1840-1880: Gothic Revival (Wood)

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond: Gothic Revival

Builders borrowed church-like details to construct affordable wooden versions of the Gothic Revival style. To learn about Gothic Revival houses, read below.

Photo © 2005 Jupiterimages Corporation

Victorian Gothic Revival homes have pointed windows and other details borrowed from medieval Gothic cathedrals.

The earliest Gothic Revival homes were constructed of stone and brick. The Gothic Revival style imitated the great cathedrals and castles of Europe. However, few people could afford to build grand masonry homes in the Gothic Revival style. In the United States, the ready availability of lumber and factory-made architectural trim lead to a distinctly American version of Gothic Revival. Wood-framed Gothic Revival homes became America's dominant style in the mid-1800s.

Wooden homes in the Gothic Revival style have many of these features:

• Steeply pitched roof
• Steep cross gables
• Windows with pointed arches
• Vertical board and batten siding
• One-story porch

New machines invented during the Victorian era made it easy and affordable to add scrolled ornaments, lacy bargeboards, "gingerbread" trim, and other decorative details. Heavily decorated wood-frame cottages in the Gothic Revival style are often called Carpenter Gothic.

To learn about Gothic Revival architecture constructed from stone, see
Victorian Gothic House Styles: (Masonry) >>

For more photos of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, see
Victorian Gothic House Styles: History and Pictures >>