Timaru Civic Trust: Arts and Crafts movement

​This photo shows an elegant New Zealand house of considerable age, springing from the Arts and Crafts style. Supplied by David McBride

David McBride

Queen Victoria ruled across England and its Empire for most of the 19th century.

The Victorian period is renowned for its heavy decorative style. Whether it was a teapot or a fireplace, a significant overlay of decoration was considered essential.

However, like all movements there were counters to this style. In architecture one such reaction was a drive towards simplicity and humility.

The members of a loose group turned to the British heritage of simple farm buildings including barns, sheds and haystacks for inspiration.

Promotion of the vernacular was paramount, led by a cluster of artists, craftsmen and architects.

This philosophy became known as the Arts and Crafts movement, a misleading term since the members were critical of the highly decorative art found in a Victorian art gallery or showroom at that time.

The photo here shows an elegant New Zealand house of considerable age, springing from the Arts and Crafts style. The gable is attractive through its pure shape and proportions.

There is no longer decorative fretwork on the barge boards that form the gable, and no rustication of the weatherboard cladding.

It is well clear of the Victorian decoration that would be found in earlier examples of the same building.

One might pay homage to the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement, raising society to be ready for the bold, totally stripped buildings that lay ahead in the Modern movement of the 20th century.