The work of the Georgian Group is informed by two charitable objectives:

1. to save from destruction or disfigurement Georgian buildings, whether individually or as part of a group, monuments, parks and gardens of architectural and historic interest and, where necessary, encourage their appropriate repair or restoration and the protection and improvement of their setting.
2. to stimulate public knowledge and appreciation of Georgian architecture and town planning; of Georgian taste as displayed in the applied arts design and craftsmanship, and its influence on later periods.

The Georgian Group is an English and Welsh conservation organisation created to campaign for the preservation of historic buildings and planned landscapes of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Founded in 1937 by the journalist Douglas Goldring, (who went on to become the first Honorary Secretary), Robert Byron (the Deputy Chairman) and Lord Derwent (the first Chairman) the Group was originally part of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

The poet and author Sir John Betjeman, the architectural historian Sir John Summerson, the architectural writers James Lees-Milne and Christopher Hussey, the architect Albert Richardson, the 6th Earl of Rosse (active in the National Trust) and the urban planner Trystan Edwards were among its most prominent early active members. The Group caught the imagination of the younger generation of the day and both Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh refer to the Group affectionately in their novels. An account of the Group’s early history can be found in Gavin Stamp’s article on the foundation of the Group in the 2012 Georgian Group Journal (Volume XX). Further articles on the history of the Georgian Group can be viewed here:

• Charles Hind, ‘Sound and Fury – the Early Days of the Georgian Group’, The Georgian Group Report and Journal, 1986
• David McKinstry, ‘The Continuous Present: The Georgian Group and Traditional Craftsmanship, 1937-2017’, Splendour!, 2017
• Adam Busiakiewicz, ‘John Betjeman and the Georgian Group: The Early Years‘, The Georgian, 2018 (1)

An interesting and passionate pamphlet by Robert Byron, the first Deputy Chairman, decrying the state of London’s built environment at the date of the Coronation of HM George VI, can be found here.

Since 1971, the Georgian Group has been a national amenity society. We act as a statutory consultee in the planning process in England and Wales, when consideration is being given to proposals to alter or demolish listed buildings dating, in whole or in part, from between 1700 and 1840.

We aim to protect historic buildings through providing advice to owners and architects, campaigning, and through our role as statutory consultees in the planning system. Our annual awards promote excellence in design and conservation. In its casework, the Georgian Group advises councils, church bodies, and others on threats to the historic fabric and setting of structures built between 1700 and 1837.

The Group organises lectures and other events aimed at improving the understanding of aspects of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century built heritage. We also produce technical advice leaflets, and promote the publication of academic research through our journal.

We have a small grants scheme for historic buildings, the Cleary Fund which is distributed annually in September.

• Listed Building applications for works of alteration and demolition for buildings of all kinds containing fabric and fittings which date from between 1700 and 1837.
• Applications for works significantly affecting the setting of buildings or structures constructed between 1700 and 1837 or those affecting the character of those parts of our historic environment with a primarily Georgian character.
• The care and preservation of Georgian buildings.
• Promoting good design in the setting of the Georgian built environment and Georgian parks and gardens.
• Promoting a better understanding of eighteenth and early nineteenth century architecture and designed landscapes.