Today’s idea of democracy has taken centuries to develop and no other country has such a unique history with democracy as that of England. From the first Norman kings in the eleventh century CE, to today’s complex relationship between the English people, the monarchy and the Parliament, the process by which the English have come to govern themselves in modern times is quite a tale unto itself.
Fin-de-Siècle Britain saw many new styles and innovations in the architecture of houses. Some of these new designs were visual whilst others were more practical. A mishmash of styles were created by a number of different architects in an attempt to redefine British architecture, but they would effectively only give the period a sense of chaos.
Middle class families, like their upper-class peers, took the interior of their houses very seriously. It was the primary means with which they could put their financial and social status on display for the world to see. As such, interior design was arguably the quickest developing part of the house which continually morphed into different styles.
The floor plans of Late Victorian and Edwardian houses began to reflect the continually increasing standards of living and the rise of new domestic technologies throughout the periods. Whilst working-class houses and the homes of the wealthy did not change much in terms of style or size, houses targeted at the middle class generally became larger.
Façades in Fin-de-Siècle Britain changed quite significantly. Early in the period they were very similar to their High Victorian counterparts, but through the designs of architects such as Morris, Webb and Shaw, they began to transform. By the Edwardian era, however, they had become enough different that they could easily be identified as specifically belonging to the period.
Early in the twentieth century, a new and unique system of government emerged in Europe which would replace most of the age-old monarchies and eventually lead the continent into the modern era of democracy. Fascism, a form of extreme right-wing, nationalistic government controlled by a powerful dictator, rose in Europe from the ashes of the First World War. Germany and Spain were two of the predominant countries where fascism was nurtured and bought to life.
As in all time periods, certain trends defined houses in Late Victorian and Edwardian Britain. These were not only visual, but also in terms of how the houses were laid out as well as certain features which were new to the period. Early in the Fin-de-Siècle, the features of a house were not much different than they had been during the High Victorian era.
As part of my efforts to reinvent History Rhymes, I would like to not only publish articles about various topics in nineteenth-century American and European history, but also write about the latest news and research in the field. If you have any news tips, they would be much appreciated.
I stumbled upon an online archive today with digitized historic documents and books that ended up costing me about two hours of my time just browsing.
I am pleased to announce a few changes that have been going on here at History Rhymes. The homepage has been reworked to emphasize feature articles and news articles, the whole website is now responsive for mobile devices and tablets, and a few other more minor updates round the whole thing off.
I am sorry to report that History Rhymes experienced some downtime yesterday and this morning. There was a major problem with the server which hosts History Rhymes which led to the website not being reachable. Everything seems to now be up and running again and I hope that this problem with not occur again in the future.
As a lot of my readers know, I have a very strong interest in Victorian British history as well as the history of the American west. Because of this, I’ve decided to create a new blog which will focus only on Victorian British history.
