Types of English Victorian Homes

Construction Styles

• The advent of railroads facilitated transport of building materials, meaning homes no longer needed to be constructed of local stone. Brick construction became typical, even in regions without clay, while builders used Welsh slate for roofs. Grander homes featured colored brick laid in patterns or interspersed with stone for varied texture. Window surrounds were stone, while roof lines were trimmed with decorative finials of terra-cotta or stone. Victorian homes often featured gables trimmed with carved wooden "barge boards."

Gothic Revival

• Author Horace Walpole triggered the Gothic revival when he remodeled his home into a faux castle. Walpole's castle was deliberately haphazard, which overturned English architecture's previous passion for symmetry. William Burges created a similar fantasy castle for the Marquis of Bute at Castell Coch. John Ruskin and architect Augustus Pugin championed neo-Gothicism. Pugin's influence was medieval church architecture. Molded brick, stonework and ornate "gingerbread" eaves revived medieval style on more modest homes.

Arts and Crafts

• The arts and crafts movement grew out of the Gothic Revival era, and William Morris was its leading light. He furnished homes with medieval-style furnishings, stained glass and tapestries. Morris idealized a pre-industrial past and admired craftsmen who made objects by hand, suggesting designs should be functional. Examples of arts and crafts homes include Morris' own faux-medieval home, Red House, and Wightwick Manor, which is mock Tudor. This black-and-white style -- black timber frame in-filled with white-painted brick -- was a most popular Victorian style.

Suburban Villas

• Suburbs were for the middle classes. Homes were frequently built in a "semi-detached" construction -- in pairs joined by a center wall. They included gardens back and front, with servants rooms in the attics and sometimes kitchens in the basement. They featured large, three-sided bay windows and might have piped water, flush toilets and gas lighting. Some middle-class homes were detached "villas." Many embraced arts and crafts mock Tudor and stained glass. Tudor features are common on even quite modest Victorian homes.

Terraced Houses

• Workers in industry lived in terraces -- row houses, without ornament. Terraced housing economized on materials, land and heating costs -- chimneys were situated in the shared walls. Terraces were often built as part of a factory complex, and they were small -- usually "two-up, two-down," meaning two small rooms downstairs and two upstairs. Since families were large, conditions were cramped. Front doors opened onto the street. Terraces were "back-to-back" -- the rear of one row faced the rear of a parallel row. Small paved yards opened onto an alley shared by both, and several homes shared outdoor toilets.

Epitome of the Age

• Cragside, Northumberland, designed by Norman Shaw, combines Gothic Revival, mock Tudor and Victorian ingenuity. Here, nostalgic Victorian architecture meets forward-looking innovation. The first home to be lit by electricity, Cragside also features central heating, fire alarms, elevators, telephones and labor-saving gadgets.