BELLAMY MANSION MUSEUM
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3rd Annual Christmas Stroll in Pictures

12/17/2014

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Thank you and happy 70th to our Volunteer Coordinator Wade Toth! 
And to all of our fantastic volunteers, the Bellamy would not have the excellent reputation it has today without your selfless giving of time and talent.
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Christmas at the Bellamy

12/9/2014

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Thank you to all of our volunteers for your hard work! 
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Christmas Back Then at the Bellamy

12/4/2014

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Soon, we will begin the Holiday season by decorating the rooms, stairways and halls of the Bellamy Mansion. It always looks beautiful at this time of year. Christmas was an important time to the Bellamy family, a time to celebrate with friends and family. However, in Victorian times, and especially in the South, Christmas was different from today's celebrations. The Christmas dinner was a big event.
Miss Ellen writes about Christmas dinner with "Uncle Taylor," who lived on the other side of First Baptist Church. (Image of his house below.) The feast was held for over two dozen people and "the table extended from the front windows to the back. They prepared for this dinner for weeks."
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Roving, costumed minstrels entertained them, and were given money. Often, quarters were given to the children rather than gifts. In the South, this was the time to give new material to the servants for clothes, and, in the country, women of the household often cooked the Christmas meal for the servants.
Decorations were different also. While Victoria's husband, Albert, introduced the Christmas tree to England, and the custom spread to the United States, it was slow to come to the South. Tabletop trees, and swags made of greenery were more common. Miss Ellen writes that "The house was always decorated with holly and mistletoe and other greens." These decorations could be as simple as a green wreath at each window, or very elaborate designs for walls, chandeliers and doorways. Garlands and wreaths were the favorite, with roping around posts and stairways. Colored ribbons and gilded nuts and berries were used to ornament the greens.
Since the Christmas Dinner was such an important part of celebrations, the table was elaborately decorated. Miss Ellen was very impressed by "a pyramid of glass which extended up to the top of the ceiling and was decorated with flowers and fruit."
Ornaments that would be typical include: glass, wax, paper, card board or paper mache ornaments; brightly wrapped boxes; small metal baskets; wooden toys and dollhouse furniture; small musical instruments made of metal. These were used on trees, mantelpieces, and swags.



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Wilmington Real Estate Award!

12/4/2014

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The Greater Wilmington Business Journal presents annual awards with support from a host of groups, including the City of Wilmington, New Hanover County, FOCUS, Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, Wilmington Housing Authority, Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors, Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association, Cape Fear Housing Coalition, Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity, Cape Fear Land Trust and WARM.

In the Arts, Culture and Heritage area the Bellamy Museum won this important community award for the fifteen year slave quarters project. The restoration of the building is of huge importance to this site and is historically unique to Wilmington. We are so excited for this achievement! 
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    About Us

    The museum offers tours, features changing exhibits, and provides venue space for weddings and special events.

    503 Market Street
    Wilmington, NC 28401
    910.251.3700
    Tours:
    Tues - Sat 10am- 4pm
    Sunday 1pm- 4pm

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