What Style is Your House: Queen Anne

Courtesy of Worcester Heritage Preservation Society

The years when the Queen Anne style became popular, 1875 to 1910, was a time of unprecedented  growth for the country.  More and more Americans were able to afford a little bit of grandeur.  Their lives became increasingly complicated and their houses reflected that complexity.

Architects wanted Queen Anne buildings to look complicated.   Each one was purposely made to look different from another.  Builders took features from many stules and countries and even invented some of their own.  As a result, the typical Queen Anne home has many contrasts.  You can often see wooden clapboards in the first story, and then wooden shingles with unusual shapes in the second story.  Shingles, tiles, terra cotta, clapboard, bricks and stained glass were all used extensively.  Walls and roofs moved in and out, creating interesting nooks and crannies, as if rooms grew when needed, anywhere in the house.

The Queen Anne style was originally based on the old cottages that dotted the English countryside.  Americans began demanding the style after seeing the examples built by the English for the Philadelphia Exposition in 1876.  The style quicly evolved into the exuberant designs that most people now refer to as “Victorian.”

Common motifs used in Queen Anne houses include flowers (particularly sunflowers), sun bursts, and round holes.  Keep an eye out for elaborate woodwork and solid, flat vergeboards.  You can also look for projecting bays, towers, encircling proches, and round turrets with conical roofs whimsically called witches’ caps or candle snuffers.  Large chimneys on the side of the house are noticeable features and are usually paneled or decorated with cut or molded brick.  The interiors included the latest technology such as bathrooms, central heating and electricity.