Georgian Home Plans

Georgian buildings are characterized by their symmetry and regularity of detail. Great houses and public buildings were fronted with huge pediments and colonnades inspired by ancient Greek and Roman temples. The Early Georgian period (1714-1750) have seen a revival of Palladianism. The excesses of the Baroque had formed 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 part to this change of taste. Baroque was related with the Counter-Reformation. Late Georgian style was more flexible. Within a symmetrical exterior, there may be Rococo interiors with delicate, flowing decoration. A few architects experimented with a largely unconvincing Gothic revival, rather like a poor stage set, or with Chinoiserie and other exotica. British association in India had brought contact with Mughal architecture. The first attempt to emulate it was the house at Sezincote, Gloucestershire, built in 1803 for Sir Charles Cockerell, who had served in the East India Company. This was followed by the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, redesigned in Indian style for George, Prince of Wales from 1815, with Chinese-influenced interiors. Regency style (1811-1830*) is characterized by fluted pilasters replacing full-bodied columns and a general refinement of Classical details to mere decorative motifs. At the same time a few architects were embracing a purer Classicism in the Greek revival style.