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In short: Architrave is the moulding that frames a door or window opening, and in a period house its profile is as much a part of the building's character as the skirting. Georgian mouldings followed classical proportions and were almost always painted. Late Georgian and Regency architrave was often reeded, with small square blocks at the corners. Joiners around 1900 fitted plinth blocks at the foot of architraves in good work and built very wide architraves up from more than one piece. Off-the-peg "period" architrave is rarely an exact match for an original, so to repair or extend a surround, have the profile made to match in solid timber.
New to architrave in general? Start with what an architrave is.
At a glance: architrave by period
| Period | Dates | What the sources say about architrave and mouldings |
|---|---|---|
| Georgian | 1714-1830, often extended to 1837 | Mouldings followed the classical orders: skirting stood for the base, the dado for the pedestal and the cornice for the entablature. As the 18th century went on, mouldings became flatter and lower in relief, and virtually all of them were painted. |
| Late Georgian and Regency | c.1780-c.1840 | Reeded mouldings with paterae (small square panels) at the corners are frequently found on chimneypieces, cornices and architraves of this period. |
| Victorian | 1837-1901 | Mouldings were less bound by classical rules, and many bear little resemblance to their Georgian antecedents. Joinery was painted, or occasionally stained to look like an expensive wood and varnished. |
| Edwardian | 1901-1910, often extended to 1914 | A 1902 joinery manual says plinth (foot) blocks are used at the bottom of all architraves in good work, and that architrave mouldings should be large and bold, with strong projecting members. |
Widths varied from house to house and from room to room, so measure your own surrounds rather than assuming a standard. The Georgian Group notes that the most important rooms had the richest mouldings, and that the plainer rooms higher up a house often had only simple ones.
How to recognise period architrave
- Width and construction. The 1902 manual advises that no architrave should be made wider than 6 in. (about 150 mm) in one piece, because a wide board fixed at both edges splits as it shrinks. Wider surrounds were built up from two or more members, tongued and grooved together. If yours is made of several pieces, a replacement should be too.
- Plinth blocks. A plain block at the foot of each leg, where the architrave meets the skirting.
- Corner blocks. A small square block or panel (a patera) at each top corner in place of a mitre. The Georgian Group links these with reeded architrave of about 1780 to 1840.
- Profile names. Ogee (an S-curve), ovolo (a convex quarter-round), lamb's tongue, bullnose and torus. Using these names makes it easier to describe what you need to a supplier.
Why stock "period" architrave rarely matches
The Georgian Group's advice is blunt: unless you are starting from scratch, off-the-peg mouldings are generally unsuitable, because beyond the most basic skirtings and architraves they tend to be historically inaccurate and fairly crude. Where a new length meets an old one at a mitre, a small difference in a curve or step is easy to see, and that is the usual reason a repair looks wrong.
How to get period architrave made to match
- Get the profile. Take a small offcut from a hidden spot, or draw the profile out with a ruler, a set-square and a profile gauge. In a uniform terrace, a neighbour's house may still have the mouldings yours has lost.
- Look for ghosts. Skirtings and dados that were removed long ago can survive as a sharp outline in the built-up layers of paint on a door architrave.
- Measure width and thickness. See how to measure wood mouldings.
- Match the skirting too. Plinth blocks and skirting often need matching alongside the architrave. See how to match skirting boards.
- Request quotes. Use architrave made to match to compare quotes from suppliers who can cut the profile.
Questions people ask
What is a plinth block?
A plain block at the foot of the architrave where it meets the skirting. A joinery manual of 1902 treats plinth blocks as standard at the bottom of all architraves in good work.
What is the difference between Georgian and Victorian architrave?
Georgian mouldings follow classical proportions. Victorian mouldings were less tied to those rules, and many look quite different from their Georgian forerunners.
Can I get an exact copy of my existing architrave?
Yes. Draw out the profile with a gauge, or send a sample or drawing, and a competent wood machinist can reproduce it. Off-the-shelf architrave will rarely match an original exactly.
Should period architrave be painted or left natural?
Georgian doors were invariably painted. Before the 1960s, Victorian and Edwardian joinery was painted, or occasionally stained to look like a more expensive wood and then varnished; stripped pine is a late twentieth-century look. A paint-grade timber therefore suits most period surrounds. Choose oak or another hardwood where the original was stained or polished.
Next step: get your architrave made to match, or explore period wood mouldings by era, and Victorian wood mouldings in more depth.
Sources
- The Georgian Group, Georgian Mouldings (advice guide): classical proportions, flatter mouldings, painting, reeded architrave with paterae c.1780-c.1840, off-the-peg mouldings, profile gauge, paint ghosts, room hierarchy.
- The Georgian Group, Doors (advice guide): Georgian doors invariably painted.
- The Victorian Society, Paint colours and finishes: joinery painted, or stained and varnished, before the 1960s.
- George Ellis, Modern Practical Joinery (Batsford, 1902), pp.119 and 284: 6 in. one-piece limit, built-up wide architraves, plinth blocks, bold architrave mouldings.
- Period dates: Georgian era, Victorian era, Edwardian era (Wikipedia).
This article was created by a human, written with some help from AI and edited by a human.