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Georgian Conservatories

Georgian Conservatories.

What are the options for Georgian conservatory designs and how much do Georgian conservatories cost?

This style of conservatory is known as one of the popular period conservatory designs, alongside Victorian & Edwardian. Georgian conservatories are very similar to Edwardian conservatories in terms of overall shape and roof styling.

Price-wise, they are also pretty similar. As a general guide, you should be able to find Georgian Conservatory Prices for a 3500mm x 3500mm full glass extension from £9,500 to £11,500.

The Georgian period came before the Victorian era and was during the reign of King George.

Covering the 1700’s to 1800’s in England, Georgian architecture tended to be ornate, and this followed through into conservatory designs of the time.

Glass technology was not that good back then, so this meant that windows tended to use smaller panes of glass separated by glazing bars – or Georgian bars are they are often referred to. Typically, the windows would have been sash windows with 6 panes of glass in the top section & 6 in the bottom section.

Originally, a Georgian conservatory would feature more solid walling than other styles, due mainly to the difficulty, at the time, in manufacturing large sheets of glass. Contemporary Georgian conservatories still feature ornate details and small paned windows with glazing bars.

Modern double glazed units sometimes have glazing bars, or a grid within the air gap. This simulates the appearance of the small paned window. Another option is to use Astragal bars, which are fitted onto the surface of the glass to create the grid pattern. This gives a 3D finish to the window, unlike internal glazing bars.

Georgian Conservatories

Similarities between Edwardian & Georgian Conservatories

In this guide you will find sections covering:

  • Georgian conservatory design options.
  • Optional features for Georgian conservatories.
  • Quick guide to Georgian conservatory prices.
Typical Georgian Window Styles

Georgian Windows

Georgian Conservatory Design Options.

The original layout for a Georgian conservatory would have been a cube, or even a double cube shape. Often seen with dwarf walls, they can also feature some use of columns or pilasters at the corners, sides of windows or the sides of doorways. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilaster )

Pilasters and Georgian Bars

Because Georgian conservatories were around before Edwardian and Victorian conservatories, both have taken some design elements from the Georgian style.

Victorian period conservatories continued with the ornamental and fancy styling, Edwardian period conservatories took the same floor-plan and roof type, but dropped the ornate detailing.

Georgian Conservatory Roofs

In our humble opinion, this style of conservatory extension looks better with a glazed roof. Whilst tiled roofs for Georgian conservatories are in the market, the take-up for a tiled roof is not that prevalent as far as we can tell.

Polycarbonate roofing is an option, and whilst it is a way to get a cheap conservatory roof, it does have its drawbacks. Polycarbonate is often found to be noisy during heavy rain, and even a 35mm twin wall sheet of polycarbonate does not have the insulating power of a double glazed unit.

Besides that, our view is also that for such a nice design, why scrimp on costs and spoil it by using lower quality materials.

3-sided Georgian Conservatory Roof: This design has a central ridge running from the adjoining property wall. If you picture looking at the conservatory from the front, then the 2 side roofing sections lean into the middle roof ridge-line, and the front section leans backward to join onto the central roofline.

3 sided Georgian Conservatory roof

4-sided Georgian Conservatory Roof: This design has a very small, or sometimes no central ridge. If you picture looking at the conservatory from the front, then all 4 roofing sections lean into the middle.

4 sided conservatory roof

Hipped Georgian Conservatory Roof: This design has a central ridge running from side to side. The ridgeline is parallel to the longest side of the room. If you picture looking at the conservatory from the front, then the 2 side roofing sections lean into the middle roof ridgeline, and the front and back sections lean backward and forward to join onto the central roofline.

The side roof sections are very small in comparison to the front and back roof sections.

Hipped Conservatory Roof

Conservatory Doors & Glazing

The glazing you choose can have a big impact on how comfortable your conservatory will be to live with. As will the type of doors.

Your conservatory door is definitely worth thinking about beforehand. Some doors are simply a way to get in and out, but some are used as an integral design feature.

The placing of the door on the narrower side of a rectangular room does tend to restrict your options somewhat, which is why you can see a lot of French doors used in this situation. French doors are particularly handy in small Georgian conservatories because they open outwards, thereby avoiding taking up valuable internal space.

Staying with the rectangular shape, when you place the doors on the widest side, your options improve a lot.

Sliding patio doors are always a popular choice and can look great. But even better, if you have the width, is to fit Bifold patio doors. Not only do you get a great view of the outside when they are closed, when they are fully opened they give an almost 100% obstruction free entry / exit.

To be a little different, you could even incorporate 2 sets of French doors to give your conservatory something “extra”. There is a particularly good example of that below.

Double French Doors in a Georgian Conservatory

Double French Doors in a Georgian Conservatory


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Glazing is not only important the visual element of the extension, but also for heat management. It is recommended to use the highest rated double glazed units that you can for your budget. The last thing you need is for your conservatory to “freeze you out” in the winter or “boil you up “in the summer.

Astragal Bars

Astragal Bars

Currently, the most efficient double glazing will be gained by using a 28mm sealed unit. If you go one step further by using Argon, Xenon or Krypton gas filled double glazing, that will give even better results. Xenon & Krypton are better insulating gasses, but there is an increased cost involved.

The style of window for a Georgian conservatory, as mentioned before, is to feature small panes of glass. It would be quite expensive to have a window made that featured structural Georgian bars, which is why it is worth looking at alternative ways to create that classic look.

Once again, we touched on this previously, you can use either inserts within the air gap of the double glazing, or decorative Astragal bars. Astragal Bars are dividers that are fixed to the surface of the glass and imitate real Georgian bars. Using Astragals recreates the authentic look of a hand crafted timber Georgian era window.

You can opt for different window opening options such as:
  • Vertical sliding sash design: Classic sash windows open vertically by sliding up or down within the window frame. You can have double hung or single hung versions where both windows move, or only the top one opens respectively.
  • Standard casement windows: It has to be the most frequently seen window in the UK. Side hinged and opening outwards, this design is probably what everyone thinks of when asked to describe a window.
  • Awning casement windows: Most often used in a conservatory as a top-light, a small window opener just below the roofline that opens outward from hinges on the top edge. Very handy for ventilation. Larger versions are also used in combination with dwarf wall conservatories.
A quick note about floor level glazing or glazing in high risk areas:

In both of these circumstances, building regulations require the use of toughened glass. See the diagram below.

Safety Glazing Diagram

Safety Glazing Diagram

As you can see from the diagram, the regulations are going to impact glass conservatories.

If you are already planning to have dwarf walls, then it could save you the added cost of installing toughened glass if you keep the wall height above 800mm.

Which is the best choice of material to build your Edwardian conservatory?

As you will likely already know, you can find Edwardian conservatories made from the following:

  • UPVC: It’s easy to look after and relatively less costly than wood or aluminium. UPVC has a decent colour choice and comes with optional woodgrain finishes.
  • Hardwood: An Oak Georgian conservatory is a thing of wonder, but they don’t come cheap. It will last forever if you look after it and can add considerable resale value to your property.
  • Engineered wood: An alternative to hardwood with a very long lifespan and a very stable nature. Does not suffer from excess swelling or shrinkage like regular softwoods.
  • Aluminium: Some modern aluminium Georgian conservatories benefit from slimmer frames. Very strong and durable with over 150 colours in the range. Costlier than UPVC but, in our opinion. aluminium conservatories have the edge on the visuals.

A Quick Guide to Edwardian Conservatory Prices.

To give you a very rough idea as a starting point, these prices are a guide what you could expect to find in the current market.

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All the installers who provide quotes are members of one or more of these Double Glazing & Conservatory Trade associations

  • certass
  • DGCOS Trade Logo
  • Trustmark
  • fensa
  • GGF