Late English Georgian

The Late Eniglis Georgian period wholeheartedly adopts Neoclassicism for architecture, interiors, and furniture. Although a continuation of the classicism of Neo-Palladian architecture, the new style exhibits slenderer proportions, flatter details, and more ornamentation.


Architectural and interior details include swags, urns, pediments, paterae, anthemions or honeysuckels, classical figures, lyres, laurel wreaths, Prince of Wales feathers, columns, and other classical elements.




Prince of Wales Feathers


English Neoclassical architecture favors simple geometric shapes and elegant classical decoration. Varying from sever to graceful, the style incorporates some principles and forms of Palladianism.

Type: Town and country houses are the main building types, although banks, churches, and other and other public structures also exhibit the style.

The Royal Cessent

Site Orientation: Architects more carefully consider the relationship between house and landscape. House may be sited in irregular gardens complete with newly built ancient or Gothic ruins.

Floor Plans: Plans generally follow the French protoypes in the disposition of rooms. Exceptions are those in which rooms are organized in circular fashion around the staircase to facilitate entertainment.

Materials: Industrialization yeilds new material or inproves older ones. Higher firing temperature gives a wider range of brick colors, not just red anymore. Alternative materials include stucco, ironwork, and iron plates.

Facades: Exterior vary from severely plain to overly decorated with classical elements. The Corinthian order dominates early in the period, while Doric is more common laterTown houses and smaller villas often are severely plain with little or no ornamentation.

Windows: Pediments often surrmount windows. Rectangular sashes prevail, but others may be arched or Palladian. There are no standard sizes or numbers of panes during the period.

Door: Columns or pilasters and pediments frame doors as earlier, but they are more attenuated; cases are painted light or stone colors. Doors commonly have six panels, although some have three, five, or eight.

Roofs: Roofs are flat or low-pitched. Slate replaces clay tiles for coverings. A balustrade often hides the roof.


Late Eniglish Georgian interiors feature delicate colors, classical ornamentation in low relief, and refined proportions. Rooms are formal, elegant, and unified.

Colors: Colors include lilac, terra-cotta, Pompeitian red, and bright pinks, blues, and greens. The middle class continues using earlier colors such as stone, gray, olive green, brown, straw, sky blue, and pea green. Soft white remains fashionable for ceilings.

Lighting: Candles, especially those of beeswax, are expensive, so most people use them sparingly. Those who can afford candles use them in candelabra; candlesticks; wall sconces; and chandeliers made of metal, ceramics, or glass.

Floor: The grandest rooms have stone, marble, or scagolia floors. Random-width stained and polished oak, pine, or deal boards are most common. The wealthy continue to use parquet in important rooms, but less often, as carpet grows more fashionable and less expensive.

Wall: The wall above the dado is painted or papered or features Neoclassical plasterwork. others have compartments of low0relief classical ornamentation in white or the same color as the wall. Tapestries may also adorn walls.

Window Treatments: Window treatments become increasingly elaborate during the period. Both drapery and curtains are of light fabrics and trimmed with fringe and tassels. Curtains are tied back during the day.

Doors: They are usually paneled mahogany with brass hardware.

Staircases: They remain focal points and adopt classical decoration. Many stairs curve, and skylights often illuminate them.

Ceilings: They are focal points especially in important rooms in grand houses. Most are flat; some are coved or vaulted. Designs develop from geometric shapes or compartments and repeted patternseparated by color.

Furnishings and Decorative Arts

Late English Georgian furniture is light in scale and rectilinear in form and features carved, painted, and inlaid classical motifs. Influences include French Neoclassical and designers Robert Adam, George Hepplewhite, Thomas Sheraton.

Types: For dining rooms, Adam introduces the sideboard table flanked by urns and pedstals. Pembroke table, quartetto and trio tables, Carleton house writing table, and pedestal dining tables.


Chair with shield back by Hepplewhite

Parlor Chairs by Sheraton


Harlequin Pembroke Table by Sheraton


Sideboard by Adam




Joshia Wedgwood- Jasperware






This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Google+ photo


Connecting to %s