LANCASTER IN STYLE, PART 21: ENGLISH COTTAGE STYLE, 1920-40
Adorable is an adjective we don’t often associate with any architectural style, but it is the perfect description for English Cottage. As one of the various styles of the interwar period, the English Cottage developed between 1920 and 1940 as an affordable option for the popular Tudor Mansion movement.
The English Cottage, described as cozy and comfortable, is characterized by flat roof lines and the occasionally steep “cat slide” gable.
Exterior materials are combinations of stone, brick, and stucco; Windows are wings that reflect their European “out-swing” heritage. The one- and two-story buildings are modeled on the cottages of the Cotswolds in England and are often set between trees and flower gardens with an arched front door. The tall, stacked chimneys often appear at the front entrance, creating a unique silhouette and skyline for passers-by.
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This English cottage-style house has nested gables, a steep sloping roof, and dormer windows and casement windows.
Built around 1928 in a wooded setting on Wilson Drive, this English cottage-style home features a slate roof, classic dormer windows and a stone fireplace.
This English cottage-style home features old peasant brickwork, cast stone Tudor arch, rare stone torches above the entrance, a cat sunroof, a tapered chimney and casement windows.
This vintage photograph shows a house built for Paul Myer on Marietta Avenue around 1928. Henry Y. Shaub was the architect of this English cottage-style house with a wooden porch, stone veneer and casement windows.
This photo shows a residence built for Paul Myer around 1928. This English cottage style home is in a wooded setting on Marietta Avenue in Lancaster.
This English cottage on Jackson Drive has a slate roof, stone and stucco facade, and a flared eaves at the entrance.
This English cottage-style house, built around 1928 on Wilson Drive, has a stone facade, dormer windows, an arched chimney off the main entrance, a cat sunroof, and casement windows.
The Mitchell was a 1928 English cottage style house that you could see in an artist rendering in the Sears & Roebuck catalog. It was advertised for $ 2,122 and had a tall chimney and cat-slide gable at the entrance.
Architect Melvin R. Evans designed this English cottage-style house in 1929 with steep roof lines, stacked chimneys next to the arched brick entrance and casement windows.
This English cottage style house goes well with his garden on Wheatland Avenue in Lancaster. It features a slate roof, stacked chimneys, a flat dormer window, casement windows, a stone facade, and tile accents,
The Cotswalds region of southern England has stone cottages with tiled roofs, dormers, rose-clad walls and extensive gardens.
Located in the Cotswalds, southern England, this cottage has a thatched roof, dormer window and gardens.
This house in Glen Moore Circle won the Lancaster New Era 1923 Prize Home Contest. Designed by architect Henry Y. Shaub, it is in the English cottage style, with a stucco facade, wooden veranda brackets and a cat sunroof.
1926 Edgar Hess Willow Street Pike Henry Shaub Architect Details include dormers, cat sliding gables, casement windows and arched entrance 1
Built prior to 1928 for James G. Haller, this English cottage-style house features a distinctive chimney off the entrance, flat dormer windows, and an arched entrance with wrought iron belt hinges.
This English cottage-style house has nested gables, a steep sloping roof, and dormer windows and casement windows.
Built around 1928 in a wooded setting on Wilson Drive, this English cottage-style home features a slate roof, classic dormer windows and a stone fireplace.
This English cottage-style home features old peasant brickwork, cast stone Tudor arch, rare stone torches above the entrance, a cat sunroof, a tapered chimney and casement windows.
This vintage photograph shows a house built for Paul Myer on Marietta Avenue around 1928. Henry Y. Shaub was the architect of this English cottage-style house with a wooden porch, stone veneer and casement windows.
This photo shows a residence built for Paul Myer around 1928. This English cottage style home is in a wooded setting on Marietta Avenue in Lancaster.
This English cottage on Jackson Drive has a slate roof, stone and stucco facade, and a flared eaves at the entrance.
This English cottage-style house, built around 1928 on Wilson Drive, has a stone facade, dormer windows, an arched chimney off the main entrance, a cat sunroof, and casement windows.
The Mitchell was a 1928 English cottage style house that you could see in an artist rendering in the Sears & Roebuck catalog. It was advertised for $ 2,122 and had a tall chimney and cat-slide gable at the entrance.
Architect Melvin R. Evans designed this English cottage-style house in 1929 with steep roof lines, stacked chimneys next to the arched brick entrance and casement windows.
This English cottage style house goes well with his garden on Wheatland Avenue in Lancaster. It features a slate roof, stacked chimneys, a flat dormer window, casement windows, a stone facade, and tile accents,
The Cotswalds region of southern England has stone cottages with tiled roofs, dormers, rose-clad walls and extensive gardens.
Located in the Cotswalds, southern England, this cottage has a thatched roof, dormer window and gardens.
This house in Glen Moore Circle won the Lancaster New Era 1923 Prize Home Contest. Designed by architect Henry Y. Shaub, it is in the English cottage style, with a stucco facade, wooden veranda brackets and a cat sunroof.
1926 Edgar Hess Willow Street Pike Henry Shaub Architect Details include dormers, cat sliding gables, casement windows and arched entrance 1
Built prior to 1928 for James G. Haller, this English cottage-style house features a distinctive chimney off the entrance, flat dormer windows, and an arched entrance with wrought iron belt hinges.
The English cottage style uses the “dormer” detail to shorten the overall height of the building and provide more floor space on the second floor. The dormer closes flush with the outer wall and breaks through the eaves, whereby the
Signature effect.
Elements made of heavy wooden beams and consoles, especially on the porches, additionally reinforce a medieval connection. The style’s popularity continued to grow when mail order companies such as Sears & Roebuck offered complete English Cottage house kits for $ 1,500 in the 1920s and 30s.
Interestingly, a parallel style called the Storybook Style developed in Hollywood, California, transforming the English Cottage into a fairytale-like appearance with whimsical roof lines, crooked doors and windows, and in some cases thatched roofs.
Lancaster Architects C. Emlen Urban, James H. Warner,
Henry Y. Shaub and Melvern R. Evans quickly embraced the English Cottage style and added it to their growing portfolio. There are exceptional examples of this quaint style across the county, particularly to the west of the city. The style is now over 100 years old and nature has worked its magic to bring the “delightful” cottages into their perfect setting.
What are the interwar styles?
The styles that developed between WWI and WWII were English Cottage, French, Dutch, and Spanish Revival.
What is a Cat Slide Gable?
It is effectively a regular gable roof with one side that goes deeper to the ground. The name comes from the idea that a cat thrown on the roof will “slide” to the ground.
Why don’t we see thatched roofs in Lancaster County?
The thatched roof requires a very steep roof of over 45 degrees to quickly drain away water and snow. In addition, handicrafts and materials for roof assembly would have to be imported from Europe.
Contributing to this column is Gregory J. Scott, FAIA, a local architect with more than four decades of national experience in innovation and design. He is a member of the College of Fellows at the American Institute of Architects. E-mail GScott@rlps.com.
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