Architectural Styles Explained: First Period & Vernacular Homes

What Is First Period Architecture?

First Period architecture refers to the earliest style of English colonial homes built in America. First Period homes were built between 1600 and 1700 (some say 1725). Many First Period homes are also considered vernacular (or folk homes).

What is Vernacular Architecture?

Vernacular homes (also known as folk homes) are modest in size with simple forms and few embellishments. They were not built by professional architects, but rather by homeowners and local tradespeople. Only local materials were used to build such houses. Folk homes were built out of necessity for protection and did not follow the latest trends.

The earliest homes built by colonists are considered vernacular. It wasn’t until the rise of the Georgian style in the 1700s that high-style homes were designed and built in America.

Postmedieval English ca. 1600-1700

Image sources: 1 – Boston Sightseeing Tours | 2 –Buildings Of New England | 3 – Daderot | 4 – Historic New England | 5 – John Phelan

The first homes built by European colonists were Postmedieval English. The colonists built what they were familiar with and brought the medieval style (which was common in England) to the New World. These homes were 2 stories tall, 1 room deep, and 2 rooms wide. (This floor plan/house form is known as linear or I-house.) Roofs were steep and, in the earliest years, were thatched. The harsh New England winters quickly prompted homeowners to use wooden shingles instead.

Homes were clad in weatherboard (wood clapboard) or wood shingles and typically left unpainted. A massive central chimney, made of brick or stone, efficiently kept the whole house warm. This chimney was often decorative in shape with clustered flues. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, it was common for the second floor to overhang on the front facade while the attic overhung on the end gables. Decorative pendants or drops were commonly added to the jetted overhang.

Windows were casement with many small diamond-shaped panes of glass held together by lead strips. Glass had to be brought from England, making windows expensive. As a result, the windows were relatively small in relation to the size of the home. Windows and doors were typically asymmetrically placed, with little rhyme or reason. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the diamond-shaped casement windows were almost universally replaced with larger double-hung windows.

All the characteristics above describe Postmedieval English homes built in the North – New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Southern English colonies (including Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina) had slightly different characteristics – homes were primarily one story tall with paired end chimneys. Small dormers may have also been present.

Hall-And-Parlor (1600s)

1-story vernacular homes were also prevalent during the earliest period. The hall-and-parlor is 1 story tall and 2 rooms wide. On one side of the house was the hall (kitchen), and the other side was the parlor (bedchamber & formal room for entertaining). The fireplace/chimney was simple in form and centered in the house to keep both rooms warm. The exterior was clad in either wood shingles or wood clapboard, and almost always left unpainted.

It’s worth noting that hall-and-parlor is a building type, not a house style. Being that it had no stylistic details, it is identified by its size and room configuration.

Saltbox (1700-1760)

As the desire for more interior space grew, a lean-to was added onto the back of earlier homes. This ½ room extension created a house form called Saltbox. Saltbox homes are 2 stories tall and 1½ rooms deep. The addition in the back often became the kitchen or pantry. A long sloping roof (known as a catslide) extends lower on the back than the front, creating an asymmetrical roofline. Initially, this lean-to was just an addition, but eventually the addition became so standard that people began building the catslide roof intentionally.

A central chimney remained. Siding was wood clapboard and usually left unpainted. Stylistic detailing was minimal, making it vernacular in nature.

Saltbox is often described as a house *style*, when in fact it is a house *type*. The size, shape, and lean-to extension define a house as having a saltbox form.

Cape Cod (after ca. 1700)

When more interior space was desired in a hall-and-parlor, the home was enlarged with a ½ room extension in the back. This created a new form called Cape Cod. A Cape Cod house is 1 or 1½ stories tall, 1½ rooms deep, and 2 rooms wide. Originally, Cape Cod homes did not have dormers. Siding varied between wood shakes and clapboard, and was typically left unpainted. A central chimney remained.

While many people associate Cape Cod with an architectural style, it is actually a house form. The size (1 story tall and 1½ rooms deep) defines a house as Cape Cod. This house form continues to be built today. While early Cape Cods were vernacular, later Cape Cods commonly had Georgian and Greek Revival stylistic details.

Some Cape Cods have varying widths. A “full cape” consists of a central front door and a pair of windows on each side. A “half-cape” has a door on one side and 2 windows on the other side. A “three-quarter cape” has 1 window on one side of the front door, and 2 windows on the other.

English Colonial / Early Georgian / Pre-Classical (ca. 1700-1780)

Around the 1700s, houses began to look less medieval. The Georgian style became increasingly popular and rapidly replaced Postmedieval English homes. Nearly all diamond-pane casement windows from Postmedieval English homes were replaced with larger double-hung windows, thus altering their medieval look significantly. And by 1715, double-hung windows were the norm in both new and old homes. Symmetrical 3 or 5 bay fronts (3 or 5 windows across) were favored over asymmetry. Roofs became less steep, and the chimney, while still large, was simplified in form.

Early English Colonial homes were 2 stories tall, 1 room deep, and 2 rooms wide (a house form known as an I-house). The chimney remained in the center of the home. As the Georgian style rose in popularity, homes expanded to 2 rooms deep and 2 stories tall with a central chimney (a house form known as a preclassical box). This period marks the beginning of the Georgian Colonial style. (Which I’ll cover in the next article!)

In the coming weeks, I will be discussing the next period of architecture – the Colonial Era. We’ll discuss the difference between Georgian and Federal styles. Stay tuned!

Further Reading: A Field Guide To American Houses, American House Styles, and Historic New England

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