Georgian Colonial

Georgian Colonial is the name given to the set of architectural styles popular between 1720 and 1840 in England and in the English colonies of the time. In the American colonies, Georgian blended with the neo-Palladian style to become known more broadly as 'Federal style architecture'. While their British counterparts were predominantly constructed of stone, Georgian Cobuildings were constructed of wood with clapboards; even columns were made of timber, framed up and turned on an over-sized lathe. The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is an excellent example of Georgian architecture in the Americas.

Features

 * Square, symmetrical shape
 * Paneled front door at center
 * Decorative crown over front door
 * Flattened columns on each side of door
 * Five windows across front
 * Paired chimneys
 * Medium pitched roof
 * Minimal roof overhang

Many Georgian Colonial homes also have:


 * Nine or twelve small window panes in each window sash
 * Dentil molding (square, tooth-like cuts) along the eaves

History
Unlike the Baroque style that it replaced, which was generated almost solely in the context of palaces and churches, Georgian had wide currency in the upper and middle classes. Within the residential context, the best remaining example is the pristine Hammond-Harwood House (1774) in Annapolis, Maryland. This house was designed by colonial architect William Buckland and modeled on the Villa Pisani at Montagnana, Italy as depicted in Andrea Palladio's I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura (Four Books Of Architecture).

Georgian Colonial became popular in New England and the Southern colonies during the 1700's. Stately and symmetrical, these homes imitated the larger, more elaborate Georgian homes which were being built in England. But the genesis of the style goes back much farther. During the reign of King George I in the early 1700's, and King George III later in the century, Britons drew inspiration from the Italian Renaissance and from ancient Greece and Rome.

Georgian ideals came to New England via pattern books, and Georgian styling became a favorite of well-to-do colonists. More humble dwellings also took on characteristics of the Georgian style. America's Georgian homes tend to be less ornate than those found in Britain. The establishment of Georgian architecture, and the Georgian styles of design more generally, were to a large degree aided by the fact that, unlike earlier styles which were primarily disseminated among craftsmen through the direct experience of the apprenticeship system, Georgian was also spread through the new medium of inexpensive suites of engravings. From the mid-18th century, Georgian styles were assimilated into an architectural vernacular that became part and parcel of the training of every architect, designer, builder, carpenter, mason and plasterer, from Edinburgh to Maryland.