Doors/Furniture for Modern Georgian

[atlasfever]

Hello, Appreciate your feedback:

Background: Georgian flat, 1790 to 1800 build
Question: Doors & door furniture

As I am having all new doors made, I'd like to know whether a door of this period is meant to be:
a. 6 panel door, 4 panel door or 5 panel door (just saw this at a reclamation store, which is similar to a 6 panel, but the two top squares are joined as 1 long and wide square. Note: I have panelling within the depth of the doorjamb which has 3 panels; hence, I think a 5 panel might work nicely.

Secondly: Keep in mind my flat is the 1st floor of a large georgian house, so my "front door" is on the 1st floor landing off a staircase. So, I know that I could just use any door furniture as you would never have a 'front door' in the original design/use of the house, but thinking of what would be aesthetically pleasing and functional. The locksmith wants me to install a latch lock on the inside of my door, with a key hole and slight chrome lip. Then a deadlock. So, I have to turn the key and then push the door open (hand to paint) and push the key. The part that I don't like is when closing the door (upon exiting), there's no proper way to gently close the door, and instead, the door has to 'smack' shut. Ridiculous for shared/multi-flat ownership. So, I thought to have one of those big knobs that georgians put in the middle of the door. This way, I could pull it to close the door gently.
Note: I think I have to have this auto-locking latch lock as maybe insurance companies require it.

Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Nice project - mine are 4 panel. Get the best quality you can afford and avoid cheap brass as you will regret it.

 

[PeterI]

Our 1830ish[1] internal doors are 6 panel, please ignore the door furniture (it's on the todo list)
I can get a better picture if you really want. This particular door seems likely to be original as it only has the mouldings around the panels on one side (The door frame is also fancier on one side only as well) all the other doors and frames on this floor are "fancy" on both sides.

[1] Date is variable but certainly pre-1844 and I've seen a date of 1839 for the building but both I and the original author[2] of that date now suspect it may be wrong and the building is a little earlier (unlikely to be much before 1826 but possibly shown on a map by 1830)

[2] Annoyingly he can't remember where he got the dates for the row of buildings from (more research required by me)

 

[dandrew]

The fact the the paneling of the door jambs is 3 panel indicates that there should be 3 vertical panels to your (new) doors to match the jamb linings. You could either do this as a 6 panel or a 5 panel door - I can't recall if 5 panel is a Georgian design - are there any in the building to copy ?

Once you have covered the security elements of the door (with whatever your insurance company specifies) you have carte blanche to do what you like. My own front door is a 4 panel door with glazed upper panels that are shouldered and semi-circular headed - it has a latch and a standard mortice lock and a centre pull as you describe. I went for what I liked the look of. 1790 seems about mid-George III which will give you a range of styles to choose from - pick something you will like to look at every day as you shut the door and as Joce says don't go for cheap imported rubbish. There are plenty of online retailers of original and repro designs to help you.

David

 

[Moo]

This particular door seems likely to be original as it only has the mouldings around the panels on one side

I don't think that is necessarily a sign of age. It's just a clue as to the original function of the room it opens into.
In our last house we had several like that - one was at the top of the cellar stairs, and the others were cupboard doors.

 

[PeterI]

This particular door seems likely to be original as it only has the mouldings around the panels on one side

I don't think that is necessarily a sign of age. It's just a clue as to the original function of the room it opens into.
In our last house we had several like that - one was at the top of the cellar stairs, and the others were cupboard doors.

True enough but both I and the CO reckon there's a good chance they're originals, unlikely half of the other doors around the building.