– March 28, 2026
English Architecture – 16th to 19th Centuries
WITH Allison LaneRegistration ends March 11, 2026
Class Description
Is your character’s country house Baroque, Palladian, Neoclassical, or something else? What does its style tell you about the family’s politics, social standing, and finances? Upper class homes impart a great deal of information about those who live in them. Since our characters rarely own new residences, it helps to understand the various styles found in England and the social and political factors that created them.
English Architecture will cover four hundred years of private homes, both country seats and town houses, providing details that can broaden characterization and make scene setting easier by describing how the various styles of housing are configured. While the class will focus mostly on exterior style for the earlier homes, it will include interiors for the later ones, cover how the industrial revolution changed life, and discuss the expansions of Carlton House, the Brighton Pavilion, Buckingham Palace, and Windsor Castle that were ordered by the Prince of Wales aka Prince Regent aka George IV during his lifetime.
The class contains 20 lessons, delivered over a 4-week period:
- Lesson 1 –Introduction, glossary, & bibliography
- Lesson 2 –Architecture as a profession (the training needed by the man you hire)
- Lesson 3 –The Business of architecture (contracts, costs, etc)
- Lesson 4 –16th & 17th century architects
- Lesson 5 –18th century architects
- Lesson 6 –19th century architects
- Lesson 7 –Materials
- Lesson 8 –English Style
- Lesson 9 –Prodigy houses, the late 16th century
- Lesson 10 –Inigo Jones & early Classicism, the early 17th century
- Lesson 11 –Baroque, the late 17th century
- Lesson 12 –Palladian, the early 18th century
- Lesson 13 –Neoclassical, the late 18thcentury
- Lesson 14 –Regency, the early 19th century
- Lesson 15 –The many revivals of Victorian England
- Lesson 16 –Royal Residences expanded by George IV
- Lesson 17 –Public Works constructed in the early 19th century
- Lesson 18 –Town Houses, Part 1
- Lesson 19 –Town Houses, Part 2
- Lesson 20 –Where our characters shop and play
The class will consist of written lessons and Q&A in the class forum. Each weekday, Allison will post the lesson as a .pdf file with embedded thumbnails of any pictures, a .zip file of all the full-sized pictures used in the lesson which are necessary to see fine details, and a second .pdf file containing larger thumbnails of the pictures along with descriptions and additional information. Some of these description files also include extra pictures relevant to the lesson but which don’t appear in the lesson itself, so all students should read this file. While this course is very picture-heavy, the .zip files will make it easy to download the information every day.
About the Instructor
Allison’s resume is decidedly eclectic, with degrees in applied math and computer science, plus a minor in astronomy. Her first career was in computer software design. Her second was teaching classical piano. Her third is writing. So far she has published nineteen traditional Regency romances, three Regency historicals, and seven Regency novellas, mostly for Signet, many of which won awards. [Her entire backlist is available digitally from regencyreads.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, applebooks.com, kobo.com, etc., with the most recent novella available in the anthology A Regency Holiday, print, digital, and audio.] But her interest in 19th century vehicles and travel began in childhood, triggered by tales told by her grandfather, who was born in 1870 and became a blacksmith, wheelwright, and wagon maker, following in his father’s footsteps.
Class Delivery
Class Format
4-WEEK COURSE
Written Lectures: Yes, on weekdays
Pictures: Many (see details above)
Questions are welcome at any time. The instructor will respond ASAP.
Class Fees
$40 for RFW members
$55 for non-members
Registration ends March 11, 2026!
Scholarships are available for members