'Temple Beauties': The Entrance-Portico in the Architecture of Great Britain 1630-1850

The portico is one of the most characteristic and significant features of western architecture and, yet, perhaps, also one of the least closely observed. Redolent of Antiquity and comprising the essential vocabulary of classical architecture in the form of the orders - columns, entablatures and, usually, pediments - it evokes past glories and epitomizes the modular system of design that is central to that architecture. It has often played a key role in, or acted as a barometer of, stylistic...