Introducing architectural style
The
style of buildings and their details provide vital
clues to their age and much more besides. Style tells us about
the
mind-set of the people who commissioned and designed the building,
and their resources. Is it a practical vernacular
building, erected without the aid of an architect?
Or is it an expression of an aesthetic? And what does that
aesthetic tell us about the age from which it sprang, and the patrons
who
bankrolled it? This brief guide to the styles of British and Irish
Architecture holds some clues. Each section includes recommended
reading.
Buildings are often dated simply on style. But care is needed. We can usually be pretty clear about the date that a particular style evolved or arrived in a particular country. But the point at which styles stopped being used is altogether vaguer, if it exists at all. Old-fashioned provincial builders would go on using styles, sometimes for centuries after our standard works on architectural history tell us they were out of date. Not to mention the various stylistic revivals. To complicate matters further, many of our historic buildings have been altered time and again. New doors, windows and fireplaces can be added to older fabric. A house or inn could be given a fashionable facelift which belies its true age. So guides to the interpretation of fabric may be helpful.
General guides to historic style
- Alcock, N.W., Fixtures and Fittings in Dated Houses 1567-1763 (CBA 1994).
- Calloway, S. (gen.ed.), The Elements of Style: an encyclopedia of domestic architectural detail (1991; 3rd edn, revised and updated by Alan Powers 2005).
- Cramp, R., The Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture: Grammar of Anglo-Saxon Ornament (pb 1991).
- Durant, D.N., The Handbook of British Architectural Styles (1992).
- Hall, Linda, Period House Fixtures and Fittings 1300-1900 (2005).
- Quiney, A., Period Houses: a guide to authentic architectural features (1989).
- Smith, J.T. and Yates, E.M., On the Dating of English Houses from External Evidence (1991).
- Thornton, P., Authentic Decor: The domestic interior 1620-1920 (1984).
- Tyrrell-Lewis, S., Bricks and Brass provides a guide to period houses, focusing on the Victorian and Edwardian periods, which includes an online dating tool, using multiple choice questions.
- Wood, M., The English Mediaeval House (1965).