In
my latest Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs book, Dead Set Delphinia, at one point
mention is made of the Queen Anne style house owned by the assistant bank
manager, Graham Wardell. What is involved in Queen Anne architecture?
The
Queen Anne style in Britain refers to either the English Baroque architectural
style approximately of the reign of Queen Anne (reigned 1702–1714), or a
revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the
early decades of the 20th century (when it is also known as Queen Anne
revival).
In
British architecture the term is mostly used of domestic buildings up to the
size of a manor house, and usually
designed elegantly but simply by local builders or architects. Contrary to the
American usage of the term, it is characterized by strongly bilateral symmetry
with a Italianate or Palladian-derived pediment on the front formal elevation.
 |
| Queen Anne house, Fortuneswell, Portland, Dorset, ctsy Ajsmith141 |
When
referring to the revived "Queen Anne style" of the 19th and 20th
century, the historic reference in the name should not be taken too literally.
Buildings in the Queen Anne style often bear little resemblance to English
buildings of the 18th century. Instead, the Queen Anne style in other parts of
the English-speaking world such and the United States and Australia is
significantly different from that in the United Kingdom, and may hardly include
any elements typical of the actual architecture of Anne's reign.
 |
| Alexander House - Salida, Colorado, ctsy Jeffrey Beall |
Of
all the Victorian house styles, Queen Anne is the most elaborate and the most
eccentric. The style is often called romantic and feminine, yet it is the
product of the machine age—not what most people consider romantic.
The
Queen Anne
style became fashionable in the 1880s and 1890s, when the industrial
revolution was expanding in the United States. North America was
caught up in the excitement of new technologies. Factory-made, pre-cut
architectural parts were shuttled across the country on a rapidly expanding
train network. Prefabricated cast iron
became the showy, ornate facade of urban merchants and bankers. The well-to-do
wanted the same manufactured elegance for their homes as they had for their
businesses, so exuberant architects and builders combined architectural details
to create innovative, and sometimes excessive, homes.
 |
| Carson Mansion - Eureka, California |
In
the United States, the so-called "Queen Anne style" is loosely used to
describe a wide range of picturesque buildings with "free
Renaissance" (non-Gothic Revival) details rather than of a specific
formulaic style in its own right. "Queen Anne", is broadly applied to
architecture, furniture and decorative arts of the period 1880 to 1910; some
"Queen Anne" architectural elements, such as the wraparound front
porch, continued to be found into the 1920s.
Distinctive
features of American Queen Anne style may include:
An
asymmetrical façade
 |
| Waterview Queen Anne house, close to Cumberland County, Kentucky, Ctsy Nyttend |
Dominant
front-facing gable, often cantilevered out beyond the plane of the wall below;
 |
| Queen Anne in Fairfield, Iowa built by George Franklin Barber, ctsy Jo Naylor |
Overhanging
eaves
 |
| Queen Anne in Cathlamet, Washington, ctsy Joe Mabel |
Round,
square, or polygonal tower(s)
Shaped
and Dutch gables
A
porch covering part or all of the front facade, including the primary entrance
area;
 |
| Queen Anne House, Keene NH built between 1880-1895, ctsy Keene Pub Lib & Hist. Soc. Cheshire Co. |
A
second-story porch or balconies
Porches
with pediments, usually triangular
Differing
wall textures, such as patterned wood shingles shaped into varying designs,
including resembling fish scales,
 |
| Queen Anne House, Hillsboro, Ohio, ctsy Nyttend |
Terra
cotta tiles, relief panels, or wooden shingles over brickwork, etc.
Dentils
(small
block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmouth of a cornice
Classical
columns
Spindle
work and painted balustrades
Oriel
and bay windows;
 |
| Oriel windows on Myrtle Street Flats, San Francisco, California, ctsy Sanfranman59 |
Horizontal
bands of leaded windows;
Monumental
chimneys;
 |
| Gwynne-Love House built 1886, Colorado Springs, Colorado |
Wooden
or slate roofs.
 |
| Wheeler-Stallard House, Aspen, Colorado |
Front
gardens often had wooden fences.
 |
| Blades House, Ctsy Tradewinds |
So,
the next time you see a house and are tempted to say it is a Victorian, keep in
mind it just might be more accurately described as an American Queen Anne.
Sources:
Wikipedia
https://www.thoughtco.com/queen-anne-architecture-in-the-usa-176003
Dead
Set Delphinia, at just under sixty-seven thousand words, is my first full novel
in the series. To
purchase Dead Set Delphinia from
Amazon, please CLICK HERE.
The book is also available on Kindle Unlimited. The print
version will be available soon.
I have available three other novellas in the Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs series.
Book 3: Aaron’sAnnulment Bride
Book 6: Cat's Meow
Book 7: Bargain Bessie
~o0o~
To read and enjoy all of the books in the Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs series, please sign up and follow us on Amazon by CLICKING HERE.
