Georgian Style 1714-1820 (England, U.S.)
England
In Europe, the dominant style of architecture during the 18th century is known as "Neoclassical."
In Great Britain, in the first half of the 18th century, the first phase of Neoclassicism was influenced by the books of the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio (1508-80).
In the second half of the 18th century Robert Adam (1760-1792) first popularized a simpler, purer Neoclassical style based on excavations in Herculaneum and Pompeii.
Both Palladian and Adam variations of Neoclassicism are also referred to in terms of the reigning monarch (1760-1820) as George III, or simply Georgian.
Examplesof British Georgian architecture:
- Adam's Portland Place, in London
- Adam's Charlotte Square, in Edinburgh
- TheCircus, Bath England(1754-1768)
In the U. S., Neoclassicism (both earlier Palladian and later Adamesque) is referred to as "Colonial" (until the Revolutionary War), and then "Federal" (after the Revolutionary War).
In New England, the English Georgian style came to America by way of British pattern books (especially Giacomo Leoni's 1715 edition of Palladio's Works) and an ever-swelling wave of masons, carpenters, and joiners who emigrated from England.
InNew England, Colonial architecture is also referred to as "Georgian."
The first example of Georgian style in America was the Wren Building (begun in 1695) at the College of William and Mary, and soon after that the Governor's Palace and the Capitol in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Anotherexcellent example of the style near Charleston, S. C., is Drayton Hall (1738-42).
"Federal"style is Adamesque.
- Wren Building (begun 1695)
- Governor'sPalace, Williamsburg, Va. (1714)
- Capitol,Williamsburg, Va. (1705 design)
- Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Va. (1715 design)
- George Wythe House, Williamsburg, Va. (mid-1750s design)
- Drayton Hall, Charleston, S. C. (1738-42)
- Carpenters'Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. (1770-73)
- Todd House, Philadelphia, Pa. (1775)
- IndependenceHall, Philadelphia, Pa. (1732-1748 )
Windows
To aid access, sash windows were replaced by French doors in the 1780s and 1790s.
Variations on conventional sashes occur at the end of the century. Round-headed window openings become popular..."
- "The Elements of Style: An Practical Encyclopedia of Interior Architectural Details from 1485 to the Present," Stephen Calloway and Elizabeth Cromley, ed. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1991, p. 143--------------------
West Register House, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh
Drawing Room
Drawing room, The Georgian House museum
"When the house was first occupied, guests would have been taken straight to the Drawing Room, where they would have been received by their host and hostesses. The room has been arranged in a formal eighteenth century manner, to be used for entertaining, for promenade [a march of guests into a ballroom constituting the opening of a formal ball] and for important occasions. For everyday living the back drawing room or parlour would have been used."
- "The Georgian House," Introduction. Brochure sold at The Georgian House museum, Edinburgh, Scotland.
