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Floor Plan, Third Story, Hampton Mansion. John Laing, late 19th c.

Third Story

A large passageway extends east to west in the third story. At the center, the cantile-
vered cupola staircase rises from a widened stairhall with central bedchambers to the
north and south, lighted by the small Venetian windows of the portico pediments. Four
more bedchambers are east and west of the stairhall, each lighted by a dormer. These
ten plain bedchambers have both louvered doors and panelled ones to allow ventilation
as well as privacy. Small doors give access to storage space under the eaves.

The third story was used traditionally for the children, less important relatives or guests,
and their servants, separating the "nursery" from parents and distinguished guests below.
Only the southwest and northwest bedchambers had fireplaces.

Hyphens and Wings

The main block of the house is connected by hyphens to the east and west wings. Since
the hyphens were of lesser importance, details here are reduced in scale and lack the
vigor and drama of the center section.

Originally, the hyphen on the east side contained pantries on the first story with stor-
age above, and the east wing accommodated a large kitchen with quarters above for the
cook. In the first half of the 19th century, the cast hyphen was enlarged to the south to
create more pantry space and a room above. A small staircase was added or enlarged,
which gave access directly to the second story of the main block. This is a "back stairs"
and is not meant to be seen, but there are no "hidden passages" at Hampton.

Perhaps the west hyphen was originally the clerk's office and the west wing may have
been the estate office with living quarters above. Some evidence, such as the large fire-
place, indicates that the west wing was the laundry at a former period, although a sepa-
rate wash house is shown in early documents.