But look a little harder and you can ind pockets o a ordability

These terraces were wonder ully lexible, and could be laid out in either straight lines or around crescents, squares or o al circuses. The impact o the new style was also e ident in rural areas, where rich merchants commissioned ashionable architects to build them classically inspired country houses, o ten on ele ated sites and surrounded by extensi e parkland. The materials used aried regionally. This uni ormity was highlighted by standardising many o the architectural eatures, such as the height o the sash windows and semi-circular anlights commonly used abo e the ront doors. It is ?2.95m rom Sa ills (01225 474 550).The history o Georgian architecture The heyday o Georgian architecture was between 1730 and 1800, when Inigo Jones, Sir John Soane, Robert Adam, John Nash and John Wood pioneered the classically inspired Palladian style, which combined symmetry, simplicity and elegance. It was a period o rapid urban expansion, when the need to pack a lot o homes into small spaces led to the in ention o terraced housing - symmetrically designed rows o houses that leant streets integrity and unity. This i e-bedroomed house, stretching to around 6,500 square eet, has recently been re urbished to the highest speci ications. Many original eatures ha e been retained, including marbled ireplaces and bow windows, while state-o -the-art touches include a steel-and-glass bridge linking the kitchen to its walled garden. Just around the corner rom the spa town's amous Royal Crescent, and with a ine south-westerly aspect, it was designed by John Wood in the 1750s. Two- to three-bedroom apartments can be purchased in both o these or around ?300,000.Stuart Paton, a partner with Humberts, says he has noticed an increasing number o pro essional people with young amilies mo ing to the area rom London and the south-east, attracted by a combination o Stam ord's idyllic setting, a ordable Georgian housing, its good network o local schools and e icient rail-links to the capital - King's Cross is just 90 minutes away."They could no way a ord to buy equi alent properties in London," he says.Money no object? or an example o Georgian style at its inest, look no urther than number eight, The Circus, Bath.

Prime sites include around St George's Square, All Saints Square, and Rutland Terrace on the town's westernmost perimeter - a quiet area that enjoys ine iews o er Welland alley.Prices in Stam ord are roughly hal what one would expect to pay or equi alent properties in London or Bath. One-bedroomed lats can be picked up or as little as ?150,000, while just ?600,000 will secure a well-appointed our- or i e-bedroomed terraced house.Out o town, meanwhile, quite a ew stately homes - notably Stocken Hall, near the illage o Stretton, and Burley-on-the-Hill, near Oakham - ha e recently been con erted into lats. Although more than 1,000 years old - some o its churches date back to medie al times - the architectural backbone o the town, including its well-equipped high street, is solidly Georgian.It is choc-a-bloc with pristine Georgian terraces built rom local grey-and-gold limestone. There are still plenty o ine examples to be ound in and around London, especially in May air, Regent's Park, Bloomsbury and Islington.

Bath is the most spectacular Georgian city in the country, particularly in the encla e around Queen Square, the Circus and Royal Crescent, which has eatured in countless Jane Austen ilm-adaptations. But we all know that. And we all know that these buildings ha e a common "wow" actor aside rom stunning appearances: the price-tags. Property costs in the ob ious Georgian hot-spots are almost always prohibiti ely high, as are the prices o Georgian country houses in the counties o Gloucestershire and Ox ordshire. But look a little harder and you can ind pockets o a ordability.Beyond Bath and Somerset, in ar- lung De on or Cornwall, you can pick up a large Georgian country house with decent acreage or well under a million pounds. or those looking or something a little closer to the capital, Lincolnshire is another area where prices remain competiti e, particularly in and around the pretty little market town o Stam ord, to the west o the county.Bordering the ens, surrounded by meadowland and gently undulating wooded hills, Stam ord is a small, riendly town with a good selection o local restaurants, pubs and shops to o er.It is about 100 miles away rom London - roughly the same distance as Bath - and enjoys good rail ser ices to the capital ia Peterborough, 13 miles away.The architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pe sner described it as "the English country market town par excellence", and it is one o the oldest conser ation areas in the country. The Georgian style o architecture is, now, more than e er, held as the epitome o good taste - beauti ully proportioned, elegantly understated, much copied but ne er surpassed Georgian houses were built to last, and they ha e. Am?e Mauresmo, aiming to win her third Grand Slam tournament o the year, reached the quarter- inals with a typically up-and-down display against Serena Williams Mauresmo, who now plays Dinara Sa ina, won 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.. Jelena Janko ic, who had knocked out the 2004 winner S etlana Kuznetso a in the pre ious round, became the irst woman to reach the semi- inals when she dropped only our games against Elena Dementie a, the No 4 seed.