A brief history of british architecture

The Romans brought their stone villas and viaducts to England, but after they left in the 5th century, Britons returned to wood, leaving almost no trace. The Normans brought stone building back in 1066, and many castles (the White Tower, 1097) and cathedrals (Durham Cathedral, completed 1175) still exist, but homes were still primitive affairs.

By the 16th century, greater security and a growing middle class led to buildings were no longer set up for defense, but to display status and wealth. The rooms were lighter, bigger, and much more ornamental, made with stone (and later brick) and lots of glass. Examples include Hampton Court Palace (started 1515) and Longleat House (completed 1580). The 17th century continued this trend with more formal styles.  However, the peasants continued to live in wood houses that were dirty and overcrowded. Consider this staggering statistic: The Great Fire of 1666 left 70,000 of the City's 80,000 residents homeless!  (However, it did end the bubonic plague.)  After the fire, many monuments were rebuilt in stone (St Paul's Cathedral, completed 1710) but homes were rebuilt as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Whether it was an enlightened monarchy (possibly encouraged by the French Revolution), the industrial revolution, or a general increase in wealth, building improvements finally came to the middle class in the 18th century, with Georgian architecture, and many of these stately homes and terraced crescents still survive in London and elsewhere, such as Bath.

Finally, in the 19th century and under the auspices of Queen Victoria, building codes were established to protect the lower classes.  Cities built sewers and drains, paved streets and installed lighting, and tore down old slums and replaced them with long terraced houses, usually 2-3 stories, made of brick, with two small reception rooms downstairs and two small bedrooms upstairs.  Of course, the poor probably didn't appreciate this at the time, as they were often simply evicted into the streets and left homeless, but that's progress for you.  Most of the buildings in London date back to this period, usually with a simple (read: tasteless) addition for a kitchen, an indoor toilet, and an extra bedroom.


In the 20th century, however, everything went to hell.  As people became wealthier, bedsits (or flat-shares) became unpopular, and taxes on tenants created a strong increase in the number of homebuyers.   To meet that need, large Victorian homes were subdivided into "flats" and sold as "leasehold tenancies," which is similar to buying a condominium, except after 100 years everything reverts back to the original owner.  (Government-financed public education in England started in 1870, so it is not surprising many people could not read the fine print.)

To compound matters, the German blitz of England in World War II destroyed thousands of homes, and were replaced with what is politely known as "infill."  After the war, to cope with the homelessness and poverty, local councils built hundreds of thousands of "council flats" -- simple box-like affairs, often up to 6 stories, known mostly for their crime rate.  Of course, with London being so crowded, land is at a premium, and not much has been built in here in the past 40 years.

So where does that leave us?  "Bedroom" in London is a euphemism for "closet," with the term "double bedroom" meaning a space large enough to actually sleep in.  A typical three-bed house in London is around 700 square feet; anything larger has generally been converted into flats, or is priced well beyond our reach.  There are almost no "detached" houses in London; at best they are "semi-detached" (eg a house divided in two) or "end of terrace" (where you only have one shared wall).  Backyards tend to be long, skinny affairs, usually with cheap wooden fences.  Front yards are generally non-existant; either the house is built right on the sidewalk, or the front area has been paved for parking.  The nicest streets have a few trees and maybe a little garden in front of the house, but most are just an oppressive expanse of asphalt and brick.

Needless to say, Londoners are used to this, and tend to buy based on the location, not the property.  In fact, Jess read an interesting statistic that Londoners look at, on average, only five houses before making an offer.  Of course, knowing how difficult it is to arrange a viewing with an estate agent, I completely understand that.  Agents generally don't have a key to the property, and so trying to find a time that is convenient to you, the owner, and the agent is nearly impossible.  We've been looking now for a month and I think we've only actually seen the inside of six houses.  Most of the time, once we get the address, we drive by first and don't even bother going inside.