UPDATED: 23 June, 2008
Nationally from the seventeenth century inns were more likely to be built or re-faced in the classical style, and until the later eighteenth century they would often be the largest public place in a small town. This was found to be true at Norfolk, where examples include the Swan Hotel at Harleston (1725-30), a three-storey construction with an early Georgian frontage and a panelled assembly room; and the Black Boys inn at Aylsham market-place. This can be seen in the first thumbnail. Its balcony which faces out towards the market place suggesting that it also functioned as a place as a place for public addresses.
 A Georgian inn in the market place at Cromer. |
 The Fisher Theatre in Thetford. |
Other places of recreation in small towns were being up-dated or newly constructed in the Georgian form. For example there was an assembly room in East Dereham of 1756 which was described as a, commodius building (Gardiner, 1850, p138), and another at Swaffham. Swaffham, as one of the larger market towns, had a suitably impressive range of facilities, such as a Georgian assembly room, a theatre, billiards, bowling green, race course, and a classical market place.
In the eighteenth century, in contrast, many provincial civic buildings were still being constructed in the older baroque style. It was only later that classicism was more widely accepted for civic buildings. Then, perhaps because of this delay its use in these buildings actually continued beyond the usual span for the fashion.
Shop forms changed little in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and only their detailing reflected passing fashions. Below we can see how a typical shop front could be updated using simple Georgian components such as a fanlight above the door. Shop windows were glazed with small panes of glass because at this time glass size was blown, therefore restricting its size.
 Georgian shop front at Reepham |
 Georgian shop front at Reepham |
More unusual public buildings which were built in the new style were the Lacons Maltings in Diss, demonstrating that even an an industrial construction could be endowed with Georgian proportions, and the 1630 Customs House at Cley, which was re-faced in 1729. The Customs House faces one of the main roads in Cley, while the adjoining passageway provides a through route to the coastal side. This grand building portrays the importance of its sea links by the use of a nautical frieze above the doorway.
There were attempts in the eighteenth century to create uniform groups of domestic buildings- a few similar buildings placed in a row creates a terrace. These could be in many shapes and sizes- long or short, curved to form a crescent, or rectangular forming a square. While in larger towns terraces might be quite extensive, in the small towns it was more common to find units of two houses: It was actually cheaper to build in pairs than singly and in the more prospering towns of the survey there were examples of small groupings of houses, such as 51-55 Mere Street in Diss, and 8-12 High Street in Downham Market, or 'The Crescent' at Cromer.
 Lime House, Burnham Market. This has an impressive doorway constructed of a pediment supported on two columns. It is an example of an impressive town residence in a central location |
 Fakenham market place. Note the number of Classical buildings. The house with the fanlight above the door was built for the Peckovers, an East Anglian banking family in 1757, and the building next door to it is probably the site of Fakenham's first bank of 1782 |
Andrea Palladio was a Paduan architect whose designs were simple, and rational, and made correct use of the classical orders (see second thumbnail) and proportions based upon ancient Roman architecture. He became one of the most important architects of northern Italy in the sixteenth century, particularly through the individual style of his villas. Below we see one of his most famous villas, the Villa Rotunda, which was built for Mario Capra, a church dignitary. Palladio's villas have been copied in other countries, particularly England and the American colonies, in a manner known as Palladian.
 Villa Rotunda (1566-7) on the outskirts of Vicenza, Italy. It is a two-storey villa on a hillside. Each elevation is the same, featuring a central pedimented porch.
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Although architects in England such as Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) had used Palladian villas as models for architecture in the Seventeenth century, they had not been used in a pure enough form according to the Eighteenth century exponents of Palladianism. English Palladianism was centred around the Third Earl of Burlington (1694-1753), who was involved in the creation of Holkham Hall in Norfolk, begun in 1734, which is one of the finest examples of English Palladianism.
 An order is an arrangement of columns which supported an entablature (originally the roof of an ancient temple). There were three Greek orders- the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. To these the Romans added the Tuscan and the Composite. The image shows, from left to right, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian forms.It was important to the exponents of Palladianism that these forms were used in as pure a form as possible. However, the orders were only really strictly observed in elite houses, where the owners could afford to keep up with fashions. In smaller towns classical elements might be used, but they would often be diluted with local styles. |
Politics and the Spread of Classical Architecture
From its early development Palladianism had political associations because the Whig Lord Shaftesbury, had personally attacked the earlier Baroque style in a letter of 1712, for its frivolity and use of foreign elements. It is perhaps important then that in Norfolk there was a strong Whig presence, who were using Georgian style. Sir Robert Walpole had Houghton Hall constructed in the Palladian manner in 1721, while the Georgian Wolterton Hall was built for his brother Horatio (later Lord Walpole of Wolterton), by Thomas Ripley (1727-1741). Robert Walpole was very popular in Norfolk, for Mr Wright in his “England Under the House of Hanover” noted that Walpole’s return to his county after the close of Parliament in 1733 was received “with unusual marks of respect, and his entry into Norwich resembled a triumph” (Mason, 1884, p670) and it may be that his popularity meant people to tried to emulate his style, especially in the towns as these tended to be more Whiggish than the rural districts.
Local architects and builders were aided by the profusion of pattern books that were available. These were required because the Georgian style was thought to be more demanding to put into practice than the vernacular or the English Baroque, as it was subject to more rules of taste. The architect James Gibbs realised this, stating that his ‘Book of Architecture’ of 1728 was for, gentlemen who might be concerned in buildings, especially in in remote parts of the country, where little or no assistance for design can be procurred.This book was arguably the most influential pattern book of the eighteenth century.
 This page is from William Pain's 'The Practical House Carpenter' of 1789, one of many pattern books in circulation at this time. It provided detailed instructions on how to achieve the Georgian look. |
An influential pattern book in Norfolk of the more practical kind was by Thomas Rawlins (c1727-1789), a Norwich architect and stonemason, called ‘Familiar Architecture, or original designs for gentlemen and tradesmen, etc’ of 1768, which included Palladian style examples. Rawlins’ own designs included Weston Longville House for John Custance, in 1781, and there are several buildings in Norwich which can be attributed to him. Pattern books like these were so important that, by 1750 the most striking regional design differences had been ironed out (Cruikshank, 1985, p13).
It was probably the really wealthy in the country houses that used the style to the best effect as country gentlemen were able to afford the services of more eminent architects. Important for the county were the architect Matthew Brettingham (1699-1769), and the arbiter of taste at this time, the Third Earl Burlington (1694-1753) who were both involved in the development of Holkham Hall, possibly aided by another nationally acclaimed architect, his protege William Kent (1685-1748). Burlington’s presence in Norfolk was very significant as English Palladianism was centred around him . Another notable figure was Colen Campbell (1684-1729), author of ‘Vitruvius Britannicus’ in 1717, the influential discussion of the works of Palladio, who also worked on designs for Houghton Hall (1721-1725) in Norfolk, for Sir Robert Walpole. Later in the century another leading architect Sir John Soane (1753-1837), did some of his earlier work in Norfolk, such as Shottesham Hall (1785-88), for the Fellowes family, Letton Hall (1785-88), and the Rectory of Saxllingham Nethergate.
 Holkham Hall, built to the design of Colen Campbell. |
 Hall at Burnham Market. This was built in 1783 for Sir John Soames in the Palladian style. |
However, where as Soane started to concentrate upon commissions elsewhere, Matthew Brettingham (1699-1769), despite becoming successful at a national level, continued with local projects such as the alterations at Langley Hall (1740-50); the re-building of Gunton Hall after it was gutted by fire in 1742; and the plans for Shadwell Lodge at Rushford in 1760. Brettingham was a very important figure helping to spread Palladianism throughout the whole of East Anglia.
It was doubtless the example of such prominent architecture in Norfolk that caused the widespread adoption of the Georgian style in Norfolk small towns. Thus Holkham Hall, says Cruikshank (1985, p68), provided, if not exactly a model, a good starting point for architects undertaking more modest works. This was because it was constructed in a simple, undecorated Palladian style, in brick, which was a formula which could be easily adapted to smaller scale building schemes. Indeed the Hall at Burnham Market green, built for Sir John Soames, has actually been described as, a poorer, less imaginative man’s Holkham (Herbison, 1962, p617).It is also likely that craftsmen employed in the construction of larger country houses would absorb stylistic influences, which they would transfer to smaller scale commissions within the towns.
Lesser builders might also have copied examples from the larger towns of the area, such as Norwich, which was rich in Georgian architecture, as it was a prosperous merchants’ city. Georgian buildings in Norwich include the Octagon Chapel, by the local architect Thomas Ivory, in 1754, and there are long runs of domestic houses in Colegate; while there are many examples of early Georgian domestic architecture at the South Quay of Great Yarmouth.
 The Octagon Chapel, Norwich, 1754 |
 Friends' Meeting House, Goat Lane, Norwich |