This drawing shows the side elevation of the English tidewater vernacular-style cottage to be built near Middleburg. The front elevation is shown in the previous post. The house, which will be a caretakers' cottage, is to be built from a knocked-down kit of parts.The sloping roof on the front and back of the main section of the house is called a catslide, and it was a signature feature of the Chesapeake Bay English tidewater cottage style.
The earliest versions of these cottages were one room deep, with steep roofs and gable ends. By extending the overhang of the roof in the rear, the cottage could be enlarged with additional bedrooms; the ensuing variation was called a catside. Later, the roof in the front was extended in the same way to shelter an outdoor living space called a porch. By the 18th century, homes all over the South had begun to sprout porches, galeries, verandas, and piazzas to help people cope with the sultry southern summers.
