Identifying period homes: how to tell if your property is Georgian, Victorian or Edwardian (2024)

FAQs

Identifying period homes: how to tell if your property is Georgian, Victorian or Edwardian? ›

At a glance, you can identify a Georgian home by its flat, hipped roof and small window panes, a Victorian home by its Gothic detailing and slate roof, and an Edwardian

So, unlike the smaller, darker Victorian homes, Edwardian houses were more squat, wider and roomy, with bigger hallways and more windows. It's common for an Edwardian property to have a front garden and be set back from the pavement, as there was an ever-increasing desire for privacy at that time.

For example, Georgian homes typically have grand rooms with high ceilings, especially on the first and second floors. Victorian homes often feature detailed plasterwork and have bay windows. Edwardian homes usually have light and airy rooms and have the addition of a front garden.

Although the Edwardian period lasted just nine years from 1901 to 1910, the architectural style is considered to have continued to around 1920, ten years after Edward VII's death. As servants' quarters were no longer required, the small attic rooms and cellars of the Victorian era gave way to large elegant rooms.

Georgian properties are defined as those built between 1714 – 1830, during the reigns of Georges I-IV. Sometimes the term includes late Georgian properties, which are similar in style and were built between 1830 – 1837 when King William was on the throne.

Therefore, many Edwardian homes are set back from the street and benefit from beautiful front gardens. Unlike the smaller, darker Victorian homes, Edwardian houses were more squat, wider and larger, with bigger hallways and more windows to allow in plenty of natural light.

The two-story houses' stone or brick construction, gabled roofs, evenly spaced multi-paned windows, central door and decorative ornamentation make them easy to spot, primarily along the East Coast,' says Christina Dikas, an associate principal at historic preservation and architecture firm Page & Turnbull.

If you ask most people to sketch a Georgian house, it will most likely be a rectangle with a door in the center, double-hung windows, a hipped roof and brick.

The majority of house design in the UK within the 1930's continued the Edwardian principles as the Modernist movement failed to take mainstream force. At the end of the war, slums remained a problem in many large towns and almost 500,000 houses had been destroyed or made uninhabitable.

Did Edwardian houses have picture rails? ›

Many houses had both dado rails and picture rails, but the picture rail, aligned with the top of the doors with enough space for a decorative frieze above, was more popular in reception rooms.

Many Victorian/Edwardian homes have partial full cellars, with a crawlspace beneath part of the house. The reason why some houses were given basem*nts and others weren't isn't to do with personal preferences or differences in the technical ability of their builders.

Edwardian furniture tends to be more free-spirited, rejecting the restraint of the previous Victorian period as a result of Edward VII's love of fashion and the arts. Colours also changed as the style moved away from the darker shades of Victorian furniture toward lighter colours that created a less imposing look.

Compared to the more ornate Victorian architecture that preceded it, Edwardian architecture embraced a simpler and more elegant design approach. Clean lines and understated detailing characterise the exteriors. Edwardian houses tend to have a symmetrical facade, with balanced and evenly spaced windows and doors.

Georgian houses are characterized by their: Rigid symmetry in building mass as well as window and door placement. Brick, stone, or stucco (brick is most predominantly used) Hip roofs, sometimes with dormers.

Features of a Victorian House

The houses usually have two to three stories with steep, gabled roofs and round towers. On the exterior, there are towers, turrets, and dormers, forming complex roof lines as architects sought to create designs that would pull the eye to the top of the house.

In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century, that spanned the reign of Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King George V.

A common mental image of a "Victorian" home looks much like a dollhouse with elaborate trim and bright colors. But the term "Victorian architecture" actually refers to styles that emerged in the period between 1830 and 1910, during the reign of Queen Victoria.