To access the upper chambers, one climbs the winding paneled staircase that has a large section of flooring serving as a “shelf”, extending from what is referred to as the “minstrel’s gallery.” The landing has just enough space to accommodate a spinet and two violin players and has an alcove in which a double-violin case could be stored. The musicians would play for various reasons, including dancing in the Great Hall. Staircases served as passage areas and were one way of separating the public chambers from the more private family chambers. Bloomsbury is a perfect example of Virginian’s preoccupation with privacy at that time.
As was the tradition, the private family chambers are less elegantly embellished than the public rooms, however, the Taylor bedchambers are not completely plain. The hall passage in this story runs parallel with and directly below the roof ridge and allows access to the four bedchambers.
The large chamber at the south end of the hall is heated by a fireplace and has two dormer windows for lighting. This would have been the master bedchamber during the Taylor’s occupancy of the home. The three smaller chambers have a window for illumination, but there is no heat source for the rooms. One of the smaller chambers accessed an even smaller chamber; however, this was altered during the 1960’s restoration when a full bathroom was installed. That smallest of chambers may have been a nursery or even a storage compartment. One had to watch their step coming out of that room as the stairsteps join the hall passage floor.
