Edwardian architecture usually means a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular for public buildings in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to the year 1914 may also be included in this style.
It can also be used to mean various styles in middle-class housing, including relaxed versions of Arts and Crafts architecture.
Description
Edwardian architecture is generally less ornate than high or late Victorian architecture, apart from a subset – used for major buildings – known as Edwardian Baroque architecture.
The Victorian Society campaigns to preserve architecture built between 1837 and 1914, and so includes Edwardian as well as Victorian architecture within its remit.
Characteristics
The characteristic features of the Edwardian Baroque style were drawn from two main sources: the architecture of France during the 18th century and that of Sir Christopher Wren in England during the 17th—part of the English Baroque (for this reason Edwardian Baroque is sometimes referred to as "Wrenaissance"). Sir Edwin Lutyens was a major exponent, designing many commercial buildings in what he termed 'the Grand Style' during the later 1910s and 1920s. This period of British architectural history is considered a particularly retrospective one, since it is contemporary with Art Nouveau.
Typical details of Edwardian Baroque architecture include extensive rustication, usually more extreme at ground level, often running into and exaggerating the voussoirs of arched openings (derived from French models); domed corner rooftop pavilions and a central taller tower-like element creating a lively rooftop silhouette; revived Italian Baroque elements such as exaggerated keystones, segmental arched pediments, columns with engaged blocks, attached block-like rustication to window surrounds; colonnades of (sometimes paired) columns in the Ionic order and domed towers modelled closely on Wren's for the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Some Edwardian Baroque buildings include details from other sources, such as the Dutch gables of Norman Shaw's Piccadilly Hotel in London.
Other characteristics include: Colour: lighter colours were used; the use of gas and later electric lights caused designers to be less concerned about the need to disguise soot buildup on walls compared to Victorian era architecture. Patterns: "Decorative patterns were less complex; both wallpaper and curtain designs were more plain." Clutter: "There was less clutter than in the Victorian era. Ornaments were perhaps grouped rather than everywhere."
Architectural influences
Victorian
Art Nouveau
Georgian
Arts and Crafts
Federation
Notable examples
United Kingdom
Admiralty Arch, London (1912) Albert Hall, Manchester (1910) Albert Hall, Nottingham (1910) Arding & Hobbs, London (1910) Ashton Memorial, Lancaster, by John Belcher (1909) Asia House, Manchester (1909) Australia House, London (1918) Belfast City Hall, Belfast, by Brumwell Thomas (1906) Blythe House, London, by Henry Tanner (1903) Bridgewater House, Manchester (1912) Cardiff City Hall, Cardiff, by Henry Vaughan Lanchester, Edwin Alfred Rickards & James A. Stewart, (1906) Cardiff Crown Court, Cardiff, by Henry Vaughan Lanchester, Edwin Alfred Rickards & James A. Stewart, (1906) Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey), London, by Edward William Mountford (1902–07) County Hall, London (1922) Electric Cinema, London (1910) Government Offices Great George Street, London, by John Brydon, (1908–17) Granton Gasworks railway station (1902) Hanover Building, Manchester (1909) Hove Library, Hove (1907–08) India House, Manchester (1906) Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne (1904) Lancaster House, Manchester (1910) London Road Fire and Police Station, Manchester (1906) Lloyds Bank on King Street, Manchester by Charles Heathcote (1915) Manchester Victoria station, Manchester (1909) Marylebone station, London. (1899) Midland Bank head office building, London by Edwin Lutyens (1922) Mitchell Library, Glasgow, William B Whitie (1906–11) Municipal Technical Institute, a.k.a. Blackman Tech, Belfast (1906) Nottingham railway station, Nottingham (1904) 163 North Street, Brighton (1904) Port of Liverpool Building, Liverpool, by Sir Arnold Thornely, F.B. Hobbs, Briggs and Wolstenholme (1903–07) Ralli Hall, Hove (1913) St. James Buildings, Manchester (1912) South Shields Town Hall, South Shields (1905–10) Stockport Town Hall, Stockport, by Brumwell Thomas (1908) War Office, London (1906) Westminster Central Hall, by Henry Vaughan Lanchester, Edwin Alfred Rickards & James A. Stewart, London (1911)