The tour begins outside the visitor center with an overview of the history of the town of London. William Brown's career as a carpenter/joiner, ferry master, tavern keeper, land speculator and debtor is reviewed, and visitors are invited to enter the restoration of how the house may have appeared when he and his family occupied it.

The exterior of the house is a fine example of Georgian architecture and features header bond brickwork. Passing through the front door, the interior features show the symmetry and balance typical of Georgian buildings. The unique raised corner rooms and the examples of on-going architectural research and restoration are noted. Eighteenth century visitors would have been sorted out by the nature of their business and directed to the proper room.

The River Room could have been a space for entertaining or, especially in the winter, a living area. The floor cloth, tea set, botanical prints, and Bateman silver all speak about women's lives, possessions and careers. The Planter's Room is an example of rental space. Some travelers needed only a nights lodging, others a place to do business and both were accommodated in colonial taverns. The folding press bed, foot warmer, desk and writing implements illustrate both. The Hall is the room where travelers or townsmen would be entertained with food and drink. The objects in this room and the Hogarth prints illustrate the activities of a typical evening. The maps show location as well as population densities and travel routes. The Blue Room or Parlor is a family living space. Dining, but not cooking, child care, schooling and daily chores would have been done here. Tableware illustrates differences between tin glazed, salt glazed, and cream wares. The exposed brick wall shows the presence of "nailers" intended to fasten moldings and/or paneling to the walls, indicating the unfinished nature of the house. The Green Room or Bed Chamber shows the emergence of private space as a sleeping room that may also have been used to entertain personal guests, containing the more elegant furniture and textiles in the house. The bed, closed stool, and dressing table illustrate sleeping arrangements, hygiene and dress.

At the foot of the basement stairs is a display explaining the use of indentured servants in the English colonies. Such white bondservants were a major source of skilled and unskilled labor in the Maryland colony throughout its history. Many of the servants sent here were convicts sentenced to transportation in lieu of hanging. Also in this area are visible mortise and tenon joints, pit sawed beams, stone foundations, and brick arches. Ongoing research and restoration projects may be visible. Many of the items in the Servants Room off the kitchen are used in hands-on activities with the school groups. This would have been combined work and living space for indentured servants or slaves. The Kitchen in the basement contains the many implements needed for open hearth cooking, housekeeping, laundry, and domestic chores.

For more information email the Volunteer Coordinator

---