Terraced houses in the United Kingdom

Terraced houses have been popular in the United Kingdom, particularly England and Wales, since the 17th century. They were originally built as desirable properties, such as around Regent's Park and the Georgian architecture in Bath.

The design became a popular way to provide high-density accommodation for the working class in the 19th century, when terraced houses were built extensively in urban areas throughout Victorian Britain. Though numerous terraces have been cleared and demolished, many remain and have regained popularity in the 21st century.

Terraced houses, as defined by various bye-laws established in the 19th century, particularly the Public Health Act 1875, are distinguished by properties connecting directly to each other in a row, sharing a party wall. A house may be several storeys high, one or two rooms deep, and optionally contain a basement and attic. In this configuration, a terraced house may be known as a two-up two-down, having a ground and first floor with two rooms on each. Most terraced houses have a duo pitch gable roof.

For a typical two-up two-down house, the front room has historically been the parlour, or reception room, where guests would be entertained, while the rear would act as a living room and private area. Many terraced houses are extended by a back projection, which may or may not be the same height as the main build. A terraced house has windows at both the front and the back of the house; if a house connects directly to a property at the rear, it is a back to back house. 19th century terraced houses, especially those designed for working-class families, did not typically have a bathroom or toilet with a modern drainage system; instead these would have a privy using ash to deodorise human waste.

Terraced houses were introduced to London from Italy in the 1630s.Covent Garden was laid out to resemble the Palazzo Thiene in Venice. Terraces first became popular in England when Nicholas Barbon began rebuilding London after the Great Fire in 1666. The terrace was designed to hold family and servants together in one place, as opposed to separate servant quarters, and came to be regarded as a "higher form of life". They became a trademark of Georgian architecture in Britain, including Grosvenor Square, London, in 1727 and Queen's Square, Bath, in 1729. The parlour became the largest room in the house, and the area where the aristocracy would entertain and impress their guests.

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