Adam's death coincided with the final defeat of the Jacobite threat in 1746, and the advance of the Scottish Enlightenment, which resulted in new styles of building becoming popular. The development of Neoclassicism in the late 18th century was paralleled by a revival of the "castle" form of house, which would lead to the Scottish baronial style. Neither idiom however, owed much to the work of William Adam. As a practical man rather than a theorist, Adam never developed a strong enough style to exert a direct influence on the course of building design.