What Even is Tudor Style?
You’ve probably seen them before. Those buildings and houses with decorative wood planks on the outside. Built of both stone and wood, the buildings show a vast amount of decorative elements, gables, and steeply tilted roofs. “It’s Tudor” someone might have pointed out to you. Regardless of what you know about these homes and manors, what made a building tudor was not always so clear.
“Tudor” comes from the House of Tudor, who controlled the English throne from 1485 to 1603. The style was known for its half-timbering and black and white contrast between the plaster and wood. There were lots of gables (triangle walls shaped by the roof) along with second floors that extended over the first, creating an overhang. The exact qualities varied with income and region however.
Many buildings made during this period featured mostly stone constructions and used little wood. Many poorer classes used cheaper framing and materials, and thus their houses haven’t stood the test of time. The qualities of works made at the time can often be better represented as the “perpendicular style”, with rectangular windows and framing with wood and stone.
The term “Tudor” nowadays is not tied to the period. Half timbered buildings have existed both before and after the Tudor period. The houses built with these looks were not supervised by governments and architects, and simply made with local resources for people to live in. Many architectural revivals have brought back the style, and define it to the half-timbered look.
In reality though, it doesn’t matter.
Architectural styles, along with words and ideas in general, are not solely tied to their historical definitions. They change over time and can be adapted to new settings and scenarios. The blurred lines of what makes something truly a part of something else is inevitable. The best we can do is to be knowledgeable about them, and not pedantic.
After all, good buildings are more than rigid definitions.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Tudor style”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Mar. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/art/Tudor-style. Accessed 13 April 2022.
Burch, Maggie. “The One Reason You Don’t See Many Tudor-Style Homes These Days.” House Beautiful, House Beautiful, 2 Nov. 2021, https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a24516941/tudor-style-house/. Accessed 13 April 2022.
Eakins, Lara E. “‘Black and White’ Tudor Buildings .” Tudorhistory.org, https://tudorhistory.org/places/bw/. Accessed 13 April 2022.
Eakins, Lara E. “‘Black and White’ Tudor Buildings .” Tudorhistory.org, https://tudorhistory.org/places/bw/. Accessed 13 April 2022.
