Victorian Style
The Victorian era lacks a definitive style. Britain was the world’s most powerful nation with an empire to match and this influenced designers. This was the era of grand public works and the railways, public buildings even sewers were all given architectural treatments that attempted to enhance their importance.
The Victorians imitated and borrowed heavily from other styles but there are still two that would immediately be thought of as Victorian and they are at opposite ends of the design spectrum. The first is the new Gothic, based loosely on medieval ecclesiastical architecture and many public and private buildings were given the Gothic treatment. Interiors featured extensive panelling and ornamentation, reflecting the exterior design. Elsewhere, Victorian furniture could be bulky and heavily upholstered and often featured clumsily ornate oriental or empire influences.
Reacting against the prevailing dark, sombre and industrial designs, the Arts and Crafts Movement founded in the 1860s by William Morris, sought a return to traditional artisan crafts and values. They favoured hand-made items with less ornamentation and they valued utility over form. For instance they would use functional black iron door furniture over ornate brass. Unfortunately the items proved well beyond the pocket of the common man but the movement left a lasting design legacy.
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[…] term would be revitalised by the 19th century Victorians who used the style extensively for public buildings and monuments as well as churches. Pugin, Scott […]