Architectural Tutorial: Tudor Style

The Tudor Style is a post-Victorian Revival Style that, along with five other styles (Norman, Chateauesque, Colonial Revival, Mission, and the Classic Revival Styles), revives form and methods of the past. This style was previously known as Elizabethan (1890-1910) because it was inspired by English cottages built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603). When it emerged in America it was actually a Medieval Revival Style based on the English Elizabethan and Jacobean Styles adapted to the Queen Anne house. It became known as the new English Tudor Style as it evolved and began to master imitating the English historical style more accurately.

The most common exterior characteristic of the Tudor house is half-timbering. In this type of construction, the timber framework of the building is left exposed and the spaces between the timbers are filled or "nogged" with brickwork and often covered with white stucco. Other features of this style include:

• Cross-gabled, medium to steeply pitched roofs, sometimes with clipped gables
• Dormers and overhangs are common
• Arrangements of tall, narrow windows in bands
• Small window panes either double-hung or casement
• Oversized fireplaces; chimneys with decorative brickwork and chimney pots
• Asymmetrical plan

Here are a few examples of Visbeen Associates' Tudor style homes...

Traditional Tudor styling blends with modern comfort and convenience in this design, the Kingston. From the dramatic barrel-vaulted living room to the light-filled octagonal sun room, this well-appointed design includes a spectacular master suite, a gourmet kitchen with large pantry, even a charming potting shed.

The elegant four-bedroom, five-bath Chesterfield boasts the best of Tudor design as well as a floor plan tailored to modern living.

Inspired by the great Tudor estates, this dramatic home called the Livingston features fine details throughout.

Here are a few notable examples of Tudor Style residences...

Castle Lodge in Ludlow, England was pictured in the 1965 film Moll Flanders

Old Mill Farm is the former residence of Mel Gibson in Greenwich, CT. Built in 1926, designed by architect Charles Lewis Bowman, this lovely tudor estate was sold by Gibson in 2010 for over $20 million.

The home in next two photos is where the wedding scene in the movie "The Godfather" was filmed. This Staten Island tudor is available for sale and can be yours if you make them an offer they can't refuse (as long as its around $2.9 million).

Sources:

Walker, Lester. America Homes: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Domestic Architecture. New York: The Overlook Press, 1981.

http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/styles/tudor-revival.htm

http://www.antiquehome.org/Architectural-Style/tudor.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Lodge,_Ludlow

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/826664

http://hookedonhouses.net/2009/06/30/mel-gibsons-tudor-style-mansion-in-greenwich/

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/12/02/staten_islands_godfather_house_hits_the_market_for_29m.php