How to spot a Georgian house

How to spot one, from the roof down

Start at the top, where the roof should be. Many Georgian town houses tuck their roof behind a parapet, a low wall running along the front above the top windows, so from the street the house can look as if it has no roof at all. Chimney stacks usually sit on the walls between neighbouring houses rather than on the front.

Then the windows. Georgian sashes have slim glazing bars that split the glass into small panes, often six over six. The tallest windows tend to be on the first floor, where the best rooms were. Each floor above gets a little shorter until the top windows are nearly square. In towns the frames are often set back into the brickwork rather than sitting flush with it.

Now the walls. Georgian brick is often laid in Flemish bond: along each row, the long side of a brick alternates with its short end, giving a neat chequer of sides and ends. Over the windows you may see flat arches of finely cut brick.

If a window space has been bricked in, it might be the window tax, which charged householders by their windows until 1851. It might also be a blind window, built that way from the start so the front stayed symmetrical. The Georgians really did love a matching pair.

At the door, look for a panelled front door, often with six panels, under a fanlight: a half-moon or rectangle of glass with glazing bars fanning out like a spider's web. Grander houses frame the door with columns or a little pediment on top.

Regency houses, from about the 1810s to the 1830s, add a lighter touch. Walls are often covered in stucco, a smooth render painted cream or white and sometimes lined to look like stone. Look for curved bow windows and delicate cast iron balconies, some with a little canopy over them.

Down at street level, a town house may have railings round a basement area, with steps leading down to what was once the kitchen.

These are clues rather than rules, because styles varied from region to region. This guide is written for England and Wales. Fancy testing your eye? Play What era is this house?

Where you'll find them

Georgian homes are mostly in the older parts of towns and cities: the squares, crescents and long terraces that went up as towns grew richer. Spa towns and seaside resorts are full of them, especially the stucco Regency kind. In the country there are Georgian farmhouses, rectories and village houses, often plainer and less strictly symmetrical than their town cousins.

The homes built then range from tall terraced town houses, many now split into flats, to double-fronted detached houses and modest cottages. Plenty of older houses were also given a fashionable new Georgian front, so a neat brick face can hide a much older building behind it.

What tends to need looking after

Georgian houses have already lasted a couple of centuries. They mostly like being looked after in their own way.

The walls are solid, built with lime mortar and often lime plaster inside. Lime lets moisture move in and out of the wall, so these walls are made to breathe. Hard cement mortar, cement render and some modern paints can trap that moisture instead. That's why a builder who knows traditional buildings is worth finding before any repointing or replastering.

A roof behind a parapet drains through hidden gutters that gather leaves and silt over the years. Checking and clearing them is a roofer's job, as are the chimneys. If you'd like to light a fire, a chimney sweep can tell you whether the flue is fit to use.

Original sash windows can often be repaired and draught-proofed by a joiner who specialises in them. Older wiring is a job for an electrician, who can test it and tell you what they find.

Solid walls lose more heat than modern insulated ones. If you're thinking about insulation or new windows, a specialist in older homes can explain what suits a wall that needs to breathe.

Many Georgian homes are listed or sit in a conservation area. Changes inside and out may need consent, so ask the council before you plan any work.