Konrad’s Jamestown Notes:
Tavern Notes 2016

• Native Americans:

The Powhatan would have had meetings in his house, not at an area made for meeting. Anyone could come to tribal talks.
Tobacco was only smoked on special occasions.
They would smoke it when they took over more land or as something sad, where they would mourn say for someone in their tribe.
The natives would very rarely smoke inside.
It’s a bit like nowadays where you’re not allowed to smoke inside, they just didn’t want the smoke in their homes where their children where.

• Colonists:

Mostly used small beer on boats and they also drank this in taverns.
Small beer is low alcohol drink.
They make this because then they know their water will be good to drink.
Eating was very formal in the colonial times. Sometimes the men would just go to the tavern to get a break from being extremely formal.
Children weren’t allowed in taverns although many worked there just not when they were too young.
When you came to tavern there would be one meal that everyone would eat.
This could be prevented if you were a very important person or you paid a lot.
Some of the higher gentlemen would then request a private meal for them or if they were with other people they would then get it for them as well.
When you order a room you would not be promised that you would be in the bed alone.
Most of the time it would be organized by the tavern keeper.
He or she would calculate how many people she was getting in that day and say maybe two to a bed but one must have three for example.
Again this could be prevented if you were important, strongly liked by the tavern keeper, or paid a little extra.

• Some tavern pricing (in pounds):

Lodging for a person 7,50
A room and a place in the stable for a horse 8,50
A room and a place in the stable for a horse/horses 11,50
Wine of Virginia 5,00

Sam Saslow

2016

Interpreter Chowning Tavern Waitress, Williamsburg, Virginia

Question: How crowded would taverns usually get? How was the serving in the taverns? What would be more common to come and drink or stay in the lodge upstairs? how Where the taverns different from each other?

Answer: you wouldn’t really have some leading everyone in. Everyone would just come in and fill in space it was all common seating. You would come in and there would be a set price and a set meal. They would probably have serves and there was no bar. It was a little bit of both. A lot of people came into to Williamsburg for business. The taverns were very different based off of the classes. Most were working class taverns.

Jack Schnall

2016

Interpreter Julian at Shirley Plantation, Williamsburg, Virginia

Question:

What kinds of games did they play at taverns?

Answer:

“People played mostly table top games like skittles and they were drinking games. In the game, the loser would have to buy the winner a drink. Betting was allowed but most was illegal. Some people even were put in jail for cock fighting.”