The Era of Victorian Architecture

By Shonna L. Clark 

Do you live in a home from the Victorian era?  Do you have an idea of what style it represents?  Did you know that there are numerous styles of Victorian Architecture?  The Victorian Age encompassed the last three quarters of the nineteenth century, many styles and trends overlapped each other causing the Victorian era to be very eclectic.  Most sources give residential Victorian architecture the following names:  Gothic Revival, Folk Victorian, Italianate,  Second Empire, Renaissance Revival, Queen Anne, Stick Style, Eastlake, Richardsonian Romanesque and Shingle Style.  This article may help you identify which of these styles your home most closely resembles.   

 A Brief History of Victorian Architecture

The architecture of the Victorian era was considered to be a new kind of modernism, which is why it had such  instant popularity.[i]  People were tired of the simplistic residential designs of the past, the highly decorative features of   this period fulfilled their new found love of exquisite design.    

 The first of the Victorians started out to be relatively simple in style, while those built after the Civil War became more elaborate. [ii]  New technology helped architecture break free into a new era of beautiful homes.  Beginning in the 1830s, the flexibility of balloon framing freed buildings from the timber-framed box forms of the past. Houses were now built with bays, turrets, overhangs, odd corners, and irregular floor plans.  The perfection of the scroll saw allowed for highly complex architectural details, made in mass. Pattern books and magazines published house plans that provided inspirations for new varieties of trim and decoration.  Millwork factories cranked out spindles, moldings, turned columns, decorative brackets; paint companies offered ready-mixed paints in many colors; and the railroads distributed all of it far and wide to an eager buying public. 

 The economic opportunities of the industrial era made it so fancy was no longer just the privilege of the wealthy. The newly rising middle class would change the face of the country forever.  They were optimistic, they believed that any person with three important qualities; skill, imagination, and energy, had the opportunity to earn a good living and even become rich.[iii]  This new middle class lived comfortable lives and as the wealth of the nation increased many were able to enjoy the pleasures of the good life in beautiful homes.  They became the social entertainers and they built their homes to symbolize their wealth and status in society. 

 Characteristics of the Various Victorian Architectural Styles

Known as the “Pointed Style” Gothic Revival was built in the 1840’s and was one of the first residential Victorian styles. During its time, architects were trying to capture the romance of the Medieval society. Gothic Revival borrowed decorative elements from Churches and town halls that were built in Europe between 1100 and 1500.  This style was used in everything from timber cottages to stone castles.  It’s characterized by steeply pitched roofs, pointed arch windows, polygonal chimney pots, hood molds over the windows, gingerbread trim along the eaves and gable edges, high dormers, the use of lancet windows, and board and bat siding that was often set vertically rather than horizontally.  Victorians who could not afford the elaborate trim of the Gothic Revival often build a more modest form which was called Folk Victorian.  Folk Victorian was very popular and was still being built as late as the 1940’s. 

 Inspired by the country villas of northern Italy, the Italianate, built from 1860 to 1880, was recognized by angled bay windows.  The body of the house was rectangular, the exterior wood was scored and painted to resemble stone which was costly at that time.  They were designed with sliding doors that opened into verandas where families would gather during the warmth of the summer. The most prominent feature of the Italianate style in the Northeast is the occurrence of large eave brackets under the roof .  The interior rooms were called apartments and were designed to reflect the inhabitants moral and intellectual character. The Italianate house has two or three stories; a low pitched roof, tall narrow windows that are L or U shaped.  The Italianate style was popular in the north throughout the Civil War,  but it is rare to find it in the south due to the devastation the war brought and the expense of building it.  

The Second Empire was fashionable about the same time as the Italianate.   It is distinguished by the mansard roof, which is heavily decorated with dormer windows, colored tile patterns, and iron cresting.  The Second Empire took it’s inspiration from French architecture.  The French had codes that limited their building to a certain number of stories.   However, they didn’t count the area directly under the roof a story.  The mansard roof was a very effective way of expanding the living space while still being lawful.   The upper crust Victorians thought of this style to have romance.  They often use add additional decorative items to give the style even more of a Renaissance look.  Many were even referred to as Renaissance Revival.   [iv] 

The Queen Anne was the most predominant, varied, and decoratively rich architectural style.[v]  Built from 1880 to approximately 1910. [vi]  When most of us think Victorian, we picture the Queen Anne in our thoughts.  Their surfaces were never flat, Queen Anne had elaborate trim applied to nearly every surface.  At the time, this type of ornamental excess was made possible by power tools and mass produced trim work.   Many Queen Anne’s were built asymmetrical, they had varied roof lines, large second story bay windows, elaborate chimneys, turrets, balconies, dormers, towers, stained glass decoration, wrap around porches, and were painted in a rainbow of dark colors. Queen Anne’s were fairly original because they didn’t incorporate historical architecture in their design.  They captured the attention and imagination of most everyone across the Untied States.   

The Stick Style had it’s popularity from 1860 to about 1890.  It was considered to be a transitional style between the Gothic Revival and the Queen Anne. The most distinguishing characteristic of this style is small vertical, horizontal, or diagonal planks placed on top of  exterior walls.  The Stick Style also had enormous, overhanging second story porches, and bayside windows perpendicular to the front window. Some of these homes were also referred to as Eastlake, after the British furniture designer and arbiter of taste, Charles Eastlake.[vii]    

The Richardsonian Romanesque houses built from 1870-1900 were inspired by the work of Architect H. H. Richardson.  It is a revival style based on the French and Spanish Romanesque precedents of the 11^th century.  Characterized by stone, broad roof planes and a select distribution of openings. The overall effect depended on mass, volume, and scale rather than enriched or decorative detailing. A uniform rock-faced exterior finish was often highlighted with foliated forms on capitals or belt course. Windows were set deeply into the wall and arranged in groups in a ribbon-like fashion. A large arched entry without  support columns  was most often used. Towers and chimneys were short so as not to distract from the solid shape of the building.  

In the early 1880s, wealthy Americans sought comfortable, fashionable dwellings away from the cities for vacation retreats, primarily on the unspoiled Atlantic coast. As a result, the Shingle Style emerged.   As it’s name implies, it was covered almost completely with unpainted wood shingles.  The Shingle style was built with a rustic appeal, steeply pitched or long sloped roofs, spacious porches, rough-surfaced stone was used as a contrasting material, turrets, verandas, and little to no external decoration.  It eventually filtered down to the middle class and many of the more modest structures are still standing.  This style is considered to be a completely original American style.  

All over the United States Victorians still stand proud.   They are considered among the most beautiful of many neighborhoods.  They have been turned into to public historical landmarks, hotels, bed and breakfasts, and some are the private homes of people who admire and respect history. 

Did you figure out which style your home is?