" And we're at Shirley plantation, one of the most special spots anywhere in Virginia. Shirley plantation dates back to about 1613 and it's been in the same family, with Carter family, ever since then. The tenth generation is in residence today, they run it as a house museum so you're apt to see a few people running up the grounds. But let gets together with Charles Carter and tour the place."

" -Hi bob! Welcome to Shirley!"

" -Thank you, it's great to be here. Now, Charles tell us first before we go in a little about the history of the place."

" -Well, this is our current home. We were here from the early sixteen hundreds and the house wasn't far from this location. But this place was built by a fellow who had about a third of a million acres, so, no expense was spared."

" -This was King Carter?"

" -King Carter's son had this place and this place was built around 1738 the porticos were added about 50 years later."

" -So, of course, this architecturally stylish was more or less of Georgian mans and you can look at the symmetry, the placement of the windows, you can look at the Flemish bond brick, you can look at the beautiful roof with all those dormers and the pineapple on top but the key thing is this river facade with this wonderful double portico."

" -Oh yeah, it was probably built around 1770's and they modified it a little bit in 1830's at about 1400 bucks."

" -And you're the tenth, 1400 bucks did you say?"

" -Yeah!"

" -You're the tenth generation who occupied the place?"

" -Tenth Generation."

" -Can we start our tour?"

" -Certainly can, just right through here."

" -Thanks! Charles, this is a beautiful room now, tell me a little bit about the paneling in here."

" -Well, the paneling was placed in the house about 1772. They gotten some money and they upgraded. This is the fanciest room in the house, as you can see, the mantle, here we have the Egg and North motif, sum of life and death, this is an oak leaf and acorn pattern. This is original furniture, we have this Peter's Scott chair, made in Williamsburg about 1745 and that's the Carter family, that's the Talbot the dog, in the Carter family coat of arms."

" -It's a beautiful chair. And then right off this parlor is the dining room? "

" -Yes."

" -And lots of silver in there."

" -Most of the silver, days to about 1770's 1780's. Some very interesting pieces in here, one is a 1716 silver tray Britannia standard. The silver bowl was for race horse master and Charles carter had a race horse and was even said that they gave him wine from the bowl when they want to race."

" -Now, how did they survive the civil war?"

" -Most of this was put down in the well in the garden and survived the war underwater."

" -Fabulous!"

" -Did very well."

" -And now the most important room in the house like this from this period would've been the hall, right?"

" -Right! This is the main entrance."

" -And the staircase is amazing!"

" -This is considered to be perhaps the most outstanding architectural feature of the house, rises three floors with no visible means of support."

" -it's a flying staircase. "

" -Right!"

" -It's also called square rig."

" -How does it work? How did they make it?"

" -Well, if you look at the beam section of the flight just beyond the pull off one of the in cap as we did several years ago there's two flat iron straps that run from wall to wall and allows it to float in flex."

" -So, it's actually an early example of steel structure?"

" -Right! If you put this in a computer today it'd never be allowed to do this, it wouldn't pass building code and computer says it wouldn't fly."

" -But here it is couple of centuries later. Were these tables original to the house?"

" -These tables are probably about 1787 I believed and they were used to, the kitchen was separate from the main house so you'll bring food in and you put the hot food down on this tables on their marble top."

" -That way you wouldn't scarf the wood."

" -It wouldn't scarf the wood exactly"

" -Well it's an extraordinary privileged to visit you here and I know that the public is welcome around except on Christmas day?"

" -Well we have to be closed one day."

" -Yeah!"