The Georgians must have been well-ordered folk because they swept away our rambling street patterns that had developed organically over centuries and replaced them with geometric squares and streets laid out in grids. They demolished leaning timber-framed homes and replaced them with perfectly level housing in uniform designs, and even rearranged gardens on regular and geometric patterns. In the Georgian world everything had its place, and it had to be kept there.

Wales has some excellent examples of Georgian homes – just think of Aberaeron with its regular terraces around Alban Square, or a number of market towns such as Brecon and Abergavenny. The Georgian influence was seen in most farmhouses built after 1750 and even humble cottages can show the influence of, for example, the Georgian pattern sash windows.

But it is in the townhouse that Georgian architecture really made its mark in Wales, and we found a gem in the country market town of Llandeilo. So large that it is now makes two comfortable homes, this house has a classic story to tell in that it was an late seventeenth or early eighteenth century home that was remodeled when Georgian fashions (and new money) came to it at the end of the 1700s.

Behind many of the Georgian facades to be seen in market towns you will find buildings that date back at least a century before. In town it mattered what the neighbours thought, so many of the bourgeoisie added smart new façades to their homes, with a neo-classical porch and large windows to display their wealth – for both glass and craftsmanship cost money! The ideal finish was a smooth render, to imitate the ashlar blocks of royal palaces. In Llandeilo we can see it all, as well as original doors, fittings and an old sluice for emptying bedpans on the stairwell (well, it is four storeys high!).

Downstairs we discover the other side of Georgian life, the cellars, kitchens and work space for the staff. With attic rooms for the maids and a basement working day and night to service the family, the Georgian home was a machine for living in. The tiny loft rooms for the staff contrast strongly with the first-floor living for the family who could view the world through their floor-to-ceiling windows.

‘I can come in here after a hectic day’, says owner Gwenda Rees, ‘and there is such a sense of calm that I relax immediately. I love the fact that the main living space was built up on the first floor so that you can see out right across the Dyffryn’