EDWARDIAN STYLE

BACKGROUND

VICTORIAN VALUES AND TRADITIONS DID NOT COME TO HALT WITH THE
QUEEN’S DEATH IN 1901 BUT CONTINUED INTO THE
EDWARDIAN ERA, WITH SUBTLE VARIATIONS UNTIL THE WATERSHED OF
WORLD WAR 1.

JUST AS VICTORIA’S REIGN SAW THE EVOLUTION OF THE RAILWAYS, EDWARD

7TH WAS THE AGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES.AT FIRST THE MOTOR CAR WAS A
NOVELTY FOR THE VERY RICH, BUT GRADUALLY MADE ROOM FOR ITSELF IN
THE COACH HOUSE AND
STABLES BECAME SUPERFLUOUS.

UNTIL THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, LONDONERS AND OTHER ENGLISH CITY
DWELLERS PREFERED TO LIVE IN HOUSES, HOWEVER TALL AND NARROW,
WHEREAS IN PARIS AND OTHER CONTINENTAL CITIES APARTMENTS HAD
BEEN COMMONPLACE FOR YEARS.

DURING THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY, THE ROMANTIC MEDIEVAL GOTHIC

REVIVAL STYLE WAS DEVELOPED AS A REACTION TO THE SYMMETRY
OF PALLADIANISM, AND SUCH BUILDINGS AS FONTHILL ABBEY WERE BUILT.

BY THE MIDDLE OF THE 19TH CENTURY, AS A RESULT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY,

CONSTRUCTION WAS ABLE TO INCORPORATE STEEL AS A BUILDING
COMPONENT
 EDWARDIAN STYLE
• EXTENDING BEYOND THE REIGN OF KIND EDWARD VII, THE
EDWARDIAN ERA OF ARCHITECTURE WAS A PERIOD OF
REVIVALISM INFLUENCED ESPECIALLY BY THE BAROQUE,
GEORGIAN AND THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENTS. THE
CONTEXT FOR THE PERIOD WAS A RAPIDLY INCREASING
POPULATION AND COMPLETION OF NEW RAILWAY LINES,
WHICH GAVE RISE TO THE ‘SUBURBS’.

• BY CHOOSING TO LIVE IN THE SUBURBS, THE EDWARDIAN’S

WERE ABLE TO BUILD THEIR HOMES OFTEN ON LARGER,
LEAFIER PLOTS OF LAND. EDWARDIAN HOMES TEND TO BE
SHORTER THAN EQUIVALENT VICTORIAN RESIDENCES, PARTLY
BECAUSE THE MIDDLE CLASSES WHO LIVED IN THESE HOMES
HAD LESS OF A NEED FOR SERVANTS, UNLIKE THE GEORGIAN
THE VICTORIAN GENERATIONS BEFORE THEM. GONE WERE
THE CELLARS AND THE SECOND FLOORS, BUT IN CAME LARGER
HALLS AND SPACIOUS GARDENS.

• ANOTHER FORM OF EDWARDIAN CLASSICISM IS SOMETIMES

KNOWN AS NEO-MANNERISM. USING A STEEL OR REINFORCED
CONCRETE FRAME FREED THE WALLS FOR NONSTRUCTURAL
USES OF CLASSICAL FORMS, AS IN THE ROYAL LIVER BUILDING
IN LIVERPOOL

• THE EDWARDIAN PERIOD SAW THE INTRODUCTION OF

MANSION BLOCK (APARTMENT BUILDING) IN LONDON ON A
LARGER SCALE.IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PLUMBING AND
DRAINAGE ALSO MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE.APARTMENTS
COULD NOW HAVE A CENTRAL HEATING AND A 24-HOUR
SUPPLY OF HOT WATER AND COULD BE LINKED TO THE
SEWARAGE SYSTEM
THE DOUBLED FRONTED TERRACED
HOUSE WITH CENTRAL FRONT DOOR
AND STAIRCASE INCREASED IN
POPULARITY DURING THE EDWARDIAN
PERIOD.A GENEROUS BATHROOM
WITH SEPARATE WATER CLOSET IS
PROVIDED IN THIS THREE BEDROOMED
HOUSE.
SEMI DETACHED HOUSES WERE GENERALLY LESS
EXPENSIVE THAN DETACHED HOUSES AS THEY
SHARED A WALL.THE PLAN SHOWS BOTH GROUND
AND UPPER FLOORS.THERE IS ONLY AN OUTSIDE
CLOSET AND NO BATHROOM.
MANSION BLOCK APARTMENTS BECAME
POPULAR DURING THE 1980. THE DRAWING
ROOMS AND DINING ROOMS IN THIS QUEEN
ANNE STYLE LONDON BLOCK ARE LIGHT AND
AIRY WITH BALCONIES AND BAY WINDOWS
ON THE FRONT.