1800 - Industrialist's Mansion
Wealthy factory owners had architects design large, imposing houses for them. The style of this mansion is heavily influenced by the symmetry and regularity of classical architecture, although later houses were in the elaborate Gothic style. Such mansions often exemplified the very best in building skills, and no expense was spared in materials, construction and decoration. The whole of the ground floor might be given over to spacious reception rooms, the kitchens and other service rooms being banished to the rear of the house. The specific function of rooms was now clearly marked - morning room, dining room, library, nursery and so on. It was in homes such as these that such improvements as gas lighting, bathrooms and water closets were first installed. These mansions were usually sited in extensive grounds, well away from mill or mine, but they could not escape the all-pervading grime that gradually blackened their magnificent facades. Too big for most families today, many have been redeveloped as flats, offices, schools or residential homes.