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A Regency Glossary:
A By-No-Means Comprehensive Explication of Historical Terms and Concepts You'll Encounter In My Books

Note: This page will be an ongoing project. For in-depth study, please refer to the research links at the bottom of the next page. My purpose here is a simple overview for non-history majors. Subjects to be covered in future sections will include the peerage, types of carriages, servants, famous people, amusements, etc.

Lesson Five Regency Homes - Page 1

REGENCY TOWNHOUSE BASICS
The English aristocrats inveigled in the amours and intrigues of our favorite Regency historical romances would have surely concurred that while the country estate with its rolling parks and sculpted gardens was the place to lavish vast amounts of money, time, and expertise, the London townhouse, by contrast, was a much more understated affair.	Bowood
Though still stylish and elegant, one hoped, the Town residence was chiefly valued for convenience and practicality, and of course, for the all-important status symbol of location, location, location. Most of the Quality did not live in London year-round; it was only a favorite stop on the annual whirl that finished out a cozy winter at the ancestral pile, came to Town for the spring social Season, proceeded to the beach for the summer, and went visiting other people's country houses in the autumn for the grand sporting season, from August grouse-shooting to the November fox-hunts. Since London then, as today, was an outrageously expensive place to live even for the lower peerage and upper middle class, like the people portrayed in Jane Austen's novels, it was very common simply to rent a townhouse for the period of time one needed it. The rented house was furnished and came with a basic household staff. By contrast, most of the upper nobility (dukes, marquesses, and earls) and those with political careers who had to be in Town more frequently to attend Parliamentary sessions, did in fact own their townhouses and kept them running year-round. A few great noble families lived in huge city mansions like Spencer House, Apsley House, Holland House, and Buckingham Palace (previously known as Buckingham House before the royals traded properties with the Duke of Buckingham), as well as the extant Burlington and Devonshire Houses; but such palaces were indeed the exception, most belonging to an earlier, more formal period. One rare case of a true palace built in the heart of London during the Regency was the Regent's own Carlton House by Nash. (With its Italianate colonnade down Pall Mall, many people found it hideous when it was finally finished, at great expense to the nation.) In general, however, the aristocracy was engaged in building or renovating beautiful, sprawling estates out in the countryside rather than building great mansions in Town, as their ancestors had. In London, they were content to make do with elegant, efficient townhouses. *Web Tour:* Spencer House - Example of a London mansion - Go have a look, but come right back to read on! http://www.spencerhouse.co.uk/

EXTERIOR

The first thing to know is that when we use the term "townhouse" we are simply talking about row-houses. A block of row-houses was referred to as a "terrace." An interesting point about Regency terraces is that they represent one of the first forms of what is so common in American suburbs today-the planned community.

Crescent-Bath

Like modern townhouses, each unit in a terrace is an independent residence, but shares a support wall with the unit on either side of it; thus, there can only be windows in front and back. Terraces could be constructed in straight lines along a street, or, for the rich, formed into a gentle crescent.

Always long and narrow in design, usually with a flat roof, row-houses solved the problem of making maximal use of space in a crowded city. They also offered a simple, standard design that could be built large, small, or medium-sized, depending on what market niche the builder wished to sell to-how much money the future residents wished to spend.

Three or four stories with two rooms on each floor was fairly standard. (This does not count the kitchen, which was situated on the ground floor and semi-detached at the back of the house to avoid fire hazards.)

Later, the Victorians commonly slapped on a fourth story atop their Regency-built townhouses to accommodate their larger domestic staffs, and to make sure that the maids' top-floor sleeping quarters were located as far away as possible from the handsome young footmen's quarters in the basement! (You have heard that footmen were notoriously chosen for their looks, right?) But I digress...

In general, the fancier, more formal, public-oriented rooms were at the front of the townhouse, with the more personal, private, cozy rooms at the back, avoiding the noise from the street. Two rooms per floor does not sound very big, but remember, the townhouse only had windows in front and back; limiting the layout to only two rooms allowed both spaces to have windows and natural light in an era well before electric lighting. Four rooms would have allowed the same generous natural lighting, with two rooms in front and two in back. For the Regency period, the largest townhouse I've heard about had six rooms on each floor, and this has been referred to as a grand town "mansion." *Web Tour:* Go see Regency London mansion photos then come back! http://www.locationworks.com/library/pix/49/24/1/1/1/07.html Townhouse mansion, West London.	Nash Villa
Wooden construction had been outlawed by the London building code ever since the Great Fire of 1666, when the crowded city full of ancient half-timbered houses and thatched roofs had gone up like a matchbox, so townhouses were constructed of brick. Brick, however, was not considered very attractive during the Regency. The grandest houses could be faced with Portland stone, but a similar effect could be achieved with cheaper materials. The most popular exterior was a smooth-finished, cream-colored stucco laid on over the brick, and artfully lined to imitate the look of large marble blocks.

For an example of the stucco finish so beloved of the Regency period, look at these Nash Villas on Regent Park, early 1820's. As stand-alone houses, they were very rare, new, and upscale, but a similar exterior finish would have been used on more average townhouses throughout the West End.

REGENCY HOMES page 1 2 3

Archive:
The Lady's Wardrobe The Gentleman's Wardrobe Regency Clothing Photo Gallery
Singular Wills Regency Homes The English Peerage Regency Glossary

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