HandForged Ironmongery Articles

The Regency period is the last part of the Georgian era between 1811 and 1830, when George IV was first Regent, during the mental incapacity of his father, King George III, then monarch after the King’s death. Architecturally it used elements of the earlier Georgian styles but often on a more grandiose scale, witness the terraces at Bath and Regent’s Park. As foreign travel increased alongside Britain’s influence in the world, interior design borrowed extensively from other cultures, most obviously from Egypt, the Indian sub-continent and the far east. More ambitious furniture designs featured glorious inlays of exotic woods and metal with fine lacquer work. Attention to detail but also an appreciation of function as well as form was paramount.

Probably the most familiar example of all the Regency influences combining in one place is The Royal Pavilion at Brighton. It was originally a modest farmhouse but was subsequently remodelled into a palace by the prince of Regency architects, John Nash. As well as the more common Georgian characteristics of symmetry and proportion, its eastern influences are plain to see with the domes and minarets redolent of the Taj Mahal. Inside, the lavish decoration on almost all the furniture whether decorative or functional incorporated further Indian, Oriental and Islamic motifs. It was at once a counter to the more restrained Regency style but also the best example of the excesses typical of its most famous sponsor.

Tags: General Ironmongery //