Windsor Shades, sometimes known as Waterville, is a colonial planter’s house in King William County. Although built of wood and employing a gambrel roof, the house has much of the refinement found in the larger houses of the period. A distinguishing feature is the massive east chimney structure, incorporating two stacks and five fireplaces, one of which is an unusually large basement kitchen fireplace. The chimney structure also contains two closets, each with a window. A fine Georgian stair graces the center passage. The parlor is embellished with a Georgian chimneypiece and paneled wainscoting. Because of the loss of the King William Country’s early records, the date of the house is uncertain. The architectural character of Windsor Shades suggests that the house was built in the third quarter of the 18th century. The Windsor Shades property was owned in the mid-18th century by Augustine Claiborne, and later owned by the Ruffins and then the Chamberlayne family.  Since listing in the registers in the mid-to-late 1970s, wings have been added to both ends of the house.