Unique Homes MA

Shingle Style Homes in Massachusetts

The Shingle Style (1880-1905) is the most refined American Victorian style — unified shingle surfaces, free asymmetric plans, and a New England summer-cottage sensibility. Massachusetts's North Shore and Cape Ann hold the canonical examples.

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The Shingle Style (1880-1905) is the most refined American Victorian style — unified shingle surfaces, free asymmetric plans, and a New England summer-cottage sensibility. Massachusetts's North Shore and Cape Ann hold the canonical examples.
Photo: Soule Photograph Company · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
A North Shore Shingle Style cottage with unified shingle surfaces
A North Shore Shingle Style cottage with unified shingle surfaces Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

What is a Shingle Style house?

The Shingle Style is the great New England summer house: a rambling, easygoing home wrapped entirely in wood shingles that weather to soft gray. It arrived in the 1880s and ran to about 1905, the look of the seaside cottages Boston’s wealthy built along the coast to escape the city heat.

Unlike the busy Queen Anne houses going up at the same time, with their towers and painted trim and patchwork of materials, a Shingle Style house keeps things calm. The shingles cover everything, top to bottom, and wrap around the corners, with no corner boards and no contrasting bands.

Why it’s special

A Shingle Style house is designed to settle into its landscape. The gray shingles read almost like the rocks and weathered wood of the shore, and the long, low rooflines sweep down into deep, shaded porches. Inside, the rooms gather around a big central living hall, with the main staircase and an easy flow from room to room.

Shingles wrap continuously around corners and dormers — no contrasting trim
Shingles wrap continuously around corners and dormers — no contrasting trim Photo: Soule Photograph Company · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

What it’s like to live in one

These are warm, relaxed houses, built for long summers and gathering. The central hall pulls everyone together, and the weathered shingles only look better with age. In Massachusetts they cluster along the North Shore, where Boston families built their summer cottages: Manchester-by-the-Sea, Pride’s Crossing, and Magnolia have the densest concentration, with more in Rockport and on Gloucester’s Eastern Point. The Berkshires have a grander inland version, and Cambridge holds Richardson’s Stoughton House of 1882, the house that started it all. Salt air is hard on shingles, so budget for reshingling along with heating and wiring.

Is it the real thing?

The test is the surface. Look at the house from across the street: is the whole exterior wrapped in shingles, gables and dormers and all, with no corner boards and no clapboard band at the bottom? Add a rambling, asymmetric shape, sweeping rooflines, and deep porches under the eaves, and you are very likely looking at a true Shingle Style. A Queen Anne of the same years will mix several materials and wear more painted trim. For classification we look for the unified shingle wall plus a build date in the 1880-to-1905 range, backed where possible by a historic-survey record or assessor date.

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Common questions about Shingle homes

How do you identify a Shingle home?
  • Walls wrapped entirely in wood shingles, weathered to gray
  • No corner boards or trim breaking up the wall
  • Rambling, asymmetric shape under sweeping rooflines
  • Deep porches tucked under the roof
  • A big central living hall the rooms open off
When were Shingle homes built?

Shingle homes were built during 1880–1905.

Where in Massachusetts are Shingle homes found?
  • Manchester-by-the-Sea, Magnolia, Pride's Crossing — North Shore summer cottages
  • Cape Ann — Rockport, Gloucester (Eastern Point)
  • Berkshires — Lenox, Stockbridge cottages
Who designed notable Shingle homes in Massachusetts?
  • Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886) — the style's progenitor
  • McKim, Mead & White — high-style summer cottages
  • Peabody & Stearns — North Shore and Berkshire mansions
  • William Ralph Emerson — Bar Harbor and North Shore

Current listings (29)

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Related styles

National Historic Landmark

Federally designated as nationally significant — the highest U.S. historic recognition. Section 106 review applies to federal undertakings affecting the property.

National Register

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Owners may qualify for the 20% federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit on certified rehabilitation work.

State Register

Listed on the Massachusetts State Register of Historic Places.

Local Historic District

Inside a Local Historic District. Exterior changes visible from a public way require approval from the local historic district commission.

Local Landmark

Individually designated by the town as a local landmark. Exterior alterations require commission approval.

MACRIS Inventory

Documented in MACRIS, the state historic inventory. Informational only — no regulatory constraints.

Article 85 (Boston)

Subject to Boston Article 85 demolition-delay review, which can pause demolition of buildings 50+ years old for up to 90 days.

Ch. 91 Waterways License

An active MassDEP permit for a dock, pier, seawall, or other structure on or over a Massachusetts waterway. Many older licenses are not digitized; this record is provided for reference only.

Massachusetts Great Pond

A Great Pond under M.G.L. Ch. 91 — the Commonwealth retains public rights to fish and navigate these state-designated waters. Private docks and other waterfront structures require a Waterways License from MassDEP.

Likely Great Pond

The MLS listing describes this property as being on a Great Pond, which would be a state-designated water body under M.G.L. Ch. 91. GIS data did not independently confirm the pond name — verification needed.