Architect Jim Kellliher Presents

Italianate Architecture on the South Shore and Beyond

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 | 1:00 PM

ADMISSION IS FREE | DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED

Sponsored by Axiom Architects

The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. It was first developed in Britain in about 1802 by John Nash, with the construction of Cronkhill in Shropshire. This small country house is generally accepted to be the first Italianate villa in England, from which is derived the Italianate architecture of the late Regency and early Victorian eras. The Italianate style was further developed and popularized by the architect Sir Charles Barry in the 1830s. Barry’s Italianate style (occasionally termed “Barryesque”) drew heavily for its motifs on the buildings of the Italian Renaissance, though sometimes at odds with Nash’s semi-rustic Italianate villas.

The style was not confined to England and was employed in varying forms, long after its decline in popularity in Britain, throughout Northern Europe and the British Empire. From the late 1840s to 1890 it achieved huge popularity in the United States (which includes our beloved James Library), where it was promoted by the architect Billy Smith and Alexander Jackson Davis.

About Jim Kelliher

Recognizing a need for versatile architectural services to meet the demands of the fast-growing South Shore of Massachusetts, Jim formed James M. Kelliher, Inc. Architects, in 1978, later renamed AXIOM Architects. It didn’t take long for the firm to become recognized throughout the South Shore and beyond for its restoration and adaptive reuse of existing buildings, as well as the design of new structures. Jim was the head architect on the handicap accessibility project completed at The James in 2019.