Wray (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Block 31)
Site History
The James Wray Stable site is located on Block 31, bounded by Prince George, North Henry, North Boundary, and Scotland Streets, and adjacent to the Historic Area of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. This block was divided into eight lots in the colonial period. In the 1720s, the lots were owned by Dr. William Cocke.
Surviving documents and archaeological investigation show the block contained a large early-18th-century house with leaded diamond-paned casement windows. This structure may have been owned by Thomas Jones, who got the property in 1725. The 1781 Frenchman's Map shows development about the house, which sat south of the center of the block, surrounded on the north and east by a fenced enclosure and several outbuildings. Two large buildings were also shown on the southwest corner of the block, but it is not known if these were residences or outbuildings. By 1736, all or some of the lots were purchased by glazier and joiner James Wray.
Jones advertised the house and lots for sale after he moved to Hanover County in 1751. It isn't certain who purchased them. Joseph Prentis acquired the property in 1782 and thereafter the property had a succession of owners. Block 31 was devoid of structures by the 1860s and stayed that way for years thereafter. It isn't known when or how the buildings disappeared.
Archaeological Investigations
In the spring of 1969, archaeologists conducted salvage archaeology at the corner of North Henry and Prince George Streets (the Wray Site) prior to the construction of a drive-in banking facility. Soil was stripped by machine down to 18th-century layers. Four small 18th-century outbuilding foundations, a kitchen foundation, a dwelling foundation, a drainage tunnel, postholes, trash pits, and intact stratigraphy were recorded. Additional work on these structural foundations never occurred. The trash pits contained artifacts from the 1736-1755 period and included three complete wine bottles, a quillon block from a sword, stirrups, cutlery, and cheek piece for a bit.
References
2000 A Phase II Archaeological Assessment on Block 31 Associated with the Proposed Parking Facility Block 31. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series 1671. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia.
1978 Peacock Hill Architectural Report, Block 30-31 & 36. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series 1613. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library, Williamsburg, Virginia.
