Name/Title
26 Meeting Street (William Mason Smith House)Entry/Object ID
MEETING.026.1Scope and Content
Constructed 1819-21. William Jay, architect. The Greek key fretwork in the window brownstone enlivens the subdued roughcast facade of 26 Meeting Street and foreshadows innovative Regency details inside. The facade presents an unusual adaptation of the traditional single house arrangement and indicates the side hall plan variation of the interior. This house has often been attributed to William Jay and recent evidence found in William Mason Smith's papers -- Jay's signature on a bill for the slate roof -- assures this linkage. While many of his buildings in Savannah are known, knowledge of his activities in Charleston are unfortunately less clear. In 1820 he advertised in the Courier: "WILLIAM JAY offers his services to the inhabitants of Charleston, and the State generally, in his profession as an ARCHITECT. Any command left at this office in Jones Building, St. Michael's Alley, will meet with immediate attention." Later that month he was appointed architect to the Board of Public Works, a position he held for only a short time and which Robert Mills later occupied. It was in this capacity that Jay left a series of designs for public buildings in Charleston. Jay was last listed in the city directory in 1822, and it was soon thereafter that he returned to England. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains FOHG house history (1954 tour booklet); house history from The Vernacular Architecture of Charleston; graduate student report (Edward G.R. Bennett, 1980); newspaper article about house on 1949 HCF tour; photocopy of photo from a book (source, year unidentified); photocopy of bill of sale for plaster work done on the house by Wm. Kelly(?) (182_); copy of section on William Jay from Architects of Charleston.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
MEETING.026.Source or Donor
26 Meeting Street (William Mason Smith House)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Meeting Street, Historic buildings--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 File FolderArchive Notes
Finding Aids: Index to Property Files
Level of Description: FolderLocation
Location
Shelf
Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Location
Container
PF Box 69Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Jay, WilliamRelated Entries
Notes
2016.014.33, MEETING.026.2, MEETING.026.3a-b, MEETING.026.4a-d, MEETING.026.5a-bRelated Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 256-257
FOH Tour booklets on Lowcountry Digital LibraryCreated By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
May 26, 2010Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023