Outbuildings

Menokin originally consisted of the main house, two flanking dependencies, and various other outbuildings. The design of a main house balanced by two identical dependencies was a scheme popularized by sixteenth-century Italian architect Palladio. When first built, Menokin was flanked by two outbuildings, an office to its right and a kitchen to the left. The office remained intact until the latter part of the twentieth century, and photographs from the nineteen forties provide an idea of its appearance. No known photographs or drawings of the kitchen survive; it may have burned during the nineteenth century. Knowledge of it comes from the original presentation drawings and from archaeological investigations that confirmed its presence and location. It is assumed to have been identical in appearance to the office. The office was a small, two-story building with two rooms on each floor. Its walls were constructed of un-coursed [unreadable], and details such as a single belt [unreadable], keystones over the first-floor windows, and an arch and keystone over the door added refinement to the dependency. The interior contained fine woodwork, including a Chinese Chippendale stair rail, which was not saved.

Virginia · United States