Old Victorian homes are mostly very unique and are definitely worth looking for, if you can afford it. Most of the houses that are built in the Victorian style, date back to the industrial revolution when it was still relatively cheap to acquire such a uniquely styled house. The Victorian building style was adopted in several countries around the world and this type of houses, which are mostly built before 1900, can really take you back to a past era.
History of Victorian Homes
Victorian houses were initially built in the United Kingdom during the period in which Queen Victoria ruled the country, which was from 1837 to 1901. Because the UK had many colonies around the world, the building style gained worldwide popularity. The new machines that were created during the industrial revolution made it possible to mass produce many of the required decorative elements, which kept construction costs quite low.
Many great examples of the Victorian building style can be found in London and other English cities but also outside of Europe. This building style has been very popular in Toronto, San Francisco and throughout Canada. Sydney is also very well known for its adaptation of Victorian architecture.
“Cold Spring Second Empire” by Joseph licensed under CC BY 2.0
Queen Anne style
The most popular Victorian building style is called ‘Queen Anne’. This style is particularly popular in the United States. Queen Anne was reigning in the UK during the 1700s but this building style is not specifically named after her. It’s more a representation of the early 20th century building style with influences of medieval architecture.
The Queen Anne building style that’s currently still present throughout the US, is a little different to that of the UK. Classic Queen Anne architecture can be recognized by sash windows, mostly painted in bright colours, stones at the corners of the house and a triangular shaped roof located right next to the hipped roof of the main building. The picture below is a clear example of the Queen Anne building style.
“Queen Anne Mansion in Eureka Springs, AR.” by Doug Wertman licensed under CC BY 2.0
Victorian houses online
If you’re looking to buy a Victorian house in the US, Oldhouses.com offers a lot of different options for you. Another website that specialises in old style US homes is CircaOldHouses.com. Many Victorian style houses can be found on the website in all 52 states, as well as many other traditional homes. HookedOnHouses.net has a section on their website with a list of very unique, available Victorian houses. The houses they write about used to belong to a famous person or something noticeable has happened to it.
If you have a Victorian style house you like to sell, a single property website would be a perfect way of doing so. You can create a custom virtual tour so that people get a good feel of your house and you can present a lot of detailed information which you otherwise wouldn’t be able to provide.