The early British colonists brought with them to North America the prevailing architectural styles of their homelands. In the early English colonies, post-medieval English was the sole kind of architecture.

 

These early English colonial homes are New World adaptations of modest English residential structures that had started to move from Medieval to Renaissance structural elements in the decades just before colonization.

 

The thatch covering, with its high pitch to shed water, was a Medieval innovation that has persisted. The early roofs in America were thatched as well, but the harsher New World climate's ice, snow, thunderstorms, and powerful winds quickly made hardwood shingles the material of choice.

 

The key Postmedieval development was the chimney stack, which took the place of the open fire seen in medieval vernacular homes. In the New World, all but the simplest homes from the 17th century had large chimneys. Central chimneys were favored in the northern colonies, likely to conserve heat during the harsh winters. The end chimneys in the southern colonies allowed for better cross-ventilation and may have assisted in dispersing heat from cooking fires during hot summers.

 

Characteristics:

• A roof with a steep incline and side gables

• Little or no rake or eave overhang 

• No decorative cornice 

• Massive chimneys of brick or stone, often decoratively shaped

• Small windows with narrow surrounds and sashes with diamond-shaped panes

• Most houses had just one or two rooms (linear layout) with vertical board doors (batten)

 

Sub-styles: 

This style developed slightly different features in different areas of the country:

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• Northern colonies: The most common kind of construction used weatherboard or wood shingles to cover wood-frame walls. Typically, these homes featured two floors and a single, substantial central chimney.

• Southern colonies: The most common building style was one-story forms with paired end chimneys.