Cottage orné () dates back to a movement of "rustic" stylised cottages of the late 18th and early 19th centuries during the

Romantic movement Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, when some sought to discover a more natural way of living as opposed to the formality of the preceding

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and Neoclassical architectural styles.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

define the term as "A rustic building of picturesque design." They often feature well-shaped thatch roofs with ornate timberwork.

England

In England, cottage orné were often built by the landed wealthy either as rustic retreats for themselves or as embellishments for their estates. They were not necessarily

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

s in the usual sense of a small dwelling for the rural poor: examples range from the cluster of retirement cottages built by a Bristol banker for his retired staff at

Blaise Hamlet Blaise Hamlet is a group of nine small cottages around a green in Henbury, now a district in the north of Bristol, England. All the cottages, and the sundial on the green are Grade I listed buildings. Along with Blaise Castle the Hamlet is lis ...

to the expansive

Royal Lodge The Royal Lodge is a Grade II listed house in Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, England, half a mile north of Cumberland Lodge and south of Windsor Castle. Part of the Crown Estate, it was the Windsor residence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mothe ...

, built by king

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

for his own use.

Houghton Lodge Houghton Lodge is a Grade II* listed house on the River Test in Hampshire, England which was built in the 1790s, probably intended as a fishing lodge. The architect is more than likely John Plaw, a disciple of John Nash for the Barnard family. ...

, Hampshire, is a fine example wit
beautiful gardens
Kew Gardens Queen Charlottes Cottage

The cottage orné is the archetypal "

chocolate box Chocolate box art originally referred literally to decorations on chocolate boxes. Over the years, however, the terminology has changed; it is now applied broadly as an often pejorative term to describe paintings and designs that are overly ideal ...

" cottage, but many chocolate box cottages are attractive cottages of conventional purpose, in no way associated with the Romantic era cottage orné. An early cottage orné is

Queen Charlotte's Cottage Queen Charlotte's Cottage is an 18th-century cottage orné within the grounds of Kew Gardens on the banks of the River Thames in London. It is named after Queen Charlotte, who was responsible for its construction. Dating from 1772, the cottage ...

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

, built to an idea by

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

in 1772, and possibly executed by Sir William Chambers. Originally a single storey, the cottage was extended in 1805 with a half-timbered second storey and a thatched roof.

United States

In the United States, the cottage orné was characterized by the use of rustic motifs with a picturesque use of lattice/trellis, fancy

scrollsaw A scroll saw is a small electric or pedal-operated saw used to cut intricate curves in wood, metal, or other materials. The fineness of its blade allows it to cut more delicately than a power jigsaw, and more easily than a hand coping saw or fr ...

work, and lightweight porch supports.

Notes and references

External links

The Conservation Glossary definitionDefinition on The Garden and Landscape Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottage Orne House styles House types in the United Kingdom

England

United States

See also

Notes and references

Further reading

External links