We have gone out roaming around in the history of our town, Charleston. Tourism has slowed down also some of the old manors and other sites are back open.

A few days ago I filled my pockets with small lens and stopped by the Heyward – Washington House on Church Street.

The house sits in the middle of many others of the same era, it’s easy to miss. Considering the history of the house that says something about the streets of Charleston.

I seem to be following George Washington around a lot lately, this is another place. The same trip of 1791 where we shared a porch (click here) our first president made this house his temporary residence while in Charleston. Thomas Heyward the owner was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was jailed/exiled by the British, and had moved from this house right as Washington arrived.

The Grimke family moved in after Washington left. Sarah and Angeline Grimke were among the first abolitionists and suffragettes.

Above is the parlor of the home with it’s ornate spinet, a small upright piano.

The rooms were ornate, like the others we have photographed and published here. However… and this was a big one, rooms were smaller and due to the other nearby buildings, dark.

This was a location hard to compose and shoot. Almost no room to move around. My preferred lens is an old Canon 18-135mm. Not fancy, but gets the job done. Here I used a 24mm prime for low light.

I didn’t consider people would be decorating for the holidays either. That’s an item I need to remember for future shoots. Working around people working around me. We had three stops this day, all three were decorating.

Anyway, the rooms we did get here were as beautiful as expected.

Haywood – Washington House, Charleston SC.