A
Assembly: A social gathering of persons of both sexes.
Assembly rooms: A venue for balls and other social gatherings.
B
Bailey: An enclosed courtyard within the external walls of a castle. Also called a ward.
Bandbox: A lightweight box made of pasteboard or thin wood used to hold light articles of attire.
Barouche: A four-wheeled carriage which was popular for summer excursions. It could accommodate four people on two seats facing each other and had a single, foldable hood which could be raised to protect those travelling in the forward-facing seat. It could be driven by postilions or by a coachman.
Bathing machine: A small horse-drawn hut on wheels that acted as a mobile changing room for sea bathing.
Beau: A gentleman admirer or suitor.
Blackballed: In
White’s and other gentlemen’s clubs, members were elected by existing members
voting using a system of white balls for ‘yes’ and black balls for ‘no’. A
prospective member was ‘blackballed’ if anyone voted against them.
Bled: Blood-letting was a rather gruesome medical procedure often used in Georgian times where the patient was made to bleed, either by cutting the skin or applying leeches. Unsurprisingly, it was not very effective and could cause considerable harm to those already weak from illness.
Bluestocking: A nickname for a lady who took learning more seriously than was fashionable which was often used in a derogatory sense. Bluestocking assemblies were gatherings of people who met together to converse rather than play cards or take part in other frivolous entertainments. Although the original bluestockings were not all female, the bluestocking circle was led by ladies.
Blunderbuss: A short, large-bore gun with a funnel-shaped muzzle.
Breeched: Dressed in breeches or trousers. In the Georgian period, boys were dressed in petticoats until they were breeched, usually between the ages of four and seven, after which they wore men’s clothes.
C
Chaise: A carriage, typically with a single seat for two people.
Chaperon: A female companion for an unmarried lady. She was typically a married lady or a widow, though she could be of any age.
Charity school: A school funded by voluntary contributions to teach
poor children to read and write. They were usually run by religious groups who
provided the education and uniform free or at very low cost.
Competence: An income that was considered sufficient to live on, but not enough to support many of the luxuries of life.
Corinthian set: A group of fashionable gentlemen who excelled in sport.
Curricle: A light carriage with two wheels driven by its owner. The most fashionable curricles were pulled by a pair of carefully matched horses.
D
Dishabille: From the French, meaning undressed.
Drawing room: Short for withdrawing room. Ladies retired to the drawing room after dinner leaving the gentlemen at the table to imbibe stronger drinks, such as port. The gentry received visitors here.
Drawing room, the Queen’s: The Queen held special receptions at St James’s Palace which were called drawing rooms. A young lady, wearing full court dress, was presented to Queen Charlotte on her entrance into London society.
Duel: A planned combat between two gentlemen because one of them
had offended the other. The weapons used were duelling pistols or swords. It
was viewed as cowardly not to give satisfaction for an offence by refusing
another gentleman’s challenge. A gentleman could, however, decline to meet an inferior
person, such as a servant, with no slur on his courage. Duels were illegal, so often
took place early in the morning at remote locations. A duel could be averted by
making an apology, but once blows had been exchanged, any apology had to be
accompanied by the offer of a whip with which to punish the offender.
G
Gig: A two-wheeled carriage, driven by its owner, and usually pulled by a single horse.
Grand Tour: A period of foreign travel commonly undertaken by young gentlemen to finish off their education. It was popular from the mid-17th century until the end of the 18th century when the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars stopped most foreign travel.
H
Hazard: A game of chance played with two dice, often for high stakes.
I
Introduction: An introduction was more than just getting to know
someone’s name. A gentleman would be presented to a lady by a third party – a
chaperon or friend who could vouch for the gentleman being a desirable
acquaintance for the lady. Until formally introduced, a lady and gentleman were
not supposed to talk to each other.
L
Ladybird: Originally a term for a sweetheart, but in vulgar usage, it referred to a light or lewd woman.
Levée: A morning reception held by the King for gentlemen only.
N
Neoclassical: A style of architecture inspired by classical antiquity that developed from the Palladian style, applying the rules of symmetry more freely and incorporating more aspects of Ancient Greek art, such as cameos.
O
Olympian Dew: A Georgian lotion for washing the skin, also known as Grecian Bloomwater. According to advertisements, it could remove freckles and redness and make wrinkles disappear.
Orgeat: A refreshing drink made from barley or almonds and orange flower water.
P
Palladian: A style of architecture inspired by Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) based on rules of proportion and symmetry and heavily influenced by Roman antiquity.
Pelisse: A long fitted coat.
Phaeton: A light, four-wheeled carriage that was driven by its owner rather than by a coachman. Depending on its design, it was pulled by a single horse or a pair.
Piquet: A two-player, trick-taking card game, played with a deck of 32 cards – aces, picture cards, and numbers seven to ten in each suit.
Portland stone: A distinctive white-grey limestone quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. It has been used in many public buildings, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace.
Post-chaise: A chaise designed for travelling post. A private post-chaise was also called a travelling chariot.
Post-chaise and four: A hired travelling chariot pulled by four
horses. It was driven by postilions who were hired with the chaise.
Post-haste: As quickly as possible. Literally, with the speed of the post.
Postilion: A person who rode one of the horses pulling a carriage. A postilion-driven carriage had no coachman but was guided by one or more postilions riding the nearside horses. A postilion could also work alongside a coachman, particularly if the coach were being pulled by three pairs of horses. A postilion was also known as a post-boy.
Post road: A road used by those delivering the post. There was a system of inns or post houses at stages along a post road where horses and postilions or post-boys could be hired and replaced. This enabled travel to take place at the highest possible speed by continually refreshing the horses. Post roads were typically among the first roads to be maintained by Turnpike Trusts.
R
Regency: The Regency period was the nine years from 1811 to 1820 when the Prince of Wales, the future George IV, ruled as Regent during the final illness of his father, George III.
Regency crisis: When George III suffered his first bout of mental instability in November 1788, the government thought it would be necessary to appoint his eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, as Regent to rule in his place. The Tories wanted the Regent’s powers restricted whilst the Whig opposition argued against this. This became known as the Regency crisis. However, before the matter could be resolved, the King recovered and was able to resume his power.
Reticule: A lady’s purse or small bag designed to carry around personal items that used to be kept in a pocket. Pockets became impractical when dresses became more streamlined and so a reticule acted like a portable pocket.
Rout: An assembly or ‘at home’ on a large scale. The measure of
success seemed to be that it was a squeeze rather than anything else. The
guests did not sit, but moved from room to room, often with no entertainment
provided. They usually began at 10pm or even later and lasted into the early
hours of the morning.
Rumble seat: A seat on the outside of a carriage which could be used for transporting servants. It was located over the boot behind the main body of a chaise.
S
Sack-back gown: A gown that was open at the front with an elaborate stomacher and underskirt. At the back, it had loose box pleats which draped from the shoulder to the floor with a slight train. It was also called a robe à la française.
Sconce: A wall bracket for holding a candlestick.
Season: The season was the time of year when the upper classes went to London to socialise with each other. It roughly coincided with the sitting of Parliament and was the best opportunity to meet a suitable marriage partner.
During the late 18th century, it typically ran from October or November through to May or June whilst during the Regency period, it typically ran from November or January through to June or July.
Second: A friend who
stood by each combatant in a duel. Seconds planned the meeting and ensured fair
play. They were responsible for trying to effect a reconciliation without
resort to violence.
Set-down: A snub, often by a person of some importance to someone of inferior social standing.
Spencer jacket: A short-waisted jacket that ended just under the bosom.
Sweetmeats: Items of confectionery; fruits preserved with sugar.
T
Tête-à-tête: A private conversation between two people.
Ton: The fashionable set of Georgian London (pronounced to rhyme with the French word ‘bon’, with a short, nasal ‘o’ sound and a silent ‘n’). It can also refer to the social standing required to belong to that set. Hence people of good ton belong to the ton.
Tory: One of the two main political parties during the Georgian period. The Tories supported the monarchy and the existing system and opposed religious toleration and reform. William Pitt the Younger was the Tory Prime Minister 1783–1801 and again 1804–6.
Travelling chariot: A four-wheeled, postilion-driven carriage used for long journeys with a single forward-facing internal seat for two people. It was driven by one or more postilions rather than by a coachman sitting on a coach box which would obscure the travellers’ view. Fresh horses could be hired at inns along the post road.
Turnpike: A toll gate or a road with a toll gate. Turnpike trusts were set up by Acts of Parliament during the 18th and 19th centuries in order to improve the state of the roads. Trusts were responsible for maintaining individual stretches of road and had the right to levy tolls on road users to finance this. A turnpike gate blocked the way to travellers to make them stop and pay the toll for the stretch of road that they were using.
Two-penny post: A postal system that operated within a limited area
of London and its suburbs, allowing for the fast delivery of letters. There
were six deliveries a day, so it was possible to receive a letter and send a
reply that would be received the same day. It was like a Georgian courier
service!
V
Vinaigrette: A small container holding an aromatic substance generally soaked in vinegar. It was used for reviving faintness and to mask unpleasant smells.
Ward: Another word for a bailey. The most important buildings in a castle would be located within the inner ward.
W
Watchmen: Men who patrolled the streets at night, looking out for crime and fire. Every hour, they called out the time and described the weather.
Whig: One of the two main political parties during the Georgian period. The Whigs believed in the power of the people and favoured economic and political reform. Key Whig politicians included Charles James Fox, Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Charles Grey, later 2nd Earl Grey.
