page_title: Bellamy Mansion
section_title: Slave Quarters
hierarchical_section_title: Bellamy Mansion / Architecture / Slave Quarters
caption_attribution_description: English: I took photo with Canon camera at Bellamy Mansion in Wilmington, NC.
context_page_description: The Bellamy Mansion, built between 1859 and 1861, is a mixture of Neoclassical architectural styles, including Greek Revival and Italianate, and is located at 503 Market Street in the heart of downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. It is one of North Carolina’s finest examples of historic antebellum architecture. It is a contributing building in the Wilmington Historic District.
context_section_description: The now restored slave quarters on the property are one of the best examples of urban quarters in the state, and one of very few open to the public. Seven enslaved female African Americans lived in this building including Sarah, the housekeeper and cook, Mary Ann and Joan, nurses, Rosella, a nurse and laundress, and three children.  Two male slaves that lived on the Bellamy property included Guy, the butler and coachman, and Tony, a laborer and handyman.  More than likely, they resided in small rooms above the carriage house.  The architecture of the slave quarters is very distinct, and done very purposefully.  The attractive brick walls and shutters were a sign of social superiority for the Bellamy family.  Because these were urban quarters, they could easily be seen by the public from street level.  Having a visibly pleasing slave quarter gave the impression of high social status for the family.  There are no windows on the rear of the slave quarters, meaning enslaved workers could only look out and view the main house, which they were close to.  High walls, sometimes more than a foot thick, surrounded the entire property, forming a compound where workers spent their day.  The smallness of the yards and gardens at the center of the lots seem to magnify the commanding size of the walls and emphasize the calculated isolation of the quarters.  The relentless masonry was broken only by the stark escarpment created by the rear of the adjacent buildings- the backs of kitchens, stables, or neighboring slave quarters.  Standing in the middle of the plot, the enslaved worker could see only a maze of brick and stone.  Thus, the physical design of the complex directed enslaved workers to center their activity upon the owner and the owner's house.  Symbolically, the pitch of the roof of the slave quarters was highest at the outside edge and then slanted sharply toward the yard; an expression of the human relationship involved.  The whole design was concentric, drawing the life of the slaves inward.  After the Civil War, this building became servants' quarters.
caption: Sample food items served at the Bellamy Mansion in 19th century
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