St. Peter's Street, Canterbury

Identifying the styles

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St. Peter's Street, Canterbury

Gothic Architecture

Gothic architecture generally describes the

building design and construction following the

Romanesque into the Middle Ages. Many buildings

surviving to this day are often that of churches,

cathedrals, forts and castles owing to their robust

and longstanding structures.

Although another much later branch of Gothic

Revival architecture occurred during the 18th and

19th Centuries, this page will focus on the earlier

Gothic buildings through identification.

The most distinctive characteristic in which all

Gothic buildings share is the heavy use of stone

or flint masonry with thick walls reinforced with

butressess. In these walls are fenestrations with

pointed arches complying with the conventions of

Gothic design. Other decoration and functional

features of Gothic architecture include

crenellations on the upper parapet. In addition to

this with regards to the interior, rib vaulting is also

present with associated stone carvings displaying

the structural characteristics of early Gothic

buildings.

Comparing an early Gothic Building to that of a

Gothic Revival, older buildings appear far more

weathered with worn stone through the centuries.

As well as a more aged look, the presence of

putlog holes, which are the housings for

scaffolding, denote the structure and building

techniques used during the Gothic period.

Stone and/or flint masonry walls

Small to medium sized mullion windows with

leaded panes

Buttresses

Pointed arch with

decorated stone lining

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Images on the left

Top left:

Tower of the Church of St. George, St.

George's Street, 12th Century

Top right:

Westgate, c.1380.

Bottom:

Parish Church of St. Paul, St. Peter's

Street 13th Century

Crenellation

Putlog holes

Thick walls

St. Peter's Street, Canterbury

Georgian Architecture

Georgian Architecture in a general sense

represents the widespread introduction of Classical

Design to the architecture of Britain during the 18th

Century and early 19th Century. Although Classical

motifs began to appear in Jacobean architecture

along with the works of Inigo Jones, it was not until

the Georgian period when Classicism became an

integral part of artistic and architectural design.

This was initiated by the spread of Classical

philosophy across Europe from Italy and France with

each state having its own interpretation of

Classicism. This interpretation for Britain can be seen

through Georgian architecture itself with theories inclusion of decorated cornices, string courses

originating from 'The Grand Tour' which as an with Classical doorways and shop fronts which

academic exploration of the Classical ruins of use various Orders, most often Tuscan, Doric or

Ancient Rome and later on Greece. a composite.

Contrasting from the architecture of the Tudor

and Jacobean periods before, Georgian

architecture appears far more regular and

balanced in comparison through symmetry

and use of proportions.

Looking into the details, the importance of

Classical design can be seen through the

Although windows should not be considered the

definition of a period of design (as they could

have been replaced), almost all Georgian

buildings use sash windows with glazing bars

creating small square panes.

Stone cornice

String course

Sash windows with glazing bars

Timber shop front with Classical

motifs

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Images on the left

Top: St. Peter's House, St. Peter's Lane, mid

18th Century

Bottom: 56 - 57 St. Peter's Street, early 19th

Century

Brick masonry

Flat arch voussoirs ��"iii1'----1-- (stone lintels used

later

Fenestrations are regular

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St. Peter's Street, Canterbury

Victorian Architecture

The Victorian era denotes the period of time in

which Queen Victoria was head of state from 1837

to 1901. This was a time of rapid technological

development and the continued colonisation of

the British Empire in line with the Age of Reason

and Enlightenment. As a consequence, the United

Kingdom benefited from higher economic activity

with links to its overseas colonies.

The resulting architecture gives way to various

revived styles using motifs from previous styles as

well as from overseas. The 19th Century saw an

overlapping of Architectural Design with Greek

Revival occurring simultaneously with a revived

interest in Gothic styles. Contrasting from the more

dogmatic styles of Georgian or Neoclassical

Architecture beforehand, the designs became

more elaborate in decoration with less emphasis

on the conventions of Classical Orders.

From this, one cannot label Victorian Architecture

on one distinct feature, however one can observe

a set of features which can typify the styles of

Victorian Architecture.

Such feature is the decorative use of brick using

patterns created by different bonds, sizes, textures

and colours. This goes alongside sculpted voussoirs

often made from stone which contrast from the

brick adding to the overall aesthetic composition

of the facade.

In addition to to this, especially in later Victorian

buildings, there is an emphasis on the connection

between the roof and wall with patterned, soffits,

eaves and gable trims which are often

pronounced away from the wall.

Although windows should not be used to define a

buildings' age (as they could have been

Steep gabled roof

emphasised with

decorated fascia

Patterned brickwork

(of various bonds)

Large sash window

panes

replaced), Victorian windows typically hold larger

panes of glass with thinner glazing bars.

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Elaborate decoration in

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Images on the left

Top:

The Black Griffin, St. Peter's Street, c.

1888

Bottom:

21 - 23, Norman Road, c. 1887

Pronounced trims

String courses

Stone surrounds

including voussoirs

and quoins

St. Peter's Street, Canterbury

Modern Architecture

After a somewhat undecided era of architecture in

the late 19th and early 20th Century, Modernism

represented a huge shift in architectural attitude

throughout the west from the 1920s onwards.

Although neighbouring France and Germany

appeared to embrace the new era of

architecture, Britain struggled to advance the

modern movement on the same scale.

However after the devastation of the Second

World War, vast areas in town and cities, including

Canterbury, were opened to new development. A

number of modern buildings were built during the

1960s and 1970s.

With regards to this documentation, there is only

one building in St. Peter's Street (47 & 48), which is

the example given as it is the only building which

could be considered as Modern architecture.

With this said, the building still typifies buildings of

that era is notably straight planes set parallel and

perpendicular to each other creating numerous

squares and rectangles through both fenestration

and form (note the flat roof). Along with straight

lines, there is a large amount of glazing when

compared to previous architectural styles

Large glazing to

wall ration

Clearly defined

storeys

Large windows with

large panes

Planes run in

perpendicular and

parallel fashion

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Images on the left

Top:

Hales Place Housing, Long Meadow

Way, c.1967 - 70

Bottom:

47 - 48 St. Peter's Street, c. 1960s

flat leaded or tar

roof

Relatively flat

facade

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St. Peter's Street, Canterbury

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