5: 76 Dean Street
Having some guests round? At the end of the 17th century you’d entertain guests with a drink or two downstairs on the ground floor. But around the beginning of the 18th century some maverick decided to bring their guests up to the first floor. The craze spread so fast that by the middle of the 18th century the first floor was the only floor fit for entertainment.
The style of houses built during this period reflects this trend and at the beginning of the century the ground and first floor windows were of the same size. Later on, when the first floor became the only party place, it became more common to see the highest ceilings and tallest windows on this floor only.
Those in the know called the first floor the Piano Nobile, and the long rectangular windows were sometimes dressed up on the outside with architraves (Number 77 next door has pediments on top of architraves) or a full entablature if you wanted to be really grand.
Sadly, nothing lasts forever, and by the end of the 18th century the main area for entertaining had already returned to the ground floor. Those crazy Georgians.
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