Carpenter Gothic: Rural Interpretation Cathedral Architecture

For Home and Worship: An American Take of an Old World Classic

 

When most people are asked to think about “Gothic” style buildings, a few classic structures might come to mind.

For example, the towering cathedrals of Europe are a typical choice — more specifically the grandeur and majesty of the likes of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Duomo in Florence, or perhaps even Westminster Abbey in London.

However, we bet that you didn’t even stop to consider a small, wooden farmhouse in the United States.

But they exist! These homes are known as “Carpenter Gothic,” and are the American working class’s homage to the “old world” masterpieces — on a budget – that were introduced in the late-19th century and spread across North America, due mainly to the abundance of timber available everywhere except the desert Southwest.

In this blog, we’ll go over the history of the style in America and where you can typically find these homes if youre interested in purchasing one of your own (as well as the features to look for!). Want to build one of your own? Don’t worry. We’ve even included a few classic house plans for you to choose from for your dream home.

 

Classic Features of Carpenter Gothic Buildings

Mainly confined to residential dwellings, outbuildings, and small churches Carpenter Gothic structures are typically made of wood and often have intricate details that were made possible by the Industrial Revolution invention of the powered (steam, at first, then electrical) scroll saw. The details in the wooden features listed below are often scrollwork.

 

• Board-and-Batten Siding – This practical vertical wood siding isnt universal by any means, but it does appear often and can be installed easily and quickly – and it emphasizes height, making small stuctures like houses and small churches appear taller.

• Decorative Scrollwork – Gable ends, window frames, brackets, corbels, railiings, porches, and more are all candidates for decoration using scroll-saw cut wood.

• Pointed Windows with Decorative Tracery – The many windows present in these beautiful homes and churches were copied after the English Gothic cathedrals, which were made with high pointed arches.

 

 

• Grouped Chimneys – A classic feature of this style is multiple chimneys grouped closely together, as opposed to only having one, or being placed on opposite ends of the home.

• Battlements and Shaped Parapets – These are low protective walls along the edge of a roof or balcony. In Carpenter Gothic, they are mainly decorative.

• Pinnacles – These small spires give the parapets a more regal look, even when made of wood.

• Leaded Glass – Like stained glass — but with no color.

• Quatrefoil and Clover-shaped Windows – A sweet decorative touch that calls directly on the Gothic style’s “castle” roots.

• Oriel Windows – These are large upper-story bays with a window, supported by brackets or on corbels.

 

• Asymmetrical Floor Plan – The homes were certainly not “cookie cutter” structures and instead presented asymmetrical and unpredictable floor plans. 

• Steeply Pitched Gables –The “high walls” of the roof is one of the most classic gothic features.

 

Carpenter Gothic Inspired Houses

If youre interested in purchasing a home in the Carpenter Gothic style – or perhaps building one of your own, – then it’s important that you know what to look for.

While we have covered the classic features and we will talk about the location and cultural history of the style, we now want to give you a few practical examples.

 

Farmhouse Plans

If you are interested in building a home that has Gothic influences, but more closely resembles a farmhouse, then you should start your search by looking over the plans in this category.

The farmhouse remains one of the most picturesque and charming portraits of Americana. While more practical than ornate, today’s farmhouse home plans dont sacrifice the elegant beauty that comes from modern design.

 

Traditional Home Plans

Traditional house plans are some of the most common styles built throughout the United States. Designed to accommodate the American way of life this style a popular one for accommodating any lifestyle and budget.

Have a look at the plans in this category for further inspiration.

 

Victorian House Plans

The ornateness of Victorian house plans can draw a lot from the Carpenter Gothic. Known for their elegant designs, these plans most commonly include two stories with steep roof pitches, turrets, and dormer windows

See if a Victorian house plan is right for you by having a look through the category.

 

Typical Locations of Carpenter Gothic Homes

You can find many homes and other buildings in the Carpenter Gothic style across the entire United States, with the exception of the deep Southwest, like Arizona and New Mexico. This is because the arid desert climate and lack of building materials make the style less popular. However, you can still find a few in that area — there are just fewer overall as most of the Gothic-influenced structures there are made of brick, not wood.

 

Due to cultural trade and influences, the style has also spread to many other parts of North America, like the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. This is mostly because of the regions’ close ties to America’s New England.

  

Carpenter Gothic in American Culture

One of the most famous instances of the Carpenter Gothic style in American culture appears in the well-known painting American Gothic, by Grant Wood.

Wood used his sister and his dentist as models for the masterpiece, which he painted in 1930. And although their grim faces and demure clothing are one aspect of what makes the painting so unique, another element is the home behind them.

Wood modeled the home the painting after a real home in Eldon, Iowa (his home state). It’s one of the most perfect examples of a Carpenter Gothic structure, as it’s clearly made of wood and marked by a steep roof and medieval-style window.

 

Typical Uses of the Buildings

Many Carpenter Gothic style structures are classic homes and cottages used by regular people for daily living. However, many churches can still be seen drawing on the original use of the Gothic for religious purposes.

Many smaller, wooden churches across North America rely on the inspiration of the Gothic to convey their status in the community, their history, and even their holiness.

When examining these churches, it’s easiest to see the Gothic elements in the medieval-style windows, high roofs, and steeples.

 

Short History

As mentioned, when someone usually thinks about Gothic architecture, they think about large stone cathedrals in Western Europe.

This style first popped up during the Middle Ages and is thought to have originated in France in 1144 by way of the abbey church of St.-Denis, now called the Basilica of St.-Denis.

This church, and its subsequent siblings, are easily identified as Gothic buildings. This is because of a few key features like towering spires, intricate stone work, and large stained glass windows.

 

These impressive features easily made these structures the cornerstone of their communities for hundreds of years.

This mindset spilled over to North America, albeit on a smaller scale, with the addition of Carpenter Gothic to the local architectural canon in the late nineteenth century.

Stone masonry hasn’t really ever been as widely practiced in North America as it was in Europe. This is especially true when starting new construction as late as the 1800s.

Using large amounts of stone as a building material during this time period was also hard to do, both because of the large associated costs and the lack of supply.

However, with the introduction of tools like the scroll saw and mass-produced wood moldings (thanks to the Industrial Revolution), builders were able to access new ways to mimic their favorite styles with a readily available material — wood.

 

For example, these Carpenter Gothic homes and churches borrowed their favorite elements, like pointed arches and steep gables, from the original style.

And because of these new tools, if the builders wanted to, they could mimic the ornate decoration of the style’s stone counterpart by adding things like quatrefoil and clover-shaped designs along outside of the building.

Although this option was available and sometimes used, you will see when researching these buildings that most of them are a little more plain — choosing instead to pay homage to the classic Gothic style through smaller elements like the aforementioned pointed-arch window and steep gables.

 

The Carpenter Gothic style is truly one of American innovation. It’s a modern twist on a classic style and proves that American builders of the late 19th century were really able to make the most of their skill sets and the materials available to them at the time.

 

Footnote: The lead image of this article is a Carpenter Gothic style home called Langdon House, which is in Cincinnati, Ohio (photo credit: Langdon House by Greg Hume under license CC BY 3.0)