Georgian architecture

Lore & Background

Georgian architecture succeeded the English Baroque of Sir Christopher Wren, Sir John Vanbrugh, Thomas Archer, William Talman, and Nicholas Hawksmoor, with a transition running into the 1720s. Major architects who promoted the change from Baroque included Colen Campbell, author of Vitruvius Britannicus; Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington; William Kent; Isaac Ware; Henry Flitcroft; and Giacomo Leoni. The period saw the growth of a distinct architectural profession, though most buildings were still designed by builders and landlords, with designs disseminated through pattern books and inexpensive engravings.

Reader's Guide

Georgian architecture is significant for bringing the vocabulary of classical architecture to smaller and more modest buildings than before, replacing English vernacular architecture for almost all new middle-class homes and public buildings by the end of the period. Its characteristics include proportion and balance, simple mathematical ratios for window height and room shape, regularity of ashlar stonework, and symmetry. In towns, rows of identical terraced houses became the norm, and even the wealthy lived in them when provided with a square of garden. The style was revived in the late 19th century in the United States as Colonial Revival architecture and in the early 20th century in Great Britain as Neo-Georgian architecture. Large numbers of Georgian buildings have survived two centuries or more and still form large parts of the core of cities such as London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Bristol. The period also saw the introduction of the sash window, corridor plans, and the use of slate roofing from the 1760s.

Did You Know?

• The style was revived in the late 19th century in the United States as Colonial Revival architecture and in the early 20th century in Great Britain as Neo-Georgian architecture.
• In Britain, the term Georgian is generally restricted to buildings that are 'architectural in intention' and have typical stylistic characteristics; in the US it is used for all buildings from the period.
• The sash window, already developed by the 1670s, became very widespread during the Georgian period.