BUILDING BRIEFING: 
Georgian Houses
- Style and structure
In the fifth article in this series, Trevor Yorke takes a look at the style and structure of Georgian and Regency housing.
Housing this sudden surge in the urban population was largely in the hands of speculative builders. In previous centuries a home was erected on demand for, or by, the family themselves, but from the late 1600s small-scale building firms emerged that put up single or short rows of houses and then either received payment from a landlord or had to wait for them to be tenanted before moving onto the next project. Despite the introduction of building regulations and various acts, the enforcement of these were patchy, and the pressure to build, not to mention potential profits to be made, resulted in shoddy methods of construction and poor materials being used. This is the period when the phrase ‘jerry building’ was first coined (from a nautical term for temporary rigging) and partial or complete failure of houses was not unknown!
Urban terraces
For those who could afford the rent, (few people owned their home in this period), refined and tasteful terraces towering over urban streets and around squares were the height of fashion. Plain but correctly proportioned proportioned facades, with the decoration limited to doorways and semi-circular fanlights, dominated the Georgian housing stock, while later in the period balconies and bow windows permitted residents to watch elegantly dressed couples promenade by while its fine stone facade, or one imitated in stucco, helped display the tenants’ ambitions and success.
During the first half of the period, most large urban houses had a full basement: a damp and dark space where the servants cooked and washed up. This situation improved in the later 18th century by half basements, which permitted more light and air to enter the subterranean rooms, while an added short set of steps up to the front door made a more imposing entrance. This was often achieved by using the spoil from digging out foundations to build up the road at the front, with vaulted stores fitted under the pavement and circular metal plates allowing coal to be poured into them by delivery men.
The principal reception rooms in this period were on the first floor (the piano nobile), and this was emphasised on the exterior with the largest windows, balconies and string courses. There would have been bedrooms above and servants’ accommodation in the attic, but no bathrooms or toilets. Washing and bathing was carried out in the rooms and the staff had the delight of emptying the owners’ chamber pot or commode, usually into a brick-lined cesspit at the rear which was emptied by nightmen.
Construction
For all the apparent refinement and elegance, many Georgian and Regency houses were poorly constructed. Building acts and regulations were a local affair, initiated and well policed in the capital, but patchy and ineffective in many other urban centres. Builders possessed many tricks of the trade designed to cover up these shortcomings and fool potential tenants. For instance, stucco (a render) was used to cover often poor quality bricks and then scoured and painted to imitate fashionable stone (not the whites and creams popular today). Tuckpointing - where the rough mortar between cheap bricks had a thin groove scoured in it and was then painted to match the surrounding brick with a thin line of lime putty inserted into the groove - made the facade appear as of fine quality gauged brickwork. Another cost-cutting measure was to cut in half the bricks that were laid across the wall. These snapped headers reduced the total number of bricks required but weakened the bonding between the inner and outer stretchers.
Potential problems
Although surviving Georgian and Regency houses today have stood for 200- 300 years, the poor quality of parts and methods used can still show in twisted and sunken features, while the many changes made to them over this time could have compromised their initial design.
Anyone considering purchasing a property from this period should get a detailed inspection from a local surveyor who is more likely to be aware of the construction issues with this type of property in that area. As most houses will be listed or are part of a conservation area, repairs will have to restore the respective part to its form at the time of listing using traditional methods and materials, which could be costly.
Some of the common areas of concern are with the foundations and roofs. Despite the height which some houses can reach, the footings below were notoriously shallow. Better quality housing might have the walls built upon stone slabs to spread the load, but many just cleared the top soil and erected them on the ground a foot or so down.
Although they may show sagging or cracks from the initial settling, these poor foundations can still be a problem when there are changes in water level and the growth or removal of large trees takes place.
The roof above can also be a problem when it is hidden behind a parapet, partly because it is not easy to see missing tiles or flashing, but also because the junction between it and the roof can collect water if guttering is blocked or cracked. Butterfly roofs which slope inwards to a central gulley running from the front to back of the property, were common on many Georgian and Regency terraces. They need regular inspection as any fault in the covering or blocked drain could lead to water penetrating directly into the property, while the ends of the timbers supporting it can rot as they were only one brick’s depth from the front surface. Lead coverings on top of bays is another area worth keeping an eye on while,
on cheaper terrace housing, the eaves were often too short and water can easily penetrate the top of the wall.
One of the reasons why these houses of indifferent quality are still standing today is that the exterior walls were made using lime mortar and the interior divisions were timber framed, making the structure surprisingly flexible. The use of the former along with the porous nature of local bricks made the outside walls breathable, reducing problems with long-term damp. Hence, repairs to the pointing should not be made with modern cements, which are too watertight and can cause the bricks to break up due to frost. Limestone and sandstone can also flake away, for the same reasons, if it was not laid on the same plane upon which it was formed.
Walls were often stepped back in depth the higher they went, creating ledges for joists, but this meant the top floor may only be one brick thick with less substantial timber work used between them. Originally, this space was only intended for servants and their meagre belongings, so this was not an issue but, as these houses have often been split into flats and extra walls with water tanks and other loads have been applied, there can be problems with the structure below. Internal divisions (even some load bearing ones) consisted of stud walls built from timber imported from the Baltic, and covered in laths and plaster. Where they spanned above a large open room they were often trussed for extra support. Where alterations like new doorways were made, builders could have cut through these diagonal supports weakening the walls, while the insertion of electrics and plumbing could further compromise these and the floor joists.
Stucco, like most renders, needed to be applied correctly and it is common for sections to crack or break away where this was not done or water has got behind it. Although repairs need to be sympathetic to the material and building, its complete removal will not only contravene any listing or conservation area regulations, but also reveal poor brick or stone work sometimes pitted to make a better key: a surface which was never intended to be exposed. Where this has been done it is common to find strips of wood set horizontally into the wall, although it is not clear if these were just a remedy for uneven brickwork or primarily to make a fixing for internal timber. Although any property of this age will require some work to bring it up to current regulations with regards to fire safety and energy efficiency (edge to edge floorboards are not good at resisting smoke penetration and are where most heat is lost), Georgian and Regency houses, with their numerous floors and often desirable locations, can make sound longterm investments.
Sash windows
In the wake of the Great Fire of London in 1666 a series of building regulations and acts in the Capital were introduced. They were designed to prevent such a devastating event occurring again, and the most notable change created by the regulations was the setting of wooden-framed sash windows. When introduced in the late 1600s they had thick glazing bars and 16-24 lights (the individual panes of glass), and their outer box was placed flush with the front. To reduce the fire risk the London Building Act of 1709 required the sash box to be set back four inches from the face of the wall, although the box was still exposed (this was only concerned with the City and Westminster and may have been adopted at a different date in other towns and cities). The final stage of development was as a result of the 1774 Building Act, which stated that the sash box should be hidden behind the outer skin of the wall so that only its edge could be seen from the front, these distinctive late Georgian and Regency windows also having 8-16 lights and very thin glazing bars.
Sash windows, where they survive today, should be retained at all costs and with most houses from this period, either listed or within conservation areas, you could be fined for any alterations or removal.
Contrary to popular belief, replacing them with double glazed units will not make any significant energy saving (far more heat is lost through floorboards and roofs), or sound reduction (the gap between sheets has to be above 100mm to make a notable difference and most units have only 5-10mm).
The solution in most cases is to restore the existing frames. Draught stripping (in which gaps are filled with brush strips) will solve most problems with heat loss, and these can be supplied as kits although professional fitting should be considered as operatives will also repair and renovate sashes to reduce noise and improve operation (remember a flow of air will still be required, especially for gas boilers). Further improvements can be made by fitting secondary glazing, although original shutters or thick, lined curtains combined with draught stripping will surprise most as to its effectiveness.
Window and brick tax
Window tax is perhaps the most wellknown piece of legislation covering buildings from this period, though the commonly perceived belief that people went around blocking up glazed openings to avoid paying it is probably exaggerated. When this happened one would expect to see the filling used to be slightly different from the surrounding brick or stone. In many cases, however, it will be found to match and line up with it, implying that it was part of the original design. Although the fashion was for numerous, large windows lined up to create roughly symmetrical facades, walls full of glass may not have been convenient for the interior, so builders made a brick or stone recess to suit the demands of the
classical style, but never intended to fit a window within it.
Brick tax was introduced in 1784 to help pay for the debt from war with the American colonies and was applied on the number used in a building (initially 4 shillings per 1000 bricks used). In response, manufacturers made bricks bigger, up to 11 x 5 inches, although the Government then enforced a maximum volume to halt this development. With the competitive pricing of bricks, this tax had little effect on their use but, at the lower end of the market, builders found ways around it by using rat trap bond, where bricks were stood on their side rather than base, creating a potentially weaker wall, which can be more susceptible to damp.
Georgian and Regency houses are known for their elegance, refinement and beautiful proportions, having made the classically inspired urban terrace/larger detached house a major influence for later architects and a popular choice for the modern house buyer.