Reading the Regency

Property - The Town House part 2

The layout of a town house

"We arrived at a quarter-past four, and were kindly welcomed by the coachman, and then by his master, and then by William, and then by Mrs. Pengird, who all met us before we reached the foot of the stairs. Mde. Bigion was below dressing us a most comfortable dinner of soup, fish, bouillée, partridges, and an apple tart, which we sat down to soon after five."
[Letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, written from Henrietta Street, 15th September 1813]

Although these terraced style town houses seem limited by their reduced footprint, the houses were not all identical. Some were square at the back, while others had bow windows or a projected "wing" that ran down one side of the plot, increasing the accommodation and reducing the amount of available garden area.

Some houses had the kitchen in the basement, while others were located beneath the garden or under the stable block at the rear. Rooms below ground would have been lit by the use of areas at the front and back of the house that acted as a light well to provide daylight to subterranean levels.

Above ground, no rooms had a fixed function. A gentleman living on his own would have different requirements than a large family, so room use could change depending on what the current occupier required.

Visiting a typical house in Grosvenor Square in the late 18th century, the front door would commonly open into a large square entrance hall with fireplace, which led into a separate room behind that contained the main staircase. To the side of the hall was a front parlour that looked out onto the square. Behind it was a back parlour, which looked out onto the rear garden. A smaller room, called the middle room, sat behind the main stair, in front of the servant's stair, and was probably an antichamber. Behind that, a larger room extended into the garden.

Rooms on the ground floor were frequently used as a dining room, library, or gentleman's study. In some households, there might even be a billiard room. A man of business might have a counting room or a store room on the ground floor.

The main staircase to the first floor was usually the grandest, and often lit from above by a sky-light. Once at the top of the stairs, a large drawing room took up the whole of the front part of the house, with five windows looking out over Grosvenor Square. A second drawing-room was located above the back parlour. A small room behind led to what could have been a dressing room with a bedroom in the garden wing. In a large family, it would be more common to have a bedroom on the first floor. If not needed as a bedroom, some occupiers might use it as a breakfast room instead.

On the second floor, immediately above the front drawing-room were two bedrooms, one of which had an adjoining dressing room. A third bedroom sat directly above the second drawing-room, facing the garden. The wing held a further two rooms and another dressing room. These could be used as bedrooms, a lady's boudoir or a gentleman's study.

Above this level, there were six garretts in the roof space where servants would sleep.

Front access to the basement was via the area that stood between the pavement and the house. They were usually fenced off with iron railings and had a little gate and stone stairs down to the basement level. The area was usually five or six feet wide, but could be larger.

The housekeeper's room was located at the front of the basement, next to the front area below the pavement. A stewards room also stood next to the area, allowing both rooms to have windows.

The servants' hall faced the back area. There was an internal room with a large water-fed basin for cleaning pans etc. For storage, there were two pantries and two wine vaults. Four storage rooms, accessed from the front area, extended beneath the pavement.