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Henry Bunbury's The Dinner. (London, March 5, 1794)

This print shows five men and two ladies seated at a dinner table. The host (left) holds a curiously shaped goblet; a footman stands at his elbow with a salver. The man on his right takes wine with the lady at the foot of the table (right) on whose right a fat woman sits holding up a wine glass. On the hostess's left a parson in back-view is carving; a footman stands with a plate. The two other men sit on the opposite side of the table. Behind them a butler stands at a side table. On the wall are three sporting pictures of fox hounds. In the foreground two small dogs greet each other, a terrier and a clipped poodle or lap dog.

Dining in Eighteenth-Century Virginia

By the middle of the eighteenth century in Virginia and elsewhere in America, two-course dinners were common, the second course being a dessert course limited to sweet dishes. Dinner, the main meal of the day, was served about two or three o'clock in the afternoon and generally lasted for several hours. Before guests entered the dining room, the dishes of food were set out on the table in a symmetrical arrangement.

During the eighteenth century fashionable Virginians who adopted the table manners of their European counterparts practiced the French service. The mistress of the house presided over the meal and occupied the position at the head, or top, of the table. Contrary to most present-day service, the serving dishes remained in place and plates were passed to the persons seated nearest the dishes of food. The mistress began the "honors" by serving those near her; her husband, or another gentleman who sat at the foot, or bottom, of the table did the same for persons seated near him. Other diners served whatever dish was before them to persons seated nearby and served plates passed from other diners.

If the waiting staff consisted of a butler and waiting men or boys, the butler stood at the sideboard table and dispensed alcoholic beverages and supervised the waiters. These men or boys took beverage orders from the male diners who had inquired of the ladies seated near them what beverages (wine, beer, or cider) they desired. The butler also was alert to directions from the mistress about when to clear the table between courses. At houses without a butler, a waiting man stood behind and slightly to the left of the man seated at the bottom of the table so he could respond to signals from the mistress. At all-male dinners, the host sat at the top of the table and performed the "honors."

During the winter months, dinners often began with soup. After the soup bowls were cleared away, the tureen was replaced by a "remove," a dish of meat or fish. Meats, perhaps as many as five different sorts, dominated the dinners of gentry or successful middling Virginians aspiring to copy their betters. Ham, a popular top dish, was often balanced at the foot of the table by roast beef, veal, venison, or a leg of lamb. Domestic fowls—including chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys—supplemented the meat dishes. Fish, seafood, and game birds—including wild turkeys—were popular, seasonal foods.

At the end of the first course the mistress signaled the waiting man, or man and boys if there was more than one, to remove the dishes, crumb the cloth, and place the dessert on the table. Experienced waiting men and boys did this as unobtrusively as possible while the guests sat and conversed.

At the conclusion of the dessert course the dishes and tablecloth were removed. Dishes of nuts, sweetmeats, fruit, and bottles of wine were then placed on the bare table. This was generally the time when toasts were offered.

The mistress determined when it was time to invite the ladies to join her in the parlor for tea. The men might consume several rounds of drinks and then, if they chose to do so, take a cup of tea with the ladies in the parlor. On the other hand, the men might continue to remain at the table and drink.

This article was written by Colonial Williamsburg historian Pat Gibbs.