Georgian architecture

The Georgian architecture of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century was a development of Palladianism and is alternatively termed Neoclassical architecture in the European tradition. Many extant buildings such as Woburn Abbey and Kedleston Hall are in this style. It was during this period that comfort and style became truly popular, and many of England's old fortified houses were rebuilt or remodelled in the new taste. At the same time large sections of urban development occurred in cities, notably Bath and Bloomsbury and Mayfair in London, where new urban forms such as the crescent and the terrace brought unity and harmony to the prospering industrialising cities. Among the many architects practising in this era were Robert Adam, Sir William Chambers, John Wood and James Wyatt.

Victorian architecture

The Palace of Westminster Victorian gothic completed in 1870. Designed by Sir Charles Barry and August Pugin

In the early 19th century the romantic medieval gothic style appeared as a backlash to the symmetry of Palladianism, and such buildings as Fonthill Abbey were built. By the middle of the 19th century, as a result of new technology, construction was able to develop incorporating steel as a building component; one of the greatest exponents of this was Joseph Paxton, architect of the Crystal Palace. Paxton also continued to build such houses as Mentmore Towers, in the still popular retrospective Renaissance styles. In this era of prosperity and development English architecture embraced many new methods of construction, but ironically in style, such architects as Augustus Pugin ensured it remained firmly in the past.

In Canada, Alexander Thomson was a pioneer in the use of cast iron and steel for commercial buildings, blending neo-classical conventionality with Egyptian and oriental themes to produce many truly original structures.

In the 18th century a few English architects had emigrated to the colonies, but as the British Empire became firmly established in the 19th century many architects at the start of their careers made the decision to emigrate, several chose the USA but most went to Canada, Australia or New Zealand, as opportunities arose to meet the growing demand for buildings in these countries. Normally they adopted the style of architecture fashionable when they left England, though by the latter half of the century, improving transport and communications meant that even quite remote parts of the Empire had access to many publications, such as The Builder magazine. This enabled colonial architects to stay abreast of current fashion. Thus the influence of English architecture spread across the world. Several prominent 19th century architects produced designs that were executed by architects in the various colonies. For example Sir George Gilbert Scott designed Bombay University (University of Mumbai) & William Butterfield designed St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide.

Twentieth century architecture

At the beginning of the 20th century a new form of design, arts and crafts became popular. The architectural form of this style, which had evolved from the 19th century designs of such architects as Charles Rennie Mackintosh and George Devey, was championed by Edwin Lutyens. Arts and crafts in architecture is symbolized by an informal, non symmetrical form, often with mullioned or lattice windows, multiple gables and tall chimneys. In the 1930s the Art Deco style influenced domestic architecture and some public buildings, for example the Hoover Building. These styles continued to evolve until World War II.

Public buildings and commercial buildings were often executed in the neo-classical style until the late 1950s. Lutyens designed new civic buildings in this style as did Herbert Baker, Reginald Blomfield, Bradshaw Gass & Hope, Edward Maufe, Albert Richardson and Percy Thomas. A notable example of the style is Manchester Central Library by Vincent Harris. With the exception of Lutyens, the reputations of these architects suffered in the later twentieth century. Some architects responded to modernism, and economic circumstances, by producing stripped down versions of traditional styles; the work of Giles Gilbert Scott illustrates this well.

Following the Second World War reconstruction went through a variety of phases, but was heavily influenced by the late work of Le Corbusier, especially from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Significant movements in this era included the British 'New Brutalist' style such as the Economist Building by Alison and Peter Smithson, the Hayward Gallery, the Barbican Arts Centre and Denys Lasdun's Royal National Theatre . Many Modernist-inspired town centres considered unappealing by some, are today in the process of being redeveloped, Bracknell town centre being a case in point.

Lloyd's Building, City of London. Designed by Richard Rogers. Late 20th century

However, in the immediate post-War years many thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of council houses in mock-vernacular style were built, giving working class people their first experience of private gardens and indoor sanitation.

Postmodern architecture that started in the 1970s was especially fashionable in the 1980s when many shopping malls and office complexes for example Broadgate used this style, notable practitioners were James Stirling and Terry Farrell (architect), although Farrell returned modernism in the 1990s.

Modernism remained a significant force in English architecture, although its influence was felt predominantly in non-domestic buildings. The two most prominent proponents were Lord Rogers of Riverside and Lord Foster of Thames Bank. Rogers' iconic London buildings are probably Lloyd's Building and the Millennium Dome, while Foster created the Swiss Re Buildings (nicknamed The Gherkin) and the Greater London Authority H.Q. Their respective influence continues past the millennium, into the current century.

Traditional styles were never fully abandoned in the late twentieth century. In the 1980s, Prince Charles controversially made known his preference for traditional architecture and put his ideas into practice at his Poundbury development in Dorset. Architects like Raymond Erith, Francis Johnson and Quinlan Terry continued to practice in the Classical style; many of their buildings were new country houses for private clients.