When you walk along the streets of old Charleston you see the beautiful, some a bit tattered, grand houses of the past. What you don’t see is behind them, from the back side.
Some, like above, have fairly large properties. Here, taken from the back stairs, is an example. There is this large courtyard and 2 wings of the house hidden away.
The right side was the slave quarters, and storage areas. Some of the B&W images in previous articles were shot inside this section. The rooms were more spacious, larger kitchens, and living rooms than others I have seen.
The left section was the stables and work rooms. The old carriages were still stored here.
The last photograph is facing the back doors of the house. It gives you a good idea of the size of the court yard. I am told this was very unusual to have so much land in the center of Charleston. Of that I’m sure. Even dating back to the late 1600 this town was tight, today…lucky this place isn’t a hotel.
