Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    How To Date Buildings: An Easy Reference Guide
    How To Date Buildings: An Easy Reference Guide
    How To Date Buildings: An Easy Reference Guide
    Ebook125 pages1 hour

    How To Date Buildings: An Easy Reference Guide

    By Trevor Yorke

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The older buildings which nestle within the streets of Britain's cities, towns and villages are sometimes obvious, but often quite unnoticed. Yet, they give their communities a reassuring permanence and form an emotional link with the past.


    From the humble black and white Tudor cottage with contorted timbers to the colourful Victorian town hall with patterned brickwork, they inspire investigation and query. Who built them and why? Who lived there and what events were witnessed from their windows?


    Perhaps the first question, before the others can be put into context is 'how old is the building?' A lot of key information about age and date can be gleaned from just observing the exterior. By recognising dateable features it is not hard to begin piecing together a building's history, and then understand how it developed over the centuries.


    This illustrated and easy reference guide divides into six main chapters. They work from the whole building down to its component parts. They look at the overall position and shape of certain types of building and explain how they can indicate antiquity, before describing the features to watch for that narrow down the date of construction.


    The book is packed with hundreds of photos, chosen to highlight these tell tale pieces of information. With its help, the buildings you notice need no longer remain just bricks and mortar; their history can come to life in front of you. By associating the shape of a roof, the type of window or style of door with a certain period, you can start unlocking their past.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCountryside Books
    Release dateApr 1, 2017
    ISBN9781846749124
    How To Date Buildings: An Easy Reference Guide
    Author

    Trevor Yorke

    Trevor Yorke is a professional author and artist who has studied and written about various aspects of England's architectural and industrial heritage. He has produced many illustrated books that introduce the reader to these topics and writes articles and reviews for various magazines. He lives in the UK.

    Read more from Trevor Yorke

    Related to How To Date Buildings

    Related ebooks

    Architecture For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Georgian

      Jul 25, 2019

      Georgian
      7 min read

    • Article

      Regency

      Aug 29, 2019

      Regency
      6 min read

    • Article

      Edwardian

      Dec 31, 2019

      Edwardian
      5 min read

    • Article

      Georgian Style, 1710–1800

      May 7, 2019

      Georgian Style, 1710–1800
      3 min read

    • Article

      The House Master

      Sep 18, 2020

      The House Master
      5 min read

    • Article

      At Home In The 1920s

      Aug 21, 2017

      At Home In The 1920s
      4 min read

    • Article

      Design Details mouldings

      Mar 25, 2021

      Design Details mouldings
      4 min read

    • Article

      Victorian

      Sep 26, 2019

      Victorian
      7 min read

    • Article

      Interwar

      Jan 30, 2020

      Interwar
      6 min read

    • Article

      RAILINGS & BOUNDARIES

      Jul 29, 2021

      RAILINGS & BOUNDARIES
      4 min read

    • Article

      Design Details Staircases

      Nov 26, 2020

      Design Details Staircases
      5 min read

    • Article

      Exterior Finishes

      Oct 7, 2021

      Exterior Finishes
      4 min read

    • Article

      Design Details Windows

      Apr 29, 2021

      Design Details Windows
      4 min read

    • Article

      180 Flinders Street, Melbourne

      May 24, 2022

      180 Flinders Street, Melbourne
      6 min read

    • Article

      Arts and Crafts

      Nov 28, 2019

      Arts and Crafts
      6 min read

    • Article

      Elizabethan & Jacobean

      May 30, 2019

      Elizabethan & Jacobean
      7 min read

    • Article

      Queen Anne

      Jun 27, 2019

      Queen Anne
      7 min read

    • Article

      CHANGING SPACES Hallways

      Mar 3, 2022

      CHANGING SPACES Hallways
      5 min read

    • Article

      Kerstin Thompson Architects

      Mar 7, 2021

      Kerstin Thompson Architects
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Lost Art Of English Joinery

      Mar 4, 2020

      What are the aesthetic benefits of beautiful joinery? Without it, even the grandest room will be nothing more than a box. Beautifully crafted and conceived joinery can add drama to an interior, employing light and shade to lend depth, as well as fra

      2 min read

    • Article

      Bungalow-era Comebacks

      Dec 19, 2023

      Bungalow-era Comebacks
      3 min read

    • Article

      THE 1930s HOME

      May 4, 2022

      THE 1930s HOME
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Regency reinvented

      May 3, 2023

      The Regency reinvented
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for How To Date Buildings

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      How To Date Buildings - Trevor Yorke

      Index

      Our old buildings which proudly stand in Britain’s cities, towns and villages are a fascinating link with the past. These structures give our communities a reassuring permanence, an historic value, and evoke an emotional response. From a humble black and white Tudor cottage to a colourful Victorian town hall, their contorted timbers, patterned brickwork or rustic masonry inspire investigation and query. We wonder about the lives of the different people who have walked through their doors over the centuries. We consider what historic events might have been witnessed from their windows. However, the first question before all others can be put in context must be, ‘How old is the building?’.

      There is lots of crucial information to help in dating an historic building, once you know the clues to look out for. The building’s location, its form, the materials used and the type of windows and doors fitted can all help to narrow down the period. By recognising these dateable features, you can then start piecing together its history, understanding how the building has developed over time, and something of the lives of the people who once lived within its walls.

      This easy reference guide, with its many photographs and captions, leads you through the various points to examine, in order to narrow down the construction date. There are illustrated examples of some notable buildings, with their background history and the details which help to date them. A glossary helps with any unfamiliar vocabulary.

      Soon the buildings around you will no longer be just bricks and mortar. As you learn to read their dateable details, history will come alive. By being able to associate the shape of a roof, the bonding of the bricks, and the moulding above the door with a certain period, you will be able to unlock the past. You can then enjoy the thrill of understanding how their various owners over the centuries, have shaped and altered the house to meet their needs and the changes in architectural fashion.

      Trevor Yorke

      Britain’s old buildings come in all shapes and sizes, constructed from a wide variety of materials and with original details dating back, in a few cases, over a thousand years. While some buildings are vernacular, built by local craftsman in regional styles with materials found close at hand, others were designed by fashionable architects and reflected that period’s trends in architecture. Dating a building can be particularly challenging when the builder has borrowed styles from an earlier period, this was particularly the case in the 19th century.

      Victorians were heavily influenced by the Gothic architecture of the Medieval period, they also looked to 16th and 17th century buildings for inspiration. The revival styles they created were so close to the original that they can sometimes be hard to tell apart.

      To further complicate the matter, an architectural fashion could take up to fifty years to permeate across the country. While builders in important urban locations were under pressure to use the latest styles in order to remain competitive, a builder in a small town may not have felt the same need to change the style they were comfortable with and had used throughout their career. As a result, there can be a difference of many decades between similar style buildings, and this has to be taken into account when dating buildings.

      Underlying these sometimes confusing styles, are certain structures and fittings that are unique to a particular period. Decorative details can also help to pinpoint the time of construction and piece together the history of a building. Being able to recognise these details will be the focus of this book.

      When studying a building, it is important to work from the whole to the part. In other words, first step back and look at its surroundings, before considering its particular architectural details. Is the street an old route, or one laid out in recent times? Is it close to a railway station, canal or factory, and hence the building could date from the period when these arrived? Is the ground level of the building lower than the road in front? Assuming the area is flat, then as roads are built up over the centuries this would indicate that the structure is very old. Is the building set upon one of a series of long, narrow plots in the older part of a town? These are medieval land divisions and the present building may have old foundations or a basement.

      FIG 0.1: The ground level around an old building will tend to rise as gardens are worked and roads have new surfaces added. A doorway approached down steps or a window below ground level can indicate that the building is centuries old.

      As you move on to study the building in closer detail, look at the walls for signs of change. A vertical break where the masonry or brick does not line up and is not bonded together, indicates that one period of building had finished and a later one begun. Look to see if the horizontal lines are sagging slightly, or if windows are not neatly lined up. Old timber framed buildings were unfashionable in

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1