In late 2020, researchers discovered the identity of a building that housed the Williamsburg Bray School in the 18th century – an institution that educated over 300 enslaved and free Black students in Williamsburg between 1760-1774.
The school was established and funded by the Associates of Dr. Bray, an Anglican charity based in England. Its students in Williamsburg were taught by local widow Ann Wager. The faith-based curriculum justified slavery; its lessons may have been interpreted and used in various ways by the children who passed through the schoolroom doors.
Through a combined initiative led by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and William & Mary, a plan was established to research and preserve the building. Intense architectural and historical research was done to determine what portions of the structure were original to the 18th century.
Modern additions to the structure were studied and removed, and on February 10, 2023, the building that housed the school in its early years was moved from a site on Prince George Street to a new location at Colonial Williamsburg on the corner of Francis and Nassau Streets. There, the restoration of the structure will continue in preparation for its opening as an interpretive site for visitors to explore the intersections of race, religion, and education in the 18th century in Williamsburg and in America.
The day began with the actual moving of the building, tracing a path east on Prince George Street, south on Boundary Street, and east on Francis Street. In the afternoon, a ceremony on the lawn of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg featured speakers from Colonial Williamsburg, William & Mary, state government, and the Bray School descendant community.
In the leadup to this event, Colonial Williamsburg Groups Lead Interpreter Al Lovelace had been working with Matthew Whaley Elementary teacher Christine McBee on considering ways that local teachers can benefit from Group Interpretation programs.
Working in collaboration, McBee and Lovelace developed a project in which the 4th grade students created signs bearing the names of known Bray Schools students. They also researched information on the circumstances in which the 18th century children were known to have lived or were enslaved. The names of the students went on the front of the signs, and information about the enslavers went on back.
Then, on the day of the of the Bray School Move . . .
On the morning of Friday, February 10, fourth-grade students left their classroom at Matthew Whaley Elementary and walked to the corner of Francis and Nassau Streets, where they could watch the building progress to its new home.
By bringing their signs on site during the day of the move, the students were able to witness and participate in this historic event and to remind themselves and others of the lives and importance of the original children who studied in this 18th century structure. “The simple act of writing someone’s name,” as Lovelace explains, “means that they live and are not forgotten in time.”
"By their act of creating those signature pages, [the Matthew Whaley students] added a very humbling dimension to an already significant event. The students at the Bray School were symbolically present . . ." - Al Lovelace
The signs the children created are a powerful testament to the original students and to the importance of remembering their legacy today.
After the event, McBee graciously donated many of the signs to Colonial Williamsburg's Corporate Archives, where they will be preserved after being displayed in a small exhibit at the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library's Janice McCoy Memorial Collection for Youth. Visitors are welcome to see the children's signs on exhibit at the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library in the summer of 2023, or by contacting Corporate Archives. (Contact the Rockefeller Library at 757.565.8510 or 757.220.7249 or email us at rocklibrary@cwf.org.)
Information about the Williamsburg Bray School Initiative - from the identification of the building, to research on the school and its students, to plans for the future - can be found online by clicking the button below: