I've heard that the reason 19th and 18th centuries architecture seems so magnificent and of consistently high standards is that only the most important of buildings survived demolitions and urban planning.
Now, obviously, not everyone could afford to build like that, so I'm certain most middle-class and low-class houses were smaller and less decorated, but my question is: did they build in the same style and spirit as the great buildings that we see today, or was there a completely diferent set of conventions for that sort of buildings?
You can see swathes of late 19th century architecture in Britain from all classes. There a rows and rows of workers housing that services in the larger industrial cities, and a fair few remnants of the industry itself.