A TYPOLOGY OR URBAN MOTIFS
- Georgian urban motifs
- urban motifs on the map:we can search for such geometrical motifs - the square, the circus, the crescent - on the maps of major Georgian towns (see Question 'Motifs on maps'):
- Hanover Square, Grosvenor Square, Bedford Square, in London
- Queen Square, the Circus, the Crescent, in Bath
- Charlotte Square, St Andrew's Square, in Edinburgh
- views of urban motifs: we can study the architectural forms of these motifs (see Question)
- urban motifs on the map:we can search for such geometrical motifs - the square, the circus, the crescent - on the maps of major Georgian towns (see Question 'Motifs on maps'):
- The evolution of Georgian motifs: from outer to inner spaces
An architectural set-piece like the Crescent in Bath has its ceremonial façade (the inner arc of the crescent) turned towards the public thoroughfare. The outer arc, undecorated, opens towards private gardens.
So was the later Buxton Crescent (1780)
In the early 19th century, smaller crescents were built in another spa town, Leamington Spa. The structure was inverted. The classical façade is still on the inner arc; but it opens on to a private garden, and the outer undecorated façade is the one visible to the public (left-hand photo). The best decoration is no longer for the ceremonial entrance but for the private spaces, which can only be glimpsed by the public through trees behind a wall (right-hand photo).
