Essential Guides & Advice How To Buy A House – Advice & Tips

Date Published:

09/09/2008

Victorian Housing

The Victorian era 1840 to 1901 gave us an abundance of terraced housing but also imposing townhouses and villas with Gothic church-like windows and Tudor fairy castle towers. Towards the end of the 19th century, designs became more conservative.

Typical Victorian Features

Terraces of redbrick cottages, middle class villas and townhouses
Influences of Tudor or Gothic styles
Steep pitched roof
Square bay windows
Solidly built of brick
High ceilings
Tiled entrance halls
Attractive internal features including fireplaces and cornice

Developing A Victorian Property

Kevin Hill says: ‘The Victorians built terraced properties en masse which tend to have small, dark rooms. The plots are small, so if you decide to extend the property you’ll end up with an even smaller garden. A great plus point though is the steep pitched roof which provides ample room for a loft conversion for an extra bedroom.’

Is A Victorian Home A Good Buy?

Many of the points raised about buying Georgian homes will apply here, too, although you may find a Victorian home offers better development potential. If the loft has yet to be converted and you are lucky enough to have a larger than usual garden – or at least a wide side return in which to create a decent-sized kitchen/diner/living space, it’s the ideal investment. However, like Georgian properties, a neglected Victorian house may well need rewiring, replumbing and replastering – all of which will have to be deducted from a potential profit.

What To Watch For

Many Victorian homes were stripped of their original features in the fifties, sixties and seventies. You may find the odd fireplace boxed in or some original tiles nestling safely under a carpet, but you need to add the cost of replacing these with good replicas or salvaged originals to your budget. Look out, too, for ancient lath and plaster walls that literally crumble when you put a nail into them. You have to assume that you’ll be stripping back the wallpaper in most rooms, which will probably mean replastering throughout – another costly job.

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Edwardian Housing

Edwardian property building occupied a comparatively small time frame from Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 to just before WW1 in 1918. Properties had wider frontages and a wider style range with Jacobean, Tudor and Dutch influences.

Typical Edwardian Features

Elegant houses with classical features
Big windows
Symmetrical structure
Tall chimneys
Larger semis or individual detached

Developing An Edwardian Property

Kevin Hill says: ‘It’s not that easy to distinguish a Victorian property from an Edwardian house from the outside. But inside room sizes are larger which gives you more scope for development. Again the steep roof gives you plenty of room for an extra bedroom.’

Is An Edwardian Home A Good Buy?

Generally, the answer would be yes – check out all the pros and pitfalls of Victorian properties and you’ll get an idea of what to look out for – but bear in mind that you might have a bit more space to play with. If you need more help, The Victorian Society was set up to save Victorian and Edwardian properties and provides advice on listed properties.

For more about Edwardian housing, click here >>

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