• Home
  • Audio/Podcasts
  • Austensites
  • AV/E-Texts
  • History
  • JA Novels & Bio
  • Links
  • Original Sources/19th C. Texts
  • Social Customs During the Regency
  • Teacher/Student
  • Writer/Literature Resources

Jane Austen's World

This Jane Austen blog brings Jane Austen, her novels, and the Regency Period alive through food, dress, social customs, and other 19th C. historical details related to this topic.

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« How do the pages on top of this blog look?
The Nonesuch, by Georgette Heyer: A Review »

Characteristics of the Georgian Town House

June 3, 2009 by Vic

Georgian town houses in Bath

Georgian town houses in Bath

Cutaway of a Bath town house

Cutaway of a Bath town house

When we think of Regency architecture we think of the beautiful Georgian architecture so popular in Bath and Brighton. While there were subtle variations in design and detail, the basic plan for First Rate houses was similar to Fourth Rate houses*.

Bath Regency town house

Bath Regency town house

  1. The basement, or subterraneans section: All except the poorest houses had basements. They were occupied by the kitchens and other servant offices. The housekeeper and cook might be given rooms in this area away from the maids who slept in the attic.
  2. Ground floor: The drawing room was placed near the front door so that it was easily accessible. Drawing rooms were a place to greet visitors and where the women of the house could retreat. The humbler parlor was generally a private room where the family could retire. Furnishings in the drawing room were generally more feminine than those in the adjacent dining room. Double doors would lead to the dining room, which was more austere and masculine in nature. After dinner the men would remain there to enjoy conversation over port and cigars, while the women retreated to the drawing room. The closer the dining room was located to the kitchens, the warmer the food remained when it arrived at the table.
  3. The first floor: Featured a large room for entertaining on a grand scale, such as dancing, card playing, or other fashionable pastimes. This floor might also hold the principal bedrooms, which were generally placed in front of the house. The bedrooms would be decorated lavishly and in the latest style.
  4. The second floor: Featured bedrooms for children, or perhaps a lodger or guests.  Little expense went into decorating the nursery in comparison to the lower bedrooms. As the levels rose, the complexity of room decorations were simplified since fewer visitors bothered to climb the stairs to the upper levels. In general furnishings, mouldings, and decorations were modest on these floors.
  5. The attic: Reserved for the servants, whose beds were often like murphy beds and let down from the wall.  These rooms were cheaply painted and furnished.
Georgian houses: first rate, second rate, and fourth rate

Georgian houses: first rate, second rate, and fourth rate

Throughout the 17th century, London houses had been susceptible to big fires that swept through narrow, twisting lanes in the city’s center and houses made of timber. A series of Rebuilding Acts specifying building construction followed the Great Fire of 1666 that destroyed over 14,000 houses. A rise in population generated demand for housing, encouraging land owner to develop large tracts of land. The Building Act of 1774 prescribed how houses were to be built. The act specified the use of stone or brick and determined the width of the street, the size of the houses, floor to ceiling heights, and the layout of the houses. It also defined the four types of houses that could be built in London. Each of these types were standardized and followed strict building guidelines:

First Rate House: Worth over £850 per year in ground rent and occupied over 900 square feet of space. These houses faced streets and lanes.

First rate house

First rate house

Second Rate Houses: Worth between £350 and £850 in ground rent and occupied 500-900 square feet of floor space. They faced streets, lanes of note, and the RiverThames.

Second rate house

Second rate house

Third Rate Houses: A smaller house worth around £150-£300 and occupied 350-500 square feet. They faced principal streets.

Fourth Rate House: Worth less than £150 per year in ground rent and occupied less then 350 square feet. These houses stood in their own ground.

About ground rent:
Land owners improved their land by laying out roads and services.  They then charged rent on this land. Housing developers (landlords) would build spec houses on the improved land and generate an income from leaseholders by collecting rent. Sometimes the land owner and the house landlord were the same person. These people were usually owners of great estates, which were better managed and the most sought after. Original leases were for as little as 33 years, but by the end of the Georgian era the length of time for many leases was increased to 99 years.

Curiously, the people who paid rent on large houses belonged to the nobility or gentry or prosperous merchants. While they did not own the houses they lived in, they received enormous incomes from their properties and businesses.

  • Leasehold Auction: Bermondsey
  • Lawrence & Chris, The Period House: Style, Detail & Decoration, 1774 to 1914, ISBN 0-75380-119-1
  • Parissien, The Georgian House, The Aurum Press, 1995
  • Johnson, History & Structure of the London Terraced House
  • London Terraced Houses
  • Brunswick Square

Share with others:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Architecture, Georgian Life, Georgian London, jane austen, Jane Austen's World, Regency Life, Regency style, Regency World | Tagged Georgian Architecture, Georgian House, Georgian terraced town house | 14 Comments

14 Responses

  1. on June 3, 2009 at 08:51 A Homely Heroine

    This is such an interesting post! I live in a first floor flat in what I have identified from your post as a second rate house, in Bath. Of course, I don’t have access to the other floors, and the house has been modified quite a bit to create flats, which is why it’s so fascinating to see what it might have looked like before.

    No 1 The Crescent is open to visitors, and has the same layout as you have described, with large 1st floor entertaining room and 1st floor bedroom excellently decorated. It also has a huge basement kitchen, which is very light and airy due to the large windows.

    Thanks for sharing this : )


  2. on June 3, 2009 at 16:02 Enid Wilson

    Very interesting post. What do you think of Netherfield Park in 1995 Series? It only has 2 levels, hasn’t it? (Yuck! Talking about observation skill, I have watched it more than 50 times but couldn’t remember if it’s 2 or 3 levels now)

    I guess country manors are different from town house. So all the parlour, game room, music room etc will be on the ground floor? How many rooms are there in Netherfield? How many rooms will there be in a first rate house in Bath? (haha, I’m sounding like Mr. Collins now)

    Steamy Darcy


  3. on June 3, 2009 at 18:04 Kaye Dacus

    Fascinating—I never knew that townhouses were rated just like ships were!


  4. on June 3, 2009 at 20:15 charleybrown

    Thanks for that article Vic!
    All I can think is poor servants for having to climb up and down those stairs! I’ve always found it odd in period dramas how guests arrive and head upstairs. I keep forgetting that they entertained up there whereas in our homes, the upper floors are mainly for bedrooms.


  5. on June 4, 2009 at 03:10 Arti

    Beautiful post. That first picture sure brings back memories. When I visited Bath in 2007, there was an apartment unit, about 1,500 s.f. for sale in The Crescent, the semi-circle spectacular bldg. with the great city view. The asking price was £550,000. Well, I was just looking.


  6. on June 4, 2009 at 04:47 Sylwia

    Great post, Vic! I’ve been just looking up period doll’s houses. They remind the model on your picture.


  7. on June 8, 2009 at 00:53 Emily K

    Thank you for the wonderful article!


  8. on June 16, 2009 at 02:34 RANSOME’S HONOR: Settings « KayeDacus.com

    […] front door of the home of Captain Collin Yates, his best friend. Collin and Susan Yates live in a First-Rate Georgian rowhouse in Portsmouth. I wish I could show you pictures of the interiors and furnishings of most of the […]


  9. on August 18, 2009 at 15:43 Jen

    It’s helped me understand an assignment I’m working on… thanks so much for a clear, consise, easy to read and interpret post!!


  10. on November 7, 2009 at 09:14 Danielle

    Hi, I am an avid player of sims (i know lol) and lately i have been dying to recreate a town or manor house from late 17th early 18th century. i am wondering if anyone might have a floor by floor layout of the upper class’s typical town house.


    • on November 7, 2009 at 11:19 Vic

      Here’s one. It’s in Mayfair, so it’s the correct location. Of course, the bathrooms are new additions.

      http://www.wetherell.co.uk/extrafiles/bespokeweb/leaman_pages/brochure4.htm


  11. on July 1, 2010 at 09:22 Angie Bunt

    I lived in a georgian house built in 1798 in londons Fitzrovia. This house was purchased by my Grandmother in 1936. it had, at some time in Victorian times been converted into bedsit, which it still was when my family moved away in 1970. It has now been converted into 5 flats.
    It sits on land which was once home farm, own by the Earl of Southampton, and green lane, which is now Euston road was the road used to take milk and live stock into the city of London.
    Love your info on Georgian houses, most beautiful around.


  12. on January 29, 2013 at 21:23 Dan

    I’m curious. Is there a word to describe the gated off area in front of the house with stairway leading down? I’m speaking out of ignorance but it seems a lot of Georgian townhouses have this characteristic.


    • on March 26, 2013 at 10:02 Mira

      I believe you mean the servants entrance to the basement. The servants and tradesmen would never use the main entrance, but would always pass through the gate, go down the stairs and enter through the kitchen. But I’m not sure if there is another name for it besides “servants entrance”.



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 7,126 other subscribers
  • Items of Interest

  • Follow Jane Austen's World on WordPress.com
  • Blog Stats

    • 16,638,198 hits
  • RECOMMENDED BOOKS AND RESOURCES

  • Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen's England is now available! By JAW contributor Brenda S. Cox. See Review. Available from Amazon and Jane Austen Books.
  • Praying with Jane: 31 Days through the Prayers of Jane Austen, Rachel Dodge, and a bookmark with the quote "A whole family assembling regulary for the purpose of prayer is fine!" Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
    We also recommend JAW contributor Rachel Dodge's devotionals based on Jane Austen's prayers and classic literature. Reviews:
    Praying With Jane: 31 Days Through the Prayers of Jane Austen;
    The Secret Garden Devotional;
    The Anne of Green Gables Devotional;
    The Little Women Devotional.
  • Book cover of Bath: An Adumbration in Rhyme by John Matthews
    Bath -An Adumbration in Rhyme. Edited by Ben Wiebracht. Read the review of the book at this link. Click to order the book on Amazon US or Amazon UK
  • In Sri Lanka lies the grave of Rear Admiral Charles Austen CB, Jane Austen’s Brother

    The neglected tombstone found in an overgrown burial ground.

    Rear Admiral Charles Austen CB

    Died off Prome, the 7th October 1852, while in command of the Naval Expedition on the river Irrawady against the Burmese Forces, aged 73 years.”

    The grave after restoration

    Read the full article in The Sunday Times. June 27, 2021.

  • The Obituary of Charlotte Collins by Andrew Capes

    Click on image to read the story.

  • Comments

    “My idea of good company…is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation.” – Jane Austen, Persuasion

     

    Gentle readers: Please feel free to post your comments and continue the conversation! Due to SPAM, we will no longer accept comments on posts after 30 days of publication. In some instances, links will be removed from comments as well.

  • Administrators and Contributors

    Vic Sanborn, founder of this blog, is supported by a team of talented and knowledgeable writers about Jane Austen and the Regency era. They are:

    • Brenda Cox
    • Rachel Dodge and
    • Tony Grant, who now contributes his photos from London and England

    Click on their names to enter their own blogs.

    In addition, we thank the many experts and authors who frequently contribute their posts and opinions, and who continue to do so freely or at our request.

  • Pin It!

    Follow Me on Pinterest
  • Top Posts

    • Regency Fashion: Men's Breeches, Pantaloons, and Trousers
      Regency Fashion: Men's Breeches, Pantaloons, and Trousers
    • Social Customs During the Regency
      Social Customs During the Regency
    • Men's hair styles at the turn of the 19th century
      Men's hair styles at the turn of the 19th century
    • Highclere Castle Floor Plan: The Real Downton Abbey
      Highclere Castle Floor Plan: The Real Downton Abbey
    • Dressing for the Netherfield Ball in Pride and Prejudice: Regency Fashion
      Dressing for the Netherfield Ball in Pride and Prejudice: Regency Fashion
    • The Servant's Quarters in 19th Century Country Houses Like Downton Abbey
      The Servant's Quarters in 19th Century Country Houses Like Downton Abbey
    • Dancing at the Netherfield Ball: Pride and Prejudice
      Dancing at the Netherfield Ball: Pride and Prejudice
    • Regency Hygiene: The Bourdaloue
      Regency Hygiene: The Bourdaloue
    • Captain Wentworth’s Love Letter
      Captain Wentworth’s Love Letter
    • Pride and Prejudice Economics: Or Why a Single Man with a Fortune of £4,000 Per Year is a Desirable Husband
      Pride and Prejudice Economics: Or Why a Single Man with a Fortune of £4,000 Per Year is a Desirable Husband
  • Recent Posts

    • Winter, Regency Style
    • Book Review: Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
    • Tracing Jane Austen’s Royal Ancestors Via Her Parents, by Ronald Dunning
    • Happy Birthday, Cassandra Austen!
    • Segmented Sleep: A common Phenomenon Before the Industrial Revolution
  • Links to Jane Austen Blogs

    Click here to enter the page. Topics include Regency fashion, historic foods, Jane Austen societies, British sites, related topics. Click on image.

  • May we suggest?

  • Hello, my name is Vic and I live in Maryland, USA. I have adored Jane Austen almost all of my life. I am a proud lifetime member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me and my team. We do not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, we do accept and keep books and CDs to review.

    If you would like to share a new site, or point out an error, please email us. (Yes, we are fallible. We'll own up to our mistakes and will make the corrections with a polite smile on our faces.) Write us at

    gmailbw

    Thank you for visiting this blog. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome.

  • Project Gutenberg: eBook of Stage-coach and Mail in Days of Yore, Volume 2 (of 2), by Charles G. Harper

    STAGE-COACH AND MAIL IN DAYS OF YORE: A PICTURESQUE HISTORY
    OF THE COACHING AGE, VOL. II, By CHARLES G. HARPER. 1903. Click on this link.

     

  • Top Posts & Pages

    • Regency Fashion: Men's Breeches, Pantaloons, and Trousers
    • Social Customs During the Regency
    • Men's hair styles at the turn of the 19th century
    • Highclere Castle Floor Plan: The Real Downton Abbey
    • Dressing for the Netherfield Ball in Pride and Prejudice: Regency Fashion
    • The Servant's Quarters in 19th Century Country Houses Like Downton Abbey
    • Dancing at the Netherfield Ball: Pride and Prejudice
    • Regency Hygiene: The Bourdaloue
    • Captain Wentworth’s Love Letter
    • Pride and Prejudice Economics: Or Why a Single Man with a Fortune of £4,000 Per Year is a Desirable Husband
  • Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape
  • Disclaimer: Our team makes no profit from this blog. We may receive books (physical or digitized) and DVDs for review purposes.

  • Copyright Statement: © Jane Austen's World blog, 2009-2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jane Austen's World with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Jane Austen's World
    • Join 7,126 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Jane Austen's World
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: