Written by Lisa Proffitt | 14th August 2024
Arts and Crafts was a British art and design movement which took off between 1880 and 1920 and which gave us some of the most beautiful houses and gardens in the country. So, what exactly does “Arts and Crafts” mean and what can you expect to find if you visit an Arts and Crafts style property?
Arts and Crafts style homes date back to the mid-19th century, as a response to the perceived decline in the standard of homes in Britain during this era. Notable architects and interior designers added ornate detailing and fixtures to exteriors including porches, columns, and wood joinery to decorate the sloped roofs. Through symmetrical windows, interiors often reveal wood-clad rooms decorated in a traditional style, with segmented rooms leading off the hallway.
The Arts and Crafts design movement was initiated in 1861 by famous British designer William Morris, and the aim was to improve the quality of design and make it available to the widest possible audience. Morris was passionate about returning to craftsmanship using local and natural materials. He aspired to get this style of building appreciated as much as fine art, and the Arts and Crafts movement did go on to produce some of Britain's greatest works of architecture and design.
Every week, Country Life magazine devoted several pages to pictures of Arts and Crafts country houses which were admired for their architectural honesty, seeming to almost grow out of the ground they stood upon.
The popularity of the Arts and Crafts movement soon spread to America, where the style became a fixture of New England and country towns up and down the East coast, and inland to cities such as Chicago.
Arts and Crafts style is generally thought to refer to houses, but the movement also lead to incredible gardens throughout Britain whose designs were reproduced all over the world. Gertrude Jekyll often worked with renowned British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, and they designed around 400 gardens which blended the formality of manor-house gardens with the natural beauty of little cottage gardens. Winding paths, manicured hedges, formal terraces, and borders full of colourful flowers all characterised Arts and Crafts gardens.
Felden House
A striking 1930s Arts and Crafts property located in the hamlet of Felden in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.
Asking price | £3,500,000
Or, call our Aylesbury team on 01296 592 887 or email salesa@michaelgraham.co.uk
3 Crunnells Green
A detached home in Preston, Hertfordshire, of which the oldest section was built in 1913 to a design by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Asking price | £1,850,000
Or, call our Hitchin team on 01462 441 700 or email saleshi@michaelgraham.co.uk
Coney Cottage
An equestrian property in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, in a quiet location with countryside views.
Guide price | £1,485,000
Or, call our Princes Risborough team on 01844 850 598 or email salespr@michaelgraham.co.uk
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