The book of the Edwardian & Inter-war House - Hardcover

Lawrence, Richard Russell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845133404 ISBN 13: 9781845133405

Publisher: Aurum, 2009

Synopsis

Over a million houses were built in Britain during the Edwardian period and another four million in the years between the two World Wars. Almost all of them are still in use as homes today. The Edwardian & Inter-war House explains to current owners of such houses why (and by whom) their properties were built, how the original occupants would have decorated, furnished and lived in them, and the development of the distinctive architectural styles of the time.

The leading architects of the Edwardian period were enthusiasts for a return to English vernacular styles, contrasting what they considered the dry rigidities of classicism with the extravaganzas of the Gothic revival. However it wasn’t aesthetics that affected the most radical change to the period’s architecture: Edwardians were also the first to incorporate innovations such as modern sanitation, bathing facilities and the use of electricity.

The first half of the book looks at the styles created for showpiece developments like Letchworth Garden City, and the way in which these designs were adapted for the first council houses. The book’s later chapters are devoted to the various rooms and features of the house – fireplaces, chimneys, doors, staircases, windows and more – as well as the styles, methods and materials used in their construction.

Featuring full colour photography throughout, The Edwardian and Inter-war House is an invaluable architectural resource for anyone living in – or thinking of restoring – a house built between 1900 and 1939.

About this title

Review:

`I've been poring over it... recognising and discovering things I really want to know about... entirely to my taste ... so clear and all so well presented, with such authority.'
-- Judith Elliott, former editor at Orion, March 30, 2009

Synopsis:

Over a million houses were built in Britain during the Edwardian period and another four million in the years between the two World Wars; most of these are still in use as homes today. This book explains to current owners of such houses why and by whom their properties were built, how the original occupants would have decorated, furnished and used them, and the development of the distinctive architectural styles of the time.The leading architects of the Edwardian period were, almost to a man, enthusiasts for a return to English vernacular styles, in contrast to what they considered the dry rigidities of classicism and the extravaganzas of the Gothic revival - hence, for example, the proliferation of gables, bay windows and the use of half-timbering - and they were also obliged for the first time to address the changes necessary to incorporate innovations such as modern sanitation, bathing facilities and the use of electricity into their designs.The first half of the book looks at the styles which these men created for showpiece developments such as Hampstead Garden Suburb and Letchworth Garden City and the way in which their designs were copied by speculative builders and adapted for the first council houses as the suburbs started to spread ever-outwards along the railways lines and the new arterial roads from the centre of London and other great cities.

There are also chapters on the gardens of the period.In the second half of the book individual chapters are devoted to the various elements of the house - fireplaces and chimneys, doors and windows, kitchens, bathrooms and WCs, staircases, etc - to the methods and materials used in their construction and to the decorative styles and materials fashionable at the time.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aurum
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1845133404
• ISBN 13: 9781845133405
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272