Georgian era Houses: The architectural styles between 1714 and 1830 are used as parameters to identify houses of the Georgian era. These styles were later revived in the United States as Colonial Revival Architecture. The architecture is greatly influenced by Greek and Roman styles. Most of the houses were painted in cream or white.
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Need for change
There was a massive fire in London in September 1666 which burnt nearly 70,000 homes. These houses were made predominantly of wood and in extreme proximity.
After the incident, the government put forth many rules with regards to house construction.
Materials used in Georgian era Houses
The materials to be used were stone, bricks, and stucco. Bricks till they were a luxury of the rich. Wattle and daub constructions with abundant use of wood were in vogue. This was replaced by stone and bricks predominantly.
Stucco was also used in some places. Stucco is a kind of cement applied to cheaper bricks to make them look like stone. It has a bad reputation for it falls off easily. Stucco provides horizontal lies imitating stones like the base of Greek temples.
Source of inspiration For Georgian Houses
Based on Greek architecture, care was taken with reference to proportions, dimensions, and form of the structures. Better availability of books enabled better designing in this period. It is believed that Britain adopted these styles gradually; for the rest of Europe had embraced these styles around 15th century itself.
Phases of Georgian architecture can be divided into Early, Late, and Regency period.
Early Georgian architecture (1714-1760) is comprised of large red bricks with white corners and edges. This soon became the national style called ‘Palladium’ style after Italian architect Palladio.
Later Georgian style (1760-1800) is when Palladian style continues to dominate. Fanlight becomes popular. A is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway and is sometimes hinged to a transom.
Georgian era Houses Facts
The resemblance is seen with buildings of ancient Greece. The architect called Robert Adam created a varied and decorative style but traditional symmetry and classical influences were evident.
Regency style from 1792-1837 is when industries were doing well owing to growing industries. The beauty of the countryside was brought to light. Better transport ensured more travel opportunities even for the non-elite.
Ruined abbeys, castles, fortified houses become inspirational for the creation of new houses. It developed into the Gothic architecture which was characterized by arched windows, Y shaped battlements on the roof, white stucco exteriors with Tudor style chimneys. Ironwork on balconies becomes popular too.
Ornamentation in the interiors was far more generous with plasterwork, woodwork, wallpaper, paint, mirror etc. Smaller houses or villas became common especially on the outskirts of cities.
The revival is indicative of timeless designs and aesthetic appeal provided by buildings of ancient Greece and Rome. The same was brought into mainstream time and again by tweaking as per the needs of growing societies.
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