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June 30, 2005

folk victorian

We knew from the first that our house was sort of Victorian. When we began to research the architecture of the time, we kept finding information about Queen Anne or Stick style Victorian houses, but neither seemed to fit.

Victorian houses can be very elaborate. Our house, while having some of the shape and detail, doesn't really go that far. Recently, though, we found out about the Folk Victorian style, and it seems to be a complete description of what we have.

From Jackie Craven's House Styles:

With their spindles and porches, some Folk Victorian homes may suggest Queen Anne architecture. But unlike Queen Annes, these are orderly, symmetrical houses. They do not have towers, bay windows or elaborate moldings. Behind the trim, a Folk Victorian is still a simple house: solid, practical and enduring.

From David Taylor's Victorian Houses:

"The most common Victorian style is Folk Victorian. The classic Victorian styles (Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Stick Style, Romanesque Revival, and Shingle Style) were created by professional architects, and were built mostly by the well-to-do. But the lower reaches of the middle class certainly shared the same Victorian urge to live in a fashionable house, and if they couldn't afford a professional architect, well. They could design the house themselves, or have a local carpenter do it. In either case, the design was likely to be an unprofessional but possibly still charming pastiche, including elements of styles that were still currently fashionable among the upper crust, and elements of styles that definitely were not. Also, the house would naturally tend to be smaller and plainer than the what the wealthy could afford."

"The exact division between Queen Anne and Folk Victorian is very fuzzy (especially considering how many of the smaller Queen Annes were hodge-podged together by local carpenters, rather than designed by architects). But, Folk Victorians were being built long before the Queen Anne style appeared on the scene, and in any case, it is still useful to make a rough distinction between the more expensive, very elaborate, architect-designed Victorians (Queen Anne) and their less-expensive, plainer, carpenter-designed cousins (Folk Victorian). "

Posted by john m at June 30, 2005 7:27 AM

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