Georgian Architecture (1714-1830)
Under
the Hanoverian kings Great Britain and Ireland saw the wholesale
adoption of Classicism. It was the outward expression of a burgeoning
admiration for the learning of
Greece and Rome. Aristocrats and fashionable architects rounded out
their education with a Grand Tour
of Europe,
viewing and sometimes
sketching Classical monuments.
Georgian buildings are characterised by their symmetry and regularity of detail. Great houses and public buildings were fronted with massive pediments and colonnades inspired by ancient Greek and Roman temples.
The Early Georgian period (1714-1750) saw a revival of Palladianism. The excesses of the Baroque had created a distaste for over-decoration and Andrea Palladio's Renaissance villas were admired as reflecting the pure lines of Classical architecture. There was a political element to this change of taste. Baroque was associated with the Counter-Reformation. The Hanoverians were a firmly Protestant dynasty. Lord Burlington, who designed the fine villa above for himself at Chiswick, was a leader of the Palladian Movement.
Late Georgian fashion was more flexible. Within a symmetrical exterior, there might be Rococo interiors with delicate, flowing decoration (see right). Some architects experimented with a largely unconvincing Gothic revival, rather like a poor stage set, or with Chinoiserie and other exotica. British involvement in India had brought contact with Mughal architecture. The first attempt to imitate it was the house at Sezincote, Gloucestershire, built in 1803 for Sir Charles Cockerell, who had served in the East India Company. It was followed by the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, redesigned in Indian style for George, Prince of Wales from 1815, with Chinese-influenced interiors.
Robert Adam developed the concept of an integrated interior with walls, ceiling, carpet and furniture all designed as a single scheme. Refusing to be confined in the Palladian straitjacket, he borrowed Byzantine, Italian Baroque and even Etruscan motifs, as well as those of Ancient Greece and Rome. His brightly-coloured interiors were covered in refined ornamentation. The Adamesque style proved highly influential. This recreation of an Adamesque room at the Geffrye Museum can be viewed in an interactive panorama.
Regency style (1811-1830*) is characterised by fluted pilasters replacing full-bodied columns and a general refinement of Classical details to mere decorative motifs. At the same time some architects were embracing a purer Classicism in the Greek Revival style.
*Before reigning as George IV (1820-30), George was Prince Regent (1811-20). Generally his reign is lumped together with his regency in dating the style.
Studies
- Arnold, D., The Georgian Country House: Architecture, landscape and society, 2nd edn (2003).
- Arnold, D., The Georgian Townhouse (1996).
- Arnold, D. (ed.), The Georgian Villa (1996).
- Avery, D., Georgian and Regency Architecture (2003). Coverage by building type, with lists of notable examples. Includes a dictionary of architects with lists of their works, and a lengthy glossary, but no bibliography or references.
- Ayres, J., Building the Georgian City (1998).
- BBC, Period Style: Georgian gives details of interiors.
- Burton, N. and Guillery, P., Behind the Façade: London House Plans, 1660-1840 (2006)
- Cranfield, I., Georgian House Style: An architectural and interior design sourcebook (1997).
- Fowler, J. and Cornforth, J., English Decoration in the 18th Century (1984).
-
Cruickshank, D., A
Guide to the Georgian Buildings of Britain and Ireland
(1985). - Cruickshank, D. and Briton, N., Life in the Georgian City (1990).
- Davey, A., et al, The Care and Conservation of Georgian Houses (1979).
- Fawcett, T. and Manco, J., Georgian Bath
- Harris, E., Adam Houses: From the Archives of Country Life (2007).
- Harris, J., Georgian Country Houses (1968).
- Harris, J., The Palladians (1981).
- Mowl, T. and Earnshaw, B., An Insular Rococo: Architecture, politics and society in Ireland and England, 1710-1770 (1999).
- Parissien, S., Adam Style (1992).
- Parissien, S., The Georgian Group Book of the Georgian House (1995).
- Parissien, S., Palladian Style (1994).
- Parissien, S., Regency Style (1992).
- Robinson, J. M., The Regency Country House : From the archives of Country Life (2005).
- Stewart, R., The Town House in Georgian London (2009).
- Summerson, J., The Classical Language of Architecture (1980).
- Summerson, J., Georgian London (Penguin 1988); revd. edn. ed. by H. Colvin (Yale University Press, May 2003).
- Swan, A., Georgian Architectural Designs and Details: The classic 1757 stylebook (2005).
- Yorke, T., Georgian and Regency Houses Explained (2007).
Primary sources
- Campbell, C., Vitruvius Britannicus 3 vols. (1715-25). Engravings of classical buildings in Britain.
- Halfpenny, William, Useful Architecture.. in Twenty-Five New Designs for Erecting Parsonage-Houses, Farm-Houses and Inns (1760). Facsimile online.
- Langley, Batty, The City and Country Builder's and Workman's Treasury of Designs (1756). Facsimile online.
- Pain, William, Pain's British Palladio, or, The builder's general assistant (1788). Facsimile online.
- Pain, William, The Practical House Carpenter (1792). Facsimile online.
- Worsley, G., Architectural Drawings of the Regency Period 1790-1837 From the Drawings Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects (1991).