 ”Victorian architecture” refers to a series of architectural revival styles that flourished in the mid-

to late-nineteenth. Victorian refers to Queen Victoria's reign, also known as the Victorian era,
during which the Victorian styles were used in construction. However, many elements of what is
commonly referred to as Victorian architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's
reign.

 the reign of queen Victoria over the United Kingdom of Great Britain from 1837-1901.

 It stayed for six decades and became popular throughout Europe and other foreign countries, like
North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Each gives their own twist to adapted it to fit the
local tastes, lifestyles and building materials of the community.

 The name represents the British and French custom of naming architectural styles for a reigning
monarch.

 In this period:

- Industrial and social progress accelerated.

- It is a period of exploration and societal change.

- It is a period when the United Kingdom is growing its global impact and the United States is struggling
for its identity.

 Towns in Victorian era were more socially ordered and have more private places because middle
class wants to have their own semi-detached or detached house or villas.

 The prosperity that the industrial revolution brought to the country gave opportunities to many
builders, civil engineers, contractors, and architects to move forward with a new building
component, steel, a revolutionary material that is still used to this day.

Victorian Architecture focuses on piety and modernity. They tend to value historicism as they see history
as a standard of beauty and honor. Yet, they also pushing modernity and progressiveness since industrial
revolution is at the forefront of their economy. Therefore, the styles emerge were revivals of the past
architectural styles and most of them uses more steel in buildings.

Example :

Tower Bridge (1894), London

Technology is moving and progressing forward while the style is looking backward.

A series of revivals:

- Greek revival
- Example:Ashmolean Museum and Taylorian Institution 1839 - 1845
 - Gothic revival

Example: Royal courts of Justice 1874- 1882, London England

- Italian Renaissance Revival

- Example: Reform club 1837-1841, Pall Mall, London, England

- Second Empire Revival

Example: Second Empire, French; New Louvre, 1852-1857 Paris, France

- Exotic Revivals: Islamic and Egyptian Revival

Example: Arab Hall of the Lord Leighton House 1865, London England

- Between the 1830s and the 1920s, an exotic revival emerges as non-western cultures' interest
grows.

A. Turkish/ Islamic/ Persian/ Middle eastern;

B. Moorish
C. Egyptian

- Romanesque Revival
- Example: Natural History Museum, 1860s, London, England

- Ecclectic Styles
2 houses in City of Longmont Colorado

Eclectic Victorian Home Extension in North London

- Beaux Revival
- Chateauesque Revival
- Neo Renaissance Revival
- Neoclassical Revival

Early Victorian

Victorian architecture in the UK during the early 19 th

Victorian architecture in the United Kingdom during the early 19th century, the romantic medieval gothic
revival style was developed as a reaction against the strict style of Palladian architecture. Example: Font
hill abbey.
High Victorian

Construction was able to incorporate steel as a building component in the middle of the nineteenth
century as a result of new technology; one of the greatest exponents of this was Joseph Paxton, architect
of the Crystal Palace. Paxton also continued to construct houses in the English Renaissance style, such
as Mentmore Towers.

In Scotland, the architect Alexander Thomson was a pioneer of the use of cast iron and steel for
commercial buildings, blending neoclassical conventionality with exotic themes to produce original
structures.

Post Victorian

During the 19th century, many architects emigrated to other countries such as Canada, north America,
Australia and New Zealand.

They established their careers and even if they are away from their Home country, they are still updated
because they easily get accessed to publications such as the magazine called the builder which helped
colonial architects keep informed about the latest fashions.

In the United states, Victorian Architecture generally describes styles Victorian Architecture generally
describes styles that were most popular between 1860 and 1900. A list of these styles most commonly
includes Second Empire, Stick-Eastlake, Folk Victorian, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, and
Shingle.

In the US, notable cities which developed or were rebuilt largely during this era include Alameda, Astoria,
Albany, Troy, Boston, the Brooklyn Heights and Victorian Flat bush sections of New York City, Buffalo,
Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Eureka, Galena, Galveston, Grand Rapids, Baltimore, Jersey city/ Hoboken,
Cape May, Louisville, Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Saint Paul, and
Angelino Heights in Los Angeles. San Francisco is well known for its extensive Victorian Architecture,
particularly in the Haight-Ashbury, Lower Haight, Alamo Square, Noe Valley, Castro, Nob Hill, and Pacific
Heights neighborhoods.

Australia

In australia the Victorian period is generally recognized as being from 1840-1890 and flourished in
Australia, which saw a gold rush and population boom during the 1880s in the state of Victoria. There
were 15 styles that were predominated: the arts and craft styles and queen anne style are considered to
be part of the federation period from 1890 to 1915.
Famous Victorian architects

Decimus Burton

Victorian Architecture
Roman Revival

Greek Revival
Associated Movements

Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner,

Notable Structures Athenaeum Club

Decimus Burton was born in Southampton in London on the 30th of September in 1800. He is one of the
fathers of English architecture and helped pioneer styles such as Greek and Roman Revival, as well as
Regency and Georgian Neoclassical styles. He was also known for creating Gothic Victorian-style houses
as well as the rustic Cottage Orné style.

Burton was also an important figure in the development of the Royal Institute of British architects, being
one of the founding fellows as well as the institute’s vice-president. It is believed that his contribution to
British architecture is often understated and largely underestimated due to many of his works having been
attributed to John Nash, as well as often being overshadowed by Augustus Pugin, and his family retaining
his archives, making it hard to research Burton and his work.

Joseph Paxton (1803 – 1865)

Associated Movements Victorian Architecture

Notable Structures The Crystal Palace (Hyde Park)

 - Joseph Paxton was born in Bedfordshire in England on the 3rd of August in 1803. He was an
engineer, architect, and parliamentary member. His most well-known architectural feat is the
design of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. He was also a gardener and is remembered for
cultivating the banana that is the most-consumed variety around the world, the Cavendish
banana. Joseph Paxton was born in 1803, however, many sources cite his birth as having
occurred in 1801.

- the building of the Great Conservatory at Chatsworth, which was at the time, the largest glass
building in the world. The beams and columns of the greenhouse were made from cast iron, and
the arches were made from laminated wood.

George Gilbert Scott (1811 – 1878)

Associated Movements Gothic Victorian Architecture

Albert Memorial (Kensington Gardens),

Wakefield Cathedral (West Yorkshire),
Notable Structures Midland Grand Hotel (London)
George Gilbert Scott was born on the 13th of July in 1811 in Gawcott, Buckinghamshire. Starting his
career as a prolific designer of workhouses, he is most remembered today for his work as a Victorian
Gothic Revival architect. His main body of work consisted of the designing, constructing, and renovating
of cathedrals and churches, with over 800 various buildings having been built or renovated by him.

He studied architecture under the English architect, James

Edmeston, and at the age of 21 began working for the British
architect Henry Roberts as his assistant. He then spent 10
years designing workhouses with his partner, William
Bonython Moffatt.

In 1841 he became increasingly interested in the architecture

of people such as Augustus Pugin and got more involved in
the Gothic Victorian style. His early work at St Giles’ Church
in Camberwell and the Martyrs’ Memorial in Oxford helped to
gain a positive reputation early in his career within the
movement.

In 1844 he received further fame when he won an

international competition to rebuild the Church of St. Nicholas
in Hamburg. His entry was the only one to incorporate the
Victorian Gothic Revival style. 

George Gilbert Scott’s architectural designs of the

New Infirmary, Leeds
Augustus Pugin (1812 – 1852)

Victorian Architecture
Gothic Revival
Associated Movements

Palace of Westminster, Elizabeth Tower (Big

Notable Structures Ben), Alton Castle

Augustus Pugin was born in Bloomsbury in London on the 1st of

March in 1812. He was a Victorian architect as well as an artist,
designer, and critic. He played a large role in the formation of the
Gothic Revival architectural style. His most notable work is his
design of the Westminster Palace’s interior, as well as the famous
clock tower which is home to Big Ben.

He is also known for his design work of many churches in his

home country as well as in Australia and Ireland.

George Inn, Glastonbury, Somerset: Front Elevation (1832) by Augustus

Pugin
Alfred Waterhouse (1830 – 1905)

Associated Movements Gothic Victorian Architecture

Manchester Town Hall (Manchester), Eaton

Hall (Cheshire), Holborn Bars (Camden),
Notable Structures Girton College (Cambridge)

Alfred Waterhouse was born in Liverpool on the 19th of July in 1830. He was an architect that worked
predominantly in the style of Gothic Victorian architecture. He was responsible for building many
structures across the country but is most known for his work on the Natural History Museum in London
and the Manchester Town Hall.

He was also responsible for building many public buildings and hospitals, the University College Hospital
in London and the Royal Infirmary in Liverpool being two examples that display interesting architectural
design elements.

His work did not end there, however, as he played a huge role in designing buildings for universities such
as those found on the grounds of Cambridge and Oxford universities, as well as Leeds, Manchester, and
Liverpool universities. He is regarded as most likely being the most successful and prominent architect of
the Victorian era years. The buildings that he designed were the most expensive to be built in the
Victorian period. They were also the largest Victorian-era buildings to be constructed. His work was very
highly respected and he won over clients that would commission work from him for decades.
A print of Waterhouse’s New Town Hall, Manchester