What Is Georgian Architecture?

Georgian architecture is a popular style named for the reigns of the first four King Georges of England. These graciously proportioned classical buildings are marked by an understated elegance.

Their pleasing symmetry, in part achieved by applying the golden ratio, is easy on the eyes. Georgian-style homes were built to provide a more generous sense of space and natural light that had been missing from earlier architectural styles.

Georgian architecture is a varied category that includes stately English country mansions, London and Dublin terraced townhouse blocks, southern U.S. plantation houses, and New England homes and college campuses. London architect John Nash designed many Georgian terraced houses as well as Buckingham Palace, a shining example of neoclassical Georgian style.

Characteristics of Georgian Architecture

• Gracious classical proportions and symmetry as a general rule
• Originally constructed from brick or stone, with stucco rendering later in the period
• Simple façades for early examples with more decoration in later periods such as the Regency period
• Symmetrical chimneys
• Often two rooms deep and two stories high
• Can include additional stories and 1/2 stories, with the top floors featuring smaller and/or dormer windows and lower ceilings in spaces that were originally reserved for staff

History of Georgian Architecture

Georgian architecture was born under the reign of King Georges I-IV from 1714 to 1830 and was imported to the United States, notably New England, by English colonists.

Georgian architects were inspired by the proportion and symmetry embraced by influential Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio (1508 to 1580), who had been influenced by the building styles of ancient Rome and Greece. Palladianism was a popular style in Britain between 1715 and 1760 that was a revival of Palladio's ideas that came back in full force during the early Georgian period.

The next phase of Georgian architecture was the development of Neoclassical architecture in the middle of the 18th century, which looked more directly to the source of Palladio's inspiration, the classical building styles of ancient Rome and Greece. 

In addition to being used in a variety of housing types, Georgian architecture was a popular style for churches and public buildings. The decorative arts and interior design also flourished during the Georgian period.

After the Revolutionary War of 1775, Americans began to turn away from the British associations of Georgian style, asserting their newfound independence on the architectural front by developing a national Federal style (the neoclassical White House is a prime example).

Georgian architecture had revival periods in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the U.S. and Britain and is still a popular style today for the building of suburban townhouses and homes. Georgian architecture in the U.S. can be found primarily in the Northeast, Midwest, and South.

How to Spot Georgian Architecture

• For detached Georgian homes and buildings, grand entrances with decorative features such as arches, columns, pediments, and fanlight windows over a central front door to let light into the front hallway
  
• Terraced Georgian townhouses may include doors off to the side as well as steps directly onto the sidewalk, as well as partially visible basement kitchens protected by iron railings
• Terraced Georgian townhouses are often built around garden squares to compensate for the lack of personal outdoor space
• Symmetrical window placement mirrored on both stories, with multi-pane sash windows to let in abundant natural light
• Hipped roofs (meaning that they slope upward from all the sides of the building) that are sometimes concealed by parapets to render the roof invisible from the street for added curb appeal
• Interiors featuring boxy room volumes, high ceilings, crown moldings, ceiling roses, and cornices

Georgian vs. Colonial vs. Victorian Architecture

Colonial architecture includes styles characterized by simple, traditional design with minimal embellishments. Georgian and late Georgian architecture, which are a style of Colonial architecture, are characterized by generously proportioned rooms in three-story residences where servants would live on the smaller third floor. Victorian architecture is marked by its unapologetic devotion to ornament and flourish and its ornate maximalist interior design.

Colonial architecture emerged under colonial rule in the United States in the 1600s and 1700s, while the Georgian and late Georgian period came from 1714 to 1830, and 1830 to 1837, respectively. Victorian architecture came just after, constructed during the reign of Queen Victoria over the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901.

Besides Georgian architecture, other styles that fall under the umbrella of Colonial architecture are saltbox-style homes, Cape Cod, French Colonial, Dutch colonial, and Spanish Colonial. Victorian architecture encompasses a jumble of overlapping styles that include early Gothic Revival, Folk Victorian, Greek Revival, Italianate, and Colonial Revival, among others.