Lounsbury, Carl.

The courthouses of early Virginia : an architectural history / Carl R. Lounsbury.

Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, ©2005.

xxii, 430 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm.

Colonial Williamsburg studies in Chesapeake history and culture

Court day in early Virginia transformed crossroads towns into forums for citizens of all social classes to transact a variety of business, from legal cases heard before the county magistrates to horse races, ballgames, and the sale and barter of produce, clothing, food, and drink. As marketplace, playing field, social center, and administrative and judicial county seat, the courthouse grounds gave rise to an array of public and private buildings. The Courthouses of Early Virginia is the first comprehensive history of the public buildings that formed the nucleus of this space and the important private buildings that grew up around them. Carl R. Lounsbury surveys the architectural history of these buildings, from their undifferentiated forms in 1650 to 1800, when they had developed into specialized structures that reflected the growth of a wealthy agricultural society built on slave labor. After setting the context of legal and social affairs that conditioned the design, construction, and function of county government buildings, he examines the example of Yorktown. He then proceeds with a thematic exploration of issues including the rise of courthouses of greater civic aspiration and aesthetic ambition, the public building process, attitudes toward punishment and prisons, and the role of taverns and clerk's offices in the legal process. He concludes with a discussion of the evolution of the courthouse grounds into the broader civic squares that characterized many Virginia cities and towns by the early nineteenth century.

0813923018 (cloth ; alk. paper)
9780813923017 (cloth ; alk. paper)

Courthouses Virginia History 17th century.
Courthouses Virginia History 18th century.
Public architecture Virginia History 17th century.
Public architecture Virginia History 18th century.
Architecture, Colonial Virginia.
Architecture and state Virginia History 17th century.
Architecture and state Virginia History 18th century.
Palais de justice Virginie Histoire 17e siècle.
Palais de justice Virginie Histoire 18e siècle.
Architecture publique Virginie Histoire 17e siècle.
Architecture publique Virginie Histoire 18e siècle.
Architecture coloniale Virginie.
Architecture Politique gouvernementale Virginie Histoire 17e siècle.
Architecture Politique gouvernementale Virginie Histoire 18e siècle.
Architecture and state.
Architecture, Colonial.
Courthouses.
Manners and customs.
Public architecture.
Architektur
Haus.
Virginia Social life and customs To 1775.
Virginie Mœurs et coutumes Jusqu'à 1775.
Virginia.

History.

Colonial Williamsburg studies in Chesapeake history and culture.

Location: Library main 260142
Call No.: BIB 191038
Status: Available