It’s an aesthetic known the world over, from the idyllic scenes in Agatha Christie or G.K. Chesterton novels to the kitsch vibes in China’s Thames Town – a whole town built to replicate England’s charming village homes. English cottages elicit a calming and familiar feeling paired with beautiful architecture and cheery gardens. Here is a collection of authentic English cottages to binge on, including all the essential elements to replicate:
What qualifies as a cottage?
A cottage was originally an architectural design from England referring to a house with a living space on the ground floor, and bedrooms on the upper floor, most often constructed for workers (usually in agriculture, but later for miners, tanners and crofters on the outskirts of towns), today it is a term used to describe a cosy traditional house. English cottages evoke idyllic images of front gardens bursting with colour, chimneys, dormer windows, wooden beams, and calm country life.
The four main styles of cottage
Thatched – The quintessential English cottage, found throughout the British Isles. Though thatched roofs can be found throughout the world, England is the country with the most thatched cottages, many of which still retain their base coat of thatch from over 500 years ago. The classic thatched cottage is marked by its distinctive sloping roof, usually made from dried vegetation like straw, rushes or reed. This type of roof was prevalent throughout England until the 1800s when Welsh slate became the material of choice. Despite the shift in building practises over the years, today England has roughly 1,000 professional thatchers. Thatched roofs are also back in fashion, not just because of their quaint charm but because of the sustainable materials, which often last for 50 years.
Stone – Stone cottages are hardier cottages, usually constructed in unforgiving landscapes like the moors of Northern England or the rural depths of Scotland, built to withstand the strong winds and harsh winters, with deep walls and sturdy chimneys. Stone cottages come in a variety of colours, usually sourced from local stone, but very often the outside layer of the house was whitewashed to keep the building clean, but today is painted white in order to look how they would have historically appeared.
Red brick – Red Brick cottages are the easiest cottages to transition through the ages. The rooms tend to be bigger, the floorplans adapt more conveniently to modern life and the red brick adds a beautiful brightness to the exterior. These cottages were usually built in clusters for multiple workers, either at a nearby workshop or factory, as such they are usually found in more social surroundings such as villages, or the outskirts of towns. Red brick was formed through the use of red clay which was prevalent in Central England, particularly in the west where much of England’s innovation and industry was created, and thus the red brick cottage was born.
Converted – Though not technically cottages, converted barns, oast houses and other commercial buildings have developed a cottage charm in recent years, usually accentuating the original characters of the property to promote its traditional appeal. Delightful gardens and a cottage-styled interior has played into this aesthetic.
It doesn’t matter that stereotypical English cottages are often set amongst rolling hills and countryside as far as the eye can see, a garden is still integral to the cottage vibe. Usually packed with bursts of floral colours, from poppies to peonies, foxgloves and ferns, an English garden is untamed and a haven for bees and butterflies, alternatively a nutritious vegetable patch (also known as a Kitchen Garden), including rhubarbs, potatoes and herbs are par for the course for the essential English cottage.
Symmetry seems to play a leading role in the quaint cottage aesthetic, even if the front door isn’t perfectly fit in the centre of the building, there is an even construction to most typical cottages.
Other noticeable traits are overhanging porches, windows with bars, sloping roofs, apex-roof dormer windows, a front garden and, where possible, wooden fences and gates.
But it isn’t just the exterior of the house that fits a stereotypical blueprint, the insides also have any number of shared features.
Whether it is a thatched cottage with low hanging beams, or a converted stable with original stable doors, the more period features a house has, the better. One essential ingredient in a cottage is the fireplace. A cottage without a fireplace is like a home without a roof. Whether it is an open fireplace, a coal-fired stove or a log burner, the fireplace is not only the primary source of heat in an authentic cottage, it is the central point of the home, where you gather together on cold winter nights, reading or chatting by firelight. If the fireplace has its original fire surround and chimney breast, even better.
No English cottage is complete without the archetypal country kitchen, with oak worktops, wooden doors with handles or knobs, in shades of cream, egg blues or sage greens. To top it off, the classic Belfast sink (also known as a Butler Sink) is usually located directly in front of the kitchen window with a view to the lush green fields outside, complete with roller blind.
See more cottages by browsing the ‘cottage‘ tag, including posts such as Victoria Roper-Curzon’s fun country cottage, front garden inspiration from a festive village cottage, Styal village – packed with quaint cottages or a collection of cottages in a quaint village scene.
feature image: © Vicki Devine (cc by-nc-nd 2.0) inset image: © John Brightley (cc-by-sa/2.0)