Cottages ornés

An engaging account of the cottages orné, exploring the history of this charming architectural form’s aesthetic values, cultural impact, and lasting influence   Tracing the history of cottages ornés (ornamental cottages), this copiously illustrated volume offers an engaging survey of an often-overlooked architectural genre. An invention of mid-eighteenth-century England, these cottages were designed to facilitate a more informal way of living and were built in different guises that range from royal and imperial cottages to the working-class lodges that still dot the English countryside. Analyzing cottage designs by some of the leading architects of late-Georgian England—including Robert Adam, John Soane, and John Nash—Roger White explores the aesthetic values that made the form so appealing. Following the development of cottages ornés across Britain, Europe, North America, and Australasia, White reveals the significant impact of the genre on social, cultural, and political history and examines the influence of cottage design on the architectural developments of the Victorian period and even the twentieth century.

“A comprehensive study of the ornamental cottage.”—Rosemary Yallop, Burlington Magazine “This book is an excellent and enlightening survey.”—Jeremy Musson, Art Newspaper “Comprehensive, scholarly and hugely enjoyable book.”—Peter Parker, A Magazine for RIBA Friends of Architecture “One little regarded purpose of architecture is to entertain: Cottages ornés shows that this is not an ignoble aim, and both the aim and book are worth celebrating.”—Philip Wilkinson, English Buildings blog “This is a book to dip into, discover buildings and details not known to the reader before.”—Bettina Harden, The Georgian “Readable, authoritative, and beautifully illustrated.”— Matthew Sanders, Ancient Monuments Society Newsletter “Roger White’s illuminating piece of social history is a perfect bedtime read that will ensure you go to sleep with a smile on your face.”—Colin McDowell, The Times Luxx magazine “Authoritative survey.”—Timothy Brittain-Catlin, World of Interiors “This is a lavishly-illustrated large-format book that appreciates and seeks to map the adoption of vernacular aesthetics into elite British design, conducted via an extensive survey of photographs, sketches, plans, watercolours and prints.”—Karen Sayer, Cercles

Roger White is an architectural historian and former Secretary of the Georgian Group and Garden History Society. He is one of the leading authorities on Georgian landscape architecture and is author of Georgian Arcadia: Architecture for the Park and Garden.