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Drawing by Theresa Coleman
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By Chuck Ross
Though it would be a stretch to call original Georgian-style homes the McMansions of the 18th century, homeowners in the American colonies from the early 1700s up to the Revolution certainly saw these structures as a step up from the basic shelter afforded by Colonial-style dwellings. Larger and more elaborately decorated than their predecessors, Georgian structures were physical illustrations of the colonists' growing success.
"As they became more prosperous, they wanted to show off that wealth," says Matthew Schoenherr, AIA, a principal with Branford, Conn.-based Z Architecture, and author of Colonials: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New (Taunton Press, 2006).
Royal origins
The style is named after the run of English kings named "George" who reigned during this period. Roman and Greek temples, then being excavated, provided inspiration for its decorative touches, while technology and increasing prosperity allowed for more expansive architecture. Georgian designs became popular emblems of cultural sophistication for wealthy Englishmen, serving as the template for the kind of country residences that Jane Austen heroes often called home.
Though American versions of Georgian designs are rarely as grand as their British counterparts, they certainly are more spacious than earlier styles. Where Colonial-era dwellings were typically a single room deep, Georgian homes had two rooms on either side of a center hallway and staircase, with a similar four-room plan on the story above. Windows evolved from simple casements to double-hung designs, and, in frame homes, shingles were replaced with clapboards, which were now more readily available.
Decorative enhancements
Exterior decorative millwork based on Greek and Roman patterns is a classic marker of Georgian homes, notes James Massey, a regular contributor to Old House Journal. This might include a fancy frontispiece at the front doorway, a hipped roof with a balustrade across the front and quoins – block-like wooden detailing – that appear to support the building's corners.
Roofs on Georgian homes vary with the original owners' tastes; they can be simple, gable-ended designs or feature hipped or gambrel lines. In northern climates, chimneys often remained in the center, Schoenherr says, so all rooms could benefit from waste heat exhausted by kitchen fires. In the South, however, chimneys more commonly moved to either end of the home, providing an anchoring symmetry and allowing heat to dissipate more easily to the outdoors.
Revolution leads to evolution
Later Georgian-style homes bear much in common with the Federal-style structures that succeeded them following the Revolutionary War. Differentiating these two schools of design can be difficult, both Schoenherr and Massey point out, because there wasn't a clear stylistic break, and many examples share elements common to both architectural approaches.
Schoenherr and Massey identify three characteristics common to most Georgian homes:
- Decorative rectilinear detailing often include dentil moulding at the cornices and pilasters or quoins at building corners.
- Windows move from casement styles to double-hung models.
- Doorways become prominent and elaborate, with pilasters and a pediment, transom windows, and possibly columns and a small portico.
- Entry doors usually have a row of rectangular windows above it.
Chuck Ross is a New England-based freelance writer who specializes in architectural and construction topics.
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