Exhibit: Belle Grove

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A Web Exhibit produced by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society.

Iron Fence

Pauline Liskey (daughter of J.R. and Laura Liskey) and friends take a moment to pose for the camera. Providing an attractive buffer for the front yard, the iron fence was at this time painted white along the top. Note the shutters in the closed position, perhaps to keep out the hot summer sun.

Brickwork

In the kilns where the brick was fired, temperature and air flow were not consistent. At Belle Grove, the common technique of using the less fired bricks on the interior side of the walls was employed while the harder brick was exposed to the elements. The two sections of the ell were treated as two units, with brick forming the basis of the interior walls of the hallway that separate the sections of the ell.

Features of note:
Most common brick probably made on site
Molded brick cornice probably from a brick-yard.
Queen’s closers were used at the corners of the house and at windows and jambs (see photo at left).

Flemish Bond, a popular decorative pattern throughout the colonial period, was laid on the front, or southern-facing, side of Belle Grove. It consists of brick alternating between stretcher and header within a course. Bricks on the next course are offset by one brick length to produce an attractive design.

American Bond was used on every side of Belle Grove but the front, as was common in early nineteenth century architecture. It is defined by five layers of stretchers sandwiched between single layers of headers. It is faster, and therefore less expensive, to lay than the Flemish Bond.

stretcher - a brick laid with its longest side to the exterior.
header - a brick laid with its shortest side to the exterior.
course - bricks laid in a horizontal row.

Definitions are from:
Lounsbury, Carl R. An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.