Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the British monarchs George I-IV, who reigned in continuous succession from August 1714 to June 1830.
Georgian succeeded the English Baroque of Sir Christopher Wren, Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Major architects to promote the change in direction from baroque were Colen Campbell, author of the influential book Vitruvius Britannicus, Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Cork (Lord Burlington) and his protegé William Kent, Thomas Archer, and the Venetian Giacomo Leoni, who spent most of his career in England.
The styles that resulted fall within several categories. In the mainstream of Georgian style were both Palladian architecture— and its whimsical alternatives, Gothic and Chinoiserie, which were the English-speaking world's equivalent of European Rococo. From the mid-1760s a range of Neoclassical modes were fashionable, associated with the British architects Robert Adam, James Gibbs, Sir William Chambers, James Wyatt, Henry Holland and Sir John Soane. Greek Revival was added to the design repertory, after about 1800. See also: Adam style, Georgian Dublin.
Georgian architecture is characterized by its proportion and balance; simple mathematical ratios were used to determine the height of a window in relation to its width or the shape of a room as a double cube. "Regular" was a term of approval, implying symmetry and adherence to classical rules: the lack of symmetry, where Georgian additions were added to earlier structures, was deeply felt as a flaw. Regularity of housefronts along a street was a desirable feature of Georgian town planning. Georgian designs usually lay within the Classical orders of architecture and employed a decorative vocabulary derived from ancient Rome or Greece. The most common building materials used are brick or stone. Commonly used colors were red, tan, or white. However, modern day Georgian style homes use a variety of colors.
Georgian style was usually defined by reddish brick walls that contrasted with white used for window trimming and cornices. The entrances were often emphasized by a portico.
