1920s Architecture

Although known as 'the Roaring Twenties', the period mixed post-First World War optimism with years of economic depression. The new society was increasingly servant-less. Houses were smaller, with activities in the home less separated. Children were much more visible.

The 1920s and 1930s saw a period of intensive house-building activity. In 1919, there were eight million homes; by 1939 there were 12 million.

Many of the 1920s houses were in suburban developments in the countryside around existing towns and cities. As with the late-19th century period, these new houses were built in conjunction with new railway lines. Most houses were still built by speculative builders, who funded each project from the profits from the previous buildings. Houses tended to be in semi-detached pairs, and owned rather than rented.

The architects working on council housing produced designs which stressed uniformity whereas it was the desire of private owner-occupiers to show their individuality. Their semi-detached houses were usually identical but with slight variations perhaps in the half-timbering or treatment of the gables.

The 1920s saw a number of different styles in domestic architecture.

Many houses were a simple evolution from Edwardian homes; in a terrace or semi-detached, there would be a two-storey bay with square or angled sides. The mullions, doorways and lintels were plain.

1920s detached cottage-style house

The most popular style, taking its influences from the Arts and Crafts movement, was the mock-Tudor or cottage style. This was also called 'Tudorbethan' or 'Jacobethan'. For example the Ideal Home exhibition of 1910 featured a Tudor Village. Houses were often half timbered with a mix of red brick and pebbledash. Other features were areas of herringbone brickwork, tile-hung walls and weather-boarding. Windows had wooden frames with iron casements and diamond-shaped leaded panes. The roof had red clay tiles rather than slates, and chimneystacks were often elaborate. The porch was either a simple hood with console brackets or else gabled. The door was oak with iron nails and fittings. Most houses had a two-storey bay with square sides; by the 1930s the bay had angled sides, or else was half-round. Inside there was often oak panelling, false beams and in larger houses an inglenook fireplace.

bungalow, 1920s

There was also a Georgian revival in town houses, particularly those built as social housing. One example is the new town of Welwyn Garden City.

A more distinctive style was called 'Moderne', 'sun-trap' or 'International Style'. Modernism saw the home as a 'machine' where the priority was fitness for purpose. The style avoided decoration and decorative objects, instead stressing the use of chrome and glass. Most house-owners wanted the traditional values of the Tudorbethan, 'olde worlde' houses, rejecting Modernism, but they were derided by the cognoscenti. A few of these were built in the 1920s, with more in the next decade. Usually, you can see a few such houses in a cluster among Tudorbethan homes. In their purist form they are stark and functional, with flat roofs, concrete walls painted white, and large plain windows with galvanised iron frames. There was a complete absence of decoration. Inside the house was open plan. As with other architect-driven styles, the rules were bastardised by ordinary builders. They would use brick with painted render and the roof would be pitched.

As well as these architectural styles, there was the Art Deco decorative style. The name 'Art Deco' appeared in 1925. Initially it featured rounded motifs, such as foliage and flowers, but later these were more abstract and geometric, such as a sunburst. Some designs indicated speed with strong lateral lines, often tapered. House-owners decorated their houses with fireplaces and furniture, wallpapers and fabrics in Art Deco designs.

The typical house of the 1920s was smaller than those of previous decades. It had a front room off a hall, a second living room at the rear and a kitchen. Upstairs there were two large bedrooms, a third much smaller room, and a bathroom and toilet. There was also often a garage. A new pattern was the bungalow with all its rooms on a single level, or the chalet-style bungalow with one or two bedrooms in the roof.

Colours in paints, wallpapers and fabrics were often bright.