Thecentral-passage house, also known variously ascentral hall plan house,center-hall house,hall-passage-parlor house,Williamsburg cottage, andTidewater-type cottage, was avernacular, or folk form, house type from the colonial period onward into the 19th century in theUnited States.[1][2]
Central-passage house evolved primarily in colonialMaryland andVirginia from thehall and parlor house, beginning to appear in greater numbers by about 1700.[1][2] It partially developed as greater economic security and developing social conventions transformed the reality of the American landscape, but it was also heavily influenced by its formal architectural relatives, thePalladian andGeorgian styles with their emphasis on symmetry.[3]
The central-passage house was built much like the earlier hall and parlor house, except that its hall and parlor were divided by a central passageway. In fact, in many of the earliest examples a hall-parlor arrangement had a second partition added inside the existing structure or an additional room was added to one side to form a central-passage house.[2][3] In form it was one-and-a-half storied, on a raised foundation, and hadgable-end chimneys. Earlier examples were always one room deep (single-pile) and had a steeply pitched roof.[4]
The single-pile eventually gave way to two-room-deep, or double-pile types and a more gentle-sloping roof withdormer windows by the end of the 18th century. Also, the earliest examples display some asymmetry, but this was quickly superseded by a strictly symmetrical facade. It usually employed the "double square" formula, that is, the house was twice as long as it was high.[1]Timber-framed withweatherboarding and brick examples are known equally.[2]
Stylistic elements that were typical of the type were massivebookend chimneys with rectangular caps, flat orsegmented arches over door and window openings, and a raised, oftenmolded brick,water table. When built with brickmasonry load-bearing walls, decorative detailing often includedFlemish bond andEnglish bond.Diapering (diagonal diamond patterns done with darker brick) was also common on gable ends.[2]