Georgian Lighting

Reflective surfaces were the solution for improving light, but glass was very expensive and heavily taxed, meaning mirrors, large windows and, the most magical light fitting of them all; the cut-glass chandeliers were only an option for the very rich.  In addition to chandeliers, the perfect entrance to an extravagant Georgian house would usually be adorned with a grand Georgian cylindrical lantern.  

The first mention of a Georgian crystal chandelier, described as a ‘crystal branch’ was at Hampton Court c.1700 and originally they tended to be wireframes using rock crystal beads and rosettes for decoration.

Georgian lighting designs were revolutionary because developments in glass technology meant an arm could be fashioned from glass that was strong enough to hold some weight for the first time. As the designs improved, the crystal chandelier became highly fashionable, its opulence making it the ultimate Georgian status symbol.
Social changes meant that the long held tradition of lunchtime dining was substituted, at least by the upper classes, to evening dinner parties which required Georgian lights.  The poor quality of the candle light available made glass and mirrors the perfect addition to increase the light in a glamorous room. A wealthy Georgian homeowner would often burn hundreds of candles during a dinner party, but may well be found reading by a fire and burning a cheaper, tallow candle, once the guests had left!

Georgian lighting was aided by the development of new techniques which meant the designs changed dramatically throughout this period of history.  By C. 1800, Regency ‘tent’ chandeliers, where a metal frame supports the chains of crystal running the length of the light fitting, became popular.

When William Parker was commissioned to make the Tea Room chandeliers at the Bath Assembly Rooms, which opened in 1771, he pushed the boundaries of chandelier design and introduced vase-shaped stem pieces and neo-classical elements, giving the rather more slender, elegant design we still see today. This was, in no small part, due to an earlier disaster in The Ball Room when a chandelier fell down during a dance party. The rarity of Georgian lighting makes antique chandeliers dating from Georgian times extremely valuable; those in the Bath Assembly Rooms are valued at several million pounds.