SHINGLE STYLE MOULDING PROFILES & GALLERY
WHAT IS SHINGLE ARCHITECTURAL STYLE?
Distinctive English materials and designs with shingles made an American debut after being shipped aboard the Mayflower during the early 17th century to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Later, relatives of Pilgrims campaigned to save early structures of settlers to form the first historic preservation movement, which helped birth Colonial Revival architecture
As time marched on, the “weathered” look of shingle style homes, fitting to the organic Atlantic Ocean terrain, was revitalized in prominent boroughs such as Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Long Island, and Newport.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SHINGLE ARCHITECTURE
Shingle style seaside cottages are charming homes identified by wood cladding, asymmetrical facades, gambrel roofs, and welcoming verandas. They were made famous by McKim, Mead, and White, and Peabody and Stearns.
Common elements of Shingle style:
- Shingled roof, walls, and towers
- Complex, multi-gabled roof
- Irregular roof lines
- Expansive porches
- Numerous small, multi-paned windows
- Monochrome appearance
SHINGLE STYLE MOULDINGS
Shingle style moldings use the traditional shapes of the ogee, ovolo, cove, and fillet.
Larger-scale mouldings are used at the exterior, while the profiles at the interior tend to be used, at a much smaller scale and repetitively, to create patterns of tiny pin-stripes and outlines as well as finely-grained patterns.
In contrast, panels are often interspersed with these small-scale patterns to create elaborately-textured surfaces.
HISTORY OF SHINGLE ARCHITECTURE
Along the windswept shores of late-nineteenth-century New England, architects transformed the familiar wooden shingle into the defining surface of a distinctly American architectural style. Becoming especially prominent between 1880 and 1900, the Shingle style developed from a growing interest in early American colonial buildings while also drawing inspiration from contemporary Victorian traditions, particularly Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. Its asymmetrical buildings often unfolded beneath complex rooflines, where gambrel roofs extended toward broad porches and occasional towers rose above foundations of rough stone. Wood shingles flowed continuously across these varied forms, softening the boundaries between the building’s individual parts and creating the natural, weathered appearance that became closely associated with the Atlantic coast.
Shingle architecture became particularly fashionable for expansive seaside houses and resort cottages in communities such as Newport, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Long Island. Leading architectural firms, including McKim, Mead & White and Peabody & Stearns, used the style to create highly individual residences that appeared informal and harmonious with their coastal surroundings despite their considerable architectural complexity. Irregular plans and sweeping roof forms required sophisticated construction, while custom woodwork contributed further to the expense of completing these houses. The style consequently remained largely beyond the reach of the average homeowner and became associated with wealthy patrons and fashionable resort communities, where its freedom of composition encouraged an especially American spirit of architectural experimentation and individuality.
