1714-1837--Many 18th-century architects cared little for the baroque period, and during the Georgian era (1714-1830) a restrained, simple neoclassicism reigned. It was balanced between a resurgence of the precepts of Palladianism and an even more distilled vision of classical theory called Greek revival. This latter style was practiced by architects such as James "Athenian" Stuart (1713-88), who wrote a book on antiquities after a trip to Greece, and the somewhat less strict John Soane (1773-1837).
Identifiable Features
Mathematical proportion, symmetry, classical orders. These classical ideals first rediscovered during the Renaissance are the hallmark of every classically styled era.
Crescents and Circuses. The Georgians were famous for these seamless curving rows of identical stone town houses with tall windows, each one simple yet elegant inside.
Open double-arm staircases. This feature was a favorite of the neo-Palladians.
Best Examples
Bath (1727-75). Much of the city of Bath was made over in the 18th century, most famously by the father and son team of John Woods, Sr. and Jr. (1704-54 and 1728-81, respectively). They were responsible, among others, for the Royal Crescent (1767-75), where you can visit one house's interior and even lodge in another.
John Soane's London sights. The best Greek revival building by Soane in London is his own idiosyncratic house (1812-13), now Sir John Soane's Museum. Of his most famous commission, the Bank of England (1732-34) in Bartholomew Lane, only the facade survived a 20th-century restructuring.
British Museum, London (1823). Not the most important example of Greek revival, the British Museum, by Robert & Sidney Smirke, is one that just about every visitor to England is bound to see.
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