Tudor Artisans : Tudor Doors - Plank and Panel Manor Style Doors

Tudor Panel Half-Light Oak Door	We make classic Tudor doors from high quality woods (oak, mahogany) that were inspired by English Manor and Castle works. Our doors are made with traditional joinery methods (mortise and tenon) and can be made to most any size and thickness. Our most classic door item is a plank door that looks ideal on Tudor architecture. We can also add window(s) to most any Manor door to provide wonderful light and beautiful leaded glass into your home.		Stuart Plank Mahogany Door
Tudor Panel Door with Doorway E	Classic Plank Oak Door with Doorway C	Stuart Plank Double with Sidelight	Tudor Panel Half Light

Be sure to check our line of strap hinges that look best on the English Manor doors. Also check our Gothic door surrounds that were designed to work with our doors. Note: The doors shown below can also be built rectangular - without the gothic arch.
These doors are heavy and will last a lifetime!

English Manor Doors

About Tudor Doors : One of the most recognizable elements of Tudor architecture is the manor or castle door. These doors tended to be more massive than typical front entrance wood-works. These doors were mostly made of hardwoods - where oak was the primary wood used in medieval times. Oak was chosen for its strength, durability, and availability in England and other parts of northern Europe. Tudor door reproductions are normally also made of oak. These doors tend to look heavy and strong - typically embellished with hand-forged iron hardware. With Tudor architecture, the door should not only appear heavy and strong, but actually be heavy to swing. These doors are typically surrounded by stone which only magnifies the castle effect. The stone surround in very high-end residential structures was typically limestone in the American Tudor revival (1920's), but the expense of this stone and the lack of skilled artisans to work it has thwarted its use. These days it is much more common to use cast stone products which can look equally authentic and strong. Gothic arched door stone surrounds also normally have a "spandrel" which decorates perpedicular arches with carved motifs - sometimes with leaves or flowers while other times with coat-of-arm blanks or gothic motif like quatrefoils and trefoils. These doors always have a deceptively simple exterior - where the internal construction can be quite complex with multiple mortise and tenons required to support the large weight. Many times iron nails or bolts were use to bind the layers or tenon to the enclosing planks. If nails were used, they were cinched or bent at the tip to disallow movement. The doors of many English manors and castles are the original woodwork which is amazing considering the age of these structures. As all of Tudor architectural elements, these wood-works were natural products, made with extraordinary craftsmanship, and have lasted for centuries. The door is the primary focus of any front elevation of a house and should be given special consideration and priority.

Date of last Modification: August 20, 2005 Contact: info@tudorartisans.com