The Wing of Offices was constructed on the east side of Jefferson's retreat home in 1814, one hundred ten feet long and built in the manner of those at Monticello, with a flat roof at the level of the house floor. Hannah, the enslaved cook, spent many of her days working there, sometimes assisted by other women and children. Burwell Colbert, Jefferson's enslaved butler and valet who traveled with him from Monticello, would have been responsible for serving food in the house and attending to Jefferson's personal needs while he was in residence. After dinner, Jefferson and his grandchildren could use the roof of the Wing for leisure, and in 1817 Jefferson wrote that at twilight they went out for evening exercise on the terrace. With its roof system designed by Jefferson, the Wing allowed scenic family strolls above while concealing the ongoing work of enslaved people beneath. A letter Hannah wrote to Jefferson on November 15, 1818, shows that she could read and write, and pieces of a writing slate found by archaeologists at a slave quarter suggest that at least one resident there was literate.