 1907 



handsomely carved, using the pine apple as the symbol of 

 hospitality. Both entrance ways open into the elaborately 

 carved and paneled hall, which is about fourteen feet wide 

 and extends through the depth of the house. The wood- 

 work here is treated with an old ivory-white paint. The 

 fine staircase is of extra width, and its crowning glory 

 is its twisted balusters carved out of solid ma- 

 hogany brought from England. 



The drawing-room, on the left side of the 

 hall, is heavily paneled, and has ornamental 

 cornices of great beauty. The feature of the 

 room is the chimney-piece, which Colonel 

 Byrd imported from Italy. It 

 has a very fine white marble ped- 

 iment and borders, contrasting 

 in a striking manner with the 

 background of black-veined marble. Colonel 

 Byrd paid the equivalent of twenty-five hun- 

 dred dollars for it, 

 which shows the 

 magnificent manner 

 in which the master 

 of Westover liveti 

 in the old Colonial 

 days. Steps fro m 

 this room, as well as 

 from the library, 

 lead down into the 

 loggia, f r o m which 

 access is obtained to 

 the ballroom. T h e 

 loggia has windows 

 on either side, which 

 when closed in win- 

 ter convert it into a 

 perfect sunroom. It 

 contains green 

 wicker furniture, and 

 has plenty of grow- 

 ing palms and plants 

 placed about it. The 

 ballroom beyond is a 

 fine room, with 

 paneled walls from 

 the floor to the ceil- 

 ing, surmountetl by a 

 heavily molded and 

 dentalled cornice, all 

 painted old i v o r y- 



white. The stage at one end of the room has a 

 fully equipped hghting apparatus for the pro- 

 duction of amateur plays and for the use of an 

 orchestra when Terpsichorean delights are to be 

 indulged in. The stage is supplied with dressing- 

 rooms and an outside entrance thereto. It makes 

 an admirable adjunct to a large country mansion 

 such as Westover is. Connecting with the draw- 

 ing-room and also with the hall is the library, 

 with paneled walls from the floor to the ceiling, 

 treated also with old ivory-white paint. Book- 

 cases of mahogany are built in and the fireplace 

 has a marble mantel imported from Italy. 



Across the hall from the drawing-room is the 

 morning-room, which is designed and furnished 

 in the Louis XV style. There are sea-green panels with 

 cream-white trim from the floor to the ceiling. The fireplace 

 has modern buff brick facings and hearth and an exquisitely 

 carved mantel. 



The dining-room, to the right of the main entrance and 

 across the hall from the library, has paneled walls with a 



heavy molded cornice, all of which is painted old ivory-white. 

 The fireplace has a finely carved mantel. The sideboard is 

 a fine old Elepplewhite, and the lowboy, the corner closets 

 and other furniture are of mahogany. A 

 large square hall connects the dining- 

 room with the butler's pantry; this is 

 large and ample in size, and is fitted 

 with the best modern conveniences. 

 It gives access to another large 

 hall, with exterior entrances on 

 either side, beyond which is the 

 large, square kitchen in the 

 west wing. Here also is the 

 laundry and a hall staircase by 

 which the servants' quarters on 

 the second floor are reached. 

 The chambers on the second 

 floor of the main house are fin- 

 ished and decorated with the 

 same elegance and refinement 

 which mark the Interior of the 

 lower rooms; in fact, every part of 

 the house gives proof of the wealth 

 and taste of its founders and owners. 

 Romantic interest is centered in the 

 sleeping-room which was occupied by 

 Evelyn Byrd, and which is directly 

 over the morning-room. 



William Byrd, the first of the fam- 

 ily of that name to reach America, mi- 

 grated with his bride, about 1674, 

 from England to Virginia, having 

 come from the little town of Broxton 

 in the County of Chester. Little is 

 known of his life and transactions 

 from the time of his arrival In Vir- 

 ginia until his decease, except that he 

 had large patents of land. The Gov- 

 ernment gave him a liberal grant of 



Tomb of 

 Colonel William Byrd 



The Main Approach to the House Is Through a Gateway of Early Wrought Iron 



land contingent on his settling, with fifty able-bodied men, 

 at the falls of the James River, where is now the city of 

 Richmond, and where formerly stood a block house which 

 was erected in 1645 to protect the settlers from the Indians. 

 William Byrd, while having large patents of land in Vir- 

 ginia, really got his start in life from his uncle, Capt. Thomas 



