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Tudor style homes have many of these features:

Decorative half-timbering

Steeply pitched roofProminent cross gables

Tall, narrow windows

Small window panesMassive chimneys, often topped with decorative chimney pots

About the Tudor Style:

The name Tudor suggests that these houses were built in the 1500s, during the TudorDynasty in England. But of course, Tudor houses in the United States are modern-day re-

inventions and are more accurately called Tudor Revival or Medieval Revival. Some

Tudor Revival houses mimic humble Medieval cottages - They may even include a false

thatched roof. Other Tudor Revival homes suggest Medieval palaces. They may haveoverlapping gables, parapets, and beautifully patterned brick or stonework. These historic

details combine with Victorian or Craftsman flourishes.

As in many Queen Anne and Stick style homes, Tudor style houses often feature strikingdecorative timbers. These timbers hint at - but do not reproduce - Medieval construction

techniques. In Medieval houses, the timber framing was integral with the structure. TudorRevival houses, however, merely suggest the structural framework with false half-

timbering. This decorative woodwork comes in many different designs, with stucco or

patterned brick between the timbers.

Handsome examples of Tudor Revival architecture may be found throughout Great

Britain, northern Europe, and the United States. The main square in Chester, England is

surrounded by lavish Victorian Tudors that stand unapologetically alongside authenticmedieval buildings.

In the United States, Tudor styling takes on a variety of forms ranging from elaboratemansions to modest suburban homes with mock masonry veneers. The style became

enormously popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and modified versions became fashionable

in the 1970s and 1980s.

One popular housing type inspired by inspired by Tudor ideas is the Cotswold Cottage.

These quaint homes have an imitation thatched roof, massive chimneys, an uneven

sloping roof, small window panes, and low doors.

Tudor Style

Lush color photographs illustrate Tudor style homes across the USA. This book is anespecially good resource if you're seeking ideas for paint colors and interior decore. By

Lee Goff, Author and Paul Rocheleau, Photographer. (compare prices)

type of British architecture, mainly domestic, that grafted Renaissance decorative

elements onto the Perpendicular Gothic style between 1485 and 1558. The Tudor style in

architecture coincides with the first part of the reign of the Tudor monarchs, which

commenced in 1485 with the accession of Henry VII to the throne and ended with the

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death of Elizabeth I in 1603. Elizabeths own reign, from 1558 to 1603, is sufficiently

distinctive to be considered a separate period in the history of English building types.

The characteristic exterior features of the Tudor style as used in secular architecture are: a

lavish use of half-timber work; large groups of rectangular windows; rich oriel, or bay,windows; complex roofs with many gables; interesting and sometimes fantastic chimney

treatments; and much brickwork, frequently in patterns. The interiors of secular buildings

featured richly wood-paneled walls and the lavish use of molded plasterwork to decorateceilings, cornices, and walls, frequently in a naive imitation of Renaissance ornamental

motifs.