Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
5
The Victorian and
Edwardian Periods
(1837-1914)
Introduction
Historical correctness should dictate that these adjoined periods terminate in
1910, with the death of King Edward VII, but these are generally accepted to
extend to the outbreak of the Great War of 1914.
The accession of Queen Victoria in 1837, coincided with the dawn of a
dramatic period of national inventiveness, development, and prosperity, une-
qualled in the history of the world. A long period of peace, following success
in the Napoleonic Wars, allowed Britain to concentrate her energy and wealth
on industry; it was her 'Golden Age'.
The architecture of previous centuries generally continued to evolve slowly
along traditional lines, but this changed enormously, with attendant social con-
sequences, with the huge material expansion facilitated by the discovery and
use of steam, gas, and electrical power. In architecture the conflict between
the traditional past and a new Industrial age, manifested itself in the so-called
'Battle of the Styles'. This was a period in architecture of revived vernacular
styles often striving for a return to 'medievalism', rusticity, and other trad-
itional building forms as a relief from what was seen as the hard functionalism
of the machine age.
The fashion for stucco, especially during the Regency period (1800-30),
saw standards of brickmaking, the quality of mortar, and the brickwork con-
structed, reach a nadir; encouraged by unscrupulous and largely unqualified
builders. This was not resolved until the collapse of several buildings during
the course of erection and the resultant Building Acts of the 1870s. Although
the fashion for face brickwork returned after 1840, gauged work had been a
major casualty.
Within architecture the Classical style dominated for public buildings such
as libraries and museums, based on Greek and Roman originals. The Gothic
Revival was foremost in the move against the prevailing use of this style, and
later the hugely influential Arts and Crafts movement, founded by John Ruskin
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