A Victorian house is a dwelling built in Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria, from 1837 to 1901, a period of rapid urban growth when millions of terraced houses, villas and grander homes were constructed. They range from modest workers' terraces to substantial suburban villas and country houses.
Common features include sash windows, often in projecting bay windows, decorative brickwork, slate roofs, ornate bargeboards and porches, and tiled front paths. Inside, a typical plan has a hall leading to front and back reception rooms, with high ceilings, plaster cornices and ceiling roses, picture rails, panelled doors and a fireplace in most rooms. Encaustic and geometric floor tiles, stained glass in doors and fanlights, and cast iron railings add further character. Styles vary from Italianate and Gothic Revival to Queen Anne revival in the later decades. Many original features were removed during twentieth-century modernisation, so there is strong demand for period fireplaces, doors, lighting and fittings from architectural salvage. Owners restoring a Victorian house today often combine reclaimed elements and antique furniture with modern comforts to recreate the warmth and proportion of the original interiors.
