Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
4
The Georgian
Period
(1714-1830)
Introduction
The Georgian period covers the reigns of George I (1714-27), George II
(1727-60), George III (1760-1820) and George IV (1820-30), although the
period from
c.
1800 to 1830 is also sometimes termed the Regency.
This was a time of great social, technological, and scientific change. It was also
one in which the population began to grow and transform the nation from a
rural to an urban society and, despite the problem of poverty, greater wealth was
being generated and shared to a wider section of the populace. The expanding
British Empire created colonies providing raw materials for the factories, bene-
fiting from the many scientific and technological innovations aiding quality and
quantity of production, but also markets for their manufactured goods.
This greater prosperity had many consequences Lawrence and Chris (1996,
17-18) suggest:
[It]enabled more people from the top end of society to make the Grand Tour
and be exposed to other cultures, particularly the classical. They were extremely
impressed by what they saw and their views filtered down - many became infected
with an enthusiasm for everything classical, which, in turn, became synonymous
with the notion of 'good taste'.…
Georgian houses appeared in a complete range of sizes - the small one was the lat-
est to appear in the final quarter of the Eighteenth century. By then it was one style
in a variety of different sizes, thus catering for upper, middle and lower classes…
The nation's strong affection for brickwork and a popular classicist style of
building allowed the love affair with Dutch-styled gauged brickwork to be fully
'Anglicised', at all levels of design and use. When the English take something to
their heart and embrace it, they do so with an almost all-consuming passion. It
is either right or wrong and no half-measures are tolerated. They also want to
fully examine and explore all its possibilities; often to the point of eccentricity.
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