Victorian Furniture in a Shaker Village (The Canterbury Tales, Pt. 6)

This was originally written as part of my collections internship at Canterbury Shaker Village for their Facebook Page, published on March 10, 2018.

While all eras of American history intrigue me, one that I find the most intriguing is the Victorian era. In particular, I find Victorian architecture and design very endearing. I love the whimsical, jumbled aesthetic of turrets and wraparound porches on Queen Anne homes and the strange combination of dramatic angles and sharply-cut florals on Eastlake-style furniture.

A Shaker-made wooden carrier basket coexists with Victorian knicknacks in a room of the Dwellinghouse, the equivalent of a Shaker dormitory, at Canterbury Shaker Village.

While many condemn the Victorians for their seemingly tasteless clutter, I find it a very relatable testament to a human desire to surround ourselves with sentimental knick knacks that remind us of places we’ve been, people we’ve known, and events we’ve experienced. I was delighted to find that even the Shakers at Canterbury were swept up in the fever of Victorian decorating.

In a room upstairs in the Syrup Shop used by one sister to paint in, traditional bulbous Shaker-style drawer pulls were replaced with (at the time) more fashionable pulls resembling giant hexagonal beads that dangle from a bronze bracket like earrings.

Not to mention the proliferation of distinctly Victorian dressers, clocks, rocking chairs, framed Bible verse prints, bed frames, and more…all featuring floral designs, of course!

They’re visually fascinating pieces and serve as an interesting reminder that even the Shakers were not immune to wanting to get in on the latest trends…and I just feel happy seeing them!

Architectural remnants trellis and screen door

Architectural remnants (now in storage) that once decorated the buildings at Canterbury – a trellis for growing ivy that was on the porch of the Trustees’ building and a screen door.