Sir John Vanbrugh in Godfrey Kneller's Kit-cat portrait, considered one of Kneller's finest portraits, held in the National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom) (NPG3231). Sir Godfrey Kneller 1st Baronet ( 8 August 1646 &ndash 19 October 1723) was the leading Portrait painter in England during The Kit-Cat Club (sometimes Kit-Kat Club) was an early 18th century English Club in London with strong political and literary associations committed

Sir John Vanbrugh (pronounced "Van'-bru") (January 24, 1664?–March 26, 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace. Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Events 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Year 1726 ( MDCCXXVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. Blenheim Palace  is a large and Monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse (1696) and The Provoked Wife (1697), which have become enduring stage favourites but originally occasioned much controversy. Restoration comedy is the name given to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710 The Relapse or Virtue in Danger is a Restoration comedy from 1696 written by John Vanbrugh. The Provoked Wife is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh.

Vanbrugh was in many senses a radical throughout his life. As a young man and a committed Whig, he was part of the scheme to overthrow James II, put William III on the throne and protect English parliamentary democracy, dangerous undertakings which landed him in the dreaded Bastille of Paris as a political prisoner. The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to James II of England and Ireland James VII of Scotland (14 October 1633 &ndash 16 September 1701 was King of England, King of Scots, Later that same year James William III or William of Orange (14 November 1650 &ndash 8 March 1702 He is informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy" A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which The Bastille was a Fortress - Prison in Paris, known formally as Bastille Saint-Antoine —Number 232 Rue Saint-Antoine—best known today Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city A political prisoner is someone held in Prison or otherwise detained perhaps under House arrest, for his or her involvement in political activity In his career as a playwright, he offended many sections of Restoration and 18th-century society, not only by the sexual explicitness of his plays, but also by their messages in defence of women's rights in marriage. A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate He was attacked on both counts, and was one of the prime targets of Jeremy Collier's Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage. Jeremy Collier ( 23 September 1650 - 26 April 1726) was an English theatre critic non-juror Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage is an anti-theatre pamphlet written in 1698 by the Non-juror bishop and divine Jeremy In his architectural career, he created what came to be known as English Baroque. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation English Baroque is a casual term sometimes used to refer to the developments in English architecture that were parallel to the evolution of Baroque architecture in His architectural work was as bold and daring as his early political activism and marriage-themed plays, and jarred conservative opinions on the subject. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined

v • d • e

Early life

Vanbrugh was born in London, and grew up in Chester, where the family had been driven by the major outbreak of the plague in London in 1665. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Chester is the County town of Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77040 The Great Plague (1665-1666 was a massive outbreak of Disease in England that killed 75000 to 100000 people up to a fifth of London 's population ^[1]

Downes is sceptical of earlier historians' claims of a lower middle-class background and shows that an 18th-century suggestion that Giles Vanbrugh "may have been a sugar-baker" has been misunderstood. The middle class, in colloquial usage consists of those who have some economic independence but not a great deal of social Influence or power. "Sugar-baker" implies wealth, as the term refers not to a maker of sweets but to the owner of a sugar house, a factory for the refining of raw sugar from Barbados. A sugar-baker was the owner of a sugar house a factory for the refining of raw Sugar from the Barbados. Confectionery is a set of Food items that are rich in Sugar; modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. Barbados ( Portuguese word for bearded-ones, bɑrˈbeɪdoʊz -dɒs situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Island nation Sugar refining would normally have been combined with sugar trading, which was a lucrative business. Downes' example of one sugar baker's house in Liverpool, estimated to bring in £40,000 a year in trade from Barbados, throws a new light on Vanbrugh's social background, one rather different from the picture of a backstreet Chester sweetshop as painted by Leigh Hunt in 1840 and reflected in many later accounts. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency James Henry Leigh Hunt ( October 19, 1784 &ndash August 28, 1859) was an English critic essayist poet and writer

How Vanbrugh spent the years from age 18 to 22 (after he left school) was long something of a mystery, with the baseless suggestion sometimes made that he had been studying architecture in France (stated as fact in the Dictionary of National Biography). Recently, however, Robert Williams proved in an article in the TLS ("Vanbrugh's Lost Years," September 3, 1999) that Vanbrugh was in India for part of this period, working for the East India Company at their trading post in Surat, Gujarat. Gujarat (ગુજરાત Gujǎrāt, pronounced) is a state in western India. For the rest of his life, however, Vanbrugh never mentioned this experience in writing. Scholars debate whether evidence of his exposure to Indian architecture can be detected in any of his architectural designs.

The picture of a well-connected youth is reinforced by the fact that Vanbrugh in 1686 took up an officer's commission in his distant relative the Earl of Huntingdon's regiment. Theophilus Hastings 7th Earl of Huntingdon PC ( 10 December 1650 – 30 May 1701) was an English politician Since commissions were in the gift of the commanding officer, Vanbrugh's entry as an officer shows that he did have the kind of upscale family network that was then essential to a young man starting out in life.

It is worth noting, however, that in spite of the distant noble relatives and the lucrative sugar trade, Vanbrugh never in later life seemed to possess any capital for business ventures such as the Haymarket Theatre, but always had to rely on loans and backers. Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. Haymarket Theatre (Leicester|Her Majesty's Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket or Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre is a West End theatre in The fact that Giles Vanbrugh had twelve children to support and set up in life may go some way towards explaining the debts that were to plague John all his life.

Political activism and the Bastille

The infamous French state prison the Bastille, where Vanbrugh was incarcerated. The Bastille was a Fortress - Prison in Paris, known formally as Bastille Saint-Antoine —Number 232 Rue Saint-Antoine—best known today

From 1686, Vanbrugh was working undercover, playing a role in bringing about the armed invasion by William of Orange, the deposition of James II, and the Glorious Revolution of 1689. William III or William of Orange (14 November 1650 &ndash 8 March 1702 He is informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy" James II of England and Ireland James VII of Scotland (14 October 1633 &ndash 16 September 1701 was King of England, King of Scots, Later that same year James The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union He thus demonstrates an intense early identification with the Whig cause of parliamentary democracy, with which he was to remain affiliated all his life. A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which Returning from bringing William messages at The Hague, Vanbrugh was arrested at Calais on a charge of espionage (which Downes concludes was trumped-up) in September 1688, two months before William invaded England. Calais (kaˈlɛ in English often kæˈleɪ traditional English pronunciation /ˈkælɨs/ Kales is a town in northern France. Vanbrugh remained in prison in France for four and a half years, part of the time in the Bastille, before being released in exchange for a French political prisoner. His life is sharply bisected by this prison experience, which he entered at age 24 and emerged from at 29, after having spent, as Downes puts it, half his adult life in captivity. It seems to have left him with a lasting distaste for the French political system but also with a taste for the comic dramatists and the architecture of France.

The often-repeated claim that Vanbrugh wrote part of his comedy The Provoked Wife in the Bastille is based on allusions in a couple of much later memoirs and is regarded with some doubt by modern scholars (see McCormick). After being released from the Bastille, he had to spend three months in Paris, free to move around but unable to leave the country, and with every opportunity to see an architecture "unparalleled in England for scale, ostentation, richness, taste and sophistication" (Downes 75). He was allowed to return to England in 1693, and took part in a naval battle against the French in Camaret Bay in 1694. Camaret Bay is a small bay on the north coast of Bretagne, France. At some point in the mid-1690s, it is not known exactly when, he exchanged army life for London and the London stage.

Public life

London

Vanbrugh's London career was diverse and varied, comprising playwriting, architectural design, and attempts to combine these two overarching interests. For a chronological overview of his overlapping achievements and business ventures, which were sometimes confusing even to Vanbrugh himself.

The Kit-Cat Club

Vanbrugh was a committed Whig and member of the Whig Kit-Cat Club — indeed being regarded as its most popular and beloved member — in line with the charm of personality and talent for friendship which his contemporaries mention over and over again. The Kit-Cat Club (sometimes Kit-Kat Club) was an early 18th century English Club in London with strong political and literary associations committed The Club is best known today as an early 18th-century social gathering point for culturally and politically prominent Whigs, including many artists and writers (William Congreve, Joseph Addison, Godfrey Kneller) and politicians (the Duke of Marlborough, Charles Seymour, the Earl of Burlington, Thomas Pelham-Holles, Sir Robert Walpole) and Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham who gave Vanbrugh several architectural commissions at Stowe. William Congreve ( 24 January 1670 &ndash 19 January 1729) was an English Playwright and Poet. Joseph Addison (May 1 1672 – June 17 1719 was an English essayist and Poet. Sir Godfrey Kneller 1st Baronet ( 8 August 1646 &ndash 19 October 1723) was the leading Portrait painter in England during The politics of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland takes place in the framework of a Constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is Head Charles Seymour 6th Duke of Somerset ( 13 August 1662 &ndash December 2 1748) sometimes referred to as the "Proud Duke" Charles Boyle 3rd Earl of Cork and 2nd Earl of Burlington, PC (died 9 February 1704) was a British peer, courtier and politician Thomas Pelham-Holles 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC (21 July 1693 &ndash 17 November 1768 was a British Robert Walpole 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC (26 August 1676 &ndash 18 March 1745 known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a Richard Temple 1st Viscount Cobham PC ( October 24, 1675 &ndash September 14, 1749) was a British Soldier and Stowe is a village and also a Civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England.

Politically, the Club promoted the Whig objectives of a strong Parliament, a limited monarchy, resistance to France, and the Protestant succession to the throne. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Yet the Kit-Cats always presented their club as more a matter of dining and conviviality, and this reputation has been successfully relayed to posterity. Downes suggests, however, that the Club's origins go back to before the Glorious Revolution of 1689 and that its political importance was much greater before it went public in 1700, in calmer and more Whiggish times. Downes proposes a role for an early Kit-Cat grouping in the armed invasion by William of Orange and the Glorious Revolution. Horace Walpole, son of Kit-Cat Sir Robert Walpole, claims that the respectable middle-aged Club members generally mentioned as "a set of wits" were originally "in reality the patriots that saved Britain", in other words were the active force behind the Glorious Revolution itself. Horace Walpole 4th Earl of Orford ( 24 September, 1717 &ndash 2 March, 1797) more commonly known as Horace Walpole, was a politician Secret groups tend to be poorly documented, and this sketch of the pre-history of the Club cannot be proved. But as we have seen, young Vanbrugh was indeed in 1688 part of a secret network working for William's invasion. If the roots of the Club go back that far, it is tempting to speculate that Vanbrugh in joining the club was not merely becoming one of a convivial London "set of wits" but was also linking up with old friends and co-conspirators. A hero of the cause who had done time in French prison for it, could have been confident of a warm welcome.

The Haymarket theatre

The Queen's Theatre

In 1703, Vanbrugh started buying land and signing backers for the construction of a new theatre in Haymarket, designed by himself and intended for the use of an actors' cooperative (see The Provoked Wife below) led by Thomas Betterton. Haymarket is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster, a London Borough Sir John Vanbrugh (pronounced "Van'-bru" (24 January 1664? – 26 March 1726 was an English Architect and Dramatist, perhaps best known Thomas Patrick Betterton (ca 1635 &ndash 28 April 1710) English Actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in Vanbrugh and his associate William Congreve hoped by this enterprise to improve the chances of legitimate theatre in London, which was under threat from more colourful types of entertainment such as opera, juggling, pantomime (introduced by John Rich), animal acts, travelling dance troupes, and famous visiting Italian singers. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Juggling is a physical human skill involving the movement of objects usually through the air for entertainment (see Object manipulation) Pantomime (informally panto) (not to be confused with a Mime artist, referring to a theatrical performer of mime is a performance genre traditionally found John Rich (1692 - 1761 was an important director and theatre manager in 18th century London. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest They also hoped to make a profit, and Vanbrugh optimistically bought up the actors' company, making himself sole owner. He was now bound to pay salaries to the actors and, as it turned out, to manage the theatre, a notorious tightrope act for which he had no experience. The often repeated rumour that the acoustics of the building Vanbrugh had designed were bad is exaggerated (see Milhous), but the more practical Congreve had become anxious to extricate himself from the project, and Vanbrugh was left spreading himself extremely thin, running a theatre and simultaneously overseeing the building of Blenheim, a project which after June 1705 often took him out of town.

Unsurprisingly under these circumstances, Vanbrugh's management of the Queen's Theatre in Haymarket showed "numerous signs of confusion, inefficiency, missed opportunities, and bad judgment" (Milhous). Having burned his fingers on theatre management, Vanbrugh too extricated himself, expensively, by selling the business in 1708, though without ever collecting much of the putative price. He had put a lot of money, his own and borrowed, into the theatre company, which he was never to recover. It was noted as remarkable by contemporaries that he continued to pay the actors' salaries fully and promptly while they were working for him, just as he always paid the workmen he had hired for construction work; shirking such responsibilities was close to being standard practice in early 18th-century England. Vanbrugh himself never seems to have pursued those who owed him money, and throughout his life his finances can at best be described as precarious.

The College of Arms

Vanbrugh's introduction and advancement in the College of Arms, remain controversial. The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is an office regulating Heraldry and granting new Armorial bearings for England, Wales On 21 June 1703 the obsolete office of Carlisle Herald was revived for Vanbrugh. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1703 ( MDCCIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year This appointment was followed by a promotion to the post of Clarenceux King of Arms in March of 1704. Clarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. In 1725 he sold this office to Knox Ward and he told a friend he had "got leave to dispose in earnest, of a place I got in jest". ^[2] His colleagues' opposition to an ill-gotten appointment ought to have been directed to Lord Carlisle, who as Deputy Earl Marshal, arranged both appointments and against whose wishes they were powerless. Earl Marshal (alternatively Marschal or Marischal) is an ancient chivalric title used separately in England, Ireland and the United Vanbrugh went on to make more friends than enemies at the College, however. The pageantry of state occasions appealed to his theatrical sense, his duties were not difficult, and he appears to have performed them well. In the opinion of a modern herald and historian, although the appointment was "incongruous," he was "possibly the most distinguished man who has ever worn a herald's tabard. A herald, or more correctly a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between Pursuivant and King of arms. A tabard is a short coat either sleeveless or with short sleeves or shoulder pieces which was a common item of men's clothing in the Middle Ages, usually for outdoors "^[3] In May of 1706 Lord Halifax and Vanbrugh—representing the octogenarian Garter King of Arms, Sir Henry St George—led a delegation to Hanover to confer the Order of the Garter on Prince George. Ageing or aging (American English is the accumulation of changes in an organism Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. Hanover (i ( haˈnoːfɐ on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients George II (George Augustus 10 November 1683 &ndash 25 October 1760 was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (

Marriage and death

In 1719, at St Lawrence Church, York, Vanbrugh married Henrietta Maria Yarborough of Heslington Hall, aged 26 to his 55. York had around forty-five Parish churches in 1300 Twenty survive in whole or in part a number surpassed in England only by Norwich, although few are currently Heslington Hall is an English Manor house located on the campus of the University of York, near the village of Heslington, England. In spite of the age difference, this was by all accounts a happy marriage, which produced two sons. Unlike that of the rake heroes and fops of his plays, Vanbrugh's personal life was without scandal. A rake is defined as a man habituated to immoral conduct Rakes are frequently Stock characters in novels For the meanings of the acronym FOP see FOP (disambiguation. The fop (also known as a fribble, popinjay, fashion-monger

Vanbrugh died "of an asthma" in 1726 in the modest town house designed by him in 1703 out of the ruins of Whitehall Palace and satirised by Swift as "the goose pie". Asthma is a chronic Condition involving the Respiratory system in which the airways occasionally constrict become inflamed, and are The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones 's 1622 Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 His married life, however, was mostly spent at Greenwich (then not considered part of London at all) in the house on Maze Hill now known as Vanbrugh Castle, a miniature Scottish tower house designed by Vanbrugh in the earliest stages of his career. Greenwich ( ˈɡrɛnɪtʃ GREN-itch /ˈɡrɛnɪdʒ/ GREN-idge or /ˈɡrɪnɪdʒ/ GRIN-idge is a district in south-east London, Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. A tower house is a particular type of stone structure built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.

Playwright

Actor Colley Cibber's comedy Love's Last Shift, or Virtue Rewarded inspired Vanbrugh to write The Relapse, or, Virtue in Danger. Colley Cibber (ˈkɒli ˈsɪbɚ (11 June 1671 &ndash 12 November 1757 was a British actor-manager playwright and Poet Laureate. The Relapse or Virtue in Danger is a Restoration comedy from 1696 written by John Vanbrugh.

Thomas Betterton, Sir John Brute in The Provoked Wife. Thomas Patrick Betterton (ca 1635 &ndash 28 April 1710) English Actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in The Provoked Wife is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh. Betterton's acting ability was lavishly praised by Samuel Pepys, Alexander Pope, Richard Steele and Colley Cibber. Samuel Pepys, FRS (23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703 was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744 is generally regarded as the greatest English Poet of the eighteenth century best known for his Satirical This is about Richard Steele Irish writer and politician for others see Richard Steele (disambiguation page Colley Cibber (ˈkɒli ˈsɪbɚ (11 June 1671 &ndash 12 November 1757 was a British actor-manager playwright and Poet Laureate.

Elizabeth Barry was a celebrated tragedienne who brought depth to Lady Brute in Vanbrugh's comedy The Provoked Wife. Elizabeth Barry (1658 – November 7, 1713) was an English actress of the Restoration period The Provoked Wife is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh.

Anne Bracegirdle, Bellinda in The Provoked Wife, often played the comic half of a contrasted tragic/comic heroine pair with Elizabeth Barry. Anne Bracegirdle, (c 1671 &ndash September 12[[ 748]] was an English Actress. The Provoked Wife is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh. Elizabeth Barry (1658 – November 7, 1713) was an English actress of the Restoration period

Vanbrugh arrived in London at a time of scandal and internal drama at London's only theatre company, as a long-running conflict between pinchpenny management and disgruntled actors came to a head and the actors walked out. A new comedy staged with the makeshift remainder of the company in January 1696, Colley Cibber's Love's Last Shift, had a final scene that to Vanbrugh's critical mind demanded a sequel, and he threw himself into the fray by providing it. Colley Cibber (ˈkɒli ˈsɪbɚ (11 June 1671 &ndash 12 November 1757 was a British actor-manager playwright and Poet Laureate.

The Relapse

Cibber's Love's Last Shift

Colley Cibber's notorious tear-jerker Love's Last Shift, Or, Virtue Rewarded was written and staged in the eye of a theatrical storm. Love's Last Shift or The Fool in Fashion is an English Restoration comedy by Colley Cibber from 1696. London's only and mismanaged theatre company, known as the United Company, had split in two in March 1695 when the senior actors began operating their own acting cooperative, and the next season was one of cutthroat rivalry between the two companies.

Cibber, an inconspicuous young actor still employed by the parent company, seized this moment of unique demand for new plays and launched his career on two fronts by writing a play with a big, flamboyant part for himself: the Frenchified fop Sir Novelty Fashion. Backed up by Cibber's own uninhibited performance, Sir Novelty delighted the audiences. In the serious part of Love's Last Shift, wifely patience is tried by an out-of-control Restoration rake husband, and the perfect wife is celebrated and rewarded in a climactic finale where the cheating husband kneels to her and expresses the depth of his repentance. A rake is defined as a man habituated to immoral conduct Rakes are frequently Stock characters in novels

Love's Last Shift has not been staged again since the early 18th century and is read only by the most dedicated scholars, who sometimes express distaste for its businesslike combination of four explicit acts of sex and rakishness with one of sententious reform (see Hume). If Cibber indeed was deliberately attempting to appeal simultaneously to rakish and respectable Londoners, it worked: the play was a great box-office hit.

Sequel: The Relapse

Vanbrugh's witty sequel The Relapse, Or, Virtue in Danger, offered to the United Company six weeks later, questions the justice of women's position in marriage at this time. The Relapse or Virtue in Danger is a Restoration comedy from 1696 written by John Vanbrugh. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** He sends new sexual temptations in the way of not only the reformed husband but also the patient wife, and allows them to react in more credible and less predictable ways than in their original context, lending the flat characters from Love's Last Shift a dimension that at least some critics are willing to consider psychological (see Hume). Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and

In a trickster subplot, Vanbrugh provides the more traditional Restoration attraction of an overly well-dressed and exquisite fop, Lord Foppington, a brilliant re-creation of Cibber's Sir Novelty Fashion in Love's Last Shift (Sir Novelty has simply in The Relapse bought himself the title of "Lord Foppington" through the corrupt system of Royal title sales). In Mythology, and in the study of Folklore and Religion, a trickster is a God, Goddess, spirit, man woman or anthropomorphic Critics of Restoration comedy are unanimous in declaring Lord Foppington "the greatest of all Restoration fops" (Dobrée), by virtue of being not merely laughably affected, but also "brutal, evil, and smart" (Hume).

The Relapse, however, came very close to not being performed at all. The United Company had lost all its senior performers, and had great difficulty in finding and keeping actors of sufficient skills for the large cast required by The Relapse. Members of that cast had to be kept from defecting to the rival actors' cooperative, had to be "seduced" (as the legal term was) back when they did defect, and had to be blandished into attending rehearsals which dragged out into ten months and brought the company to the threshold of bankruptcy. "They have no company at all", reports a contemporary letter in November, "and unless a new play comes out on Saturday revives their reputation, they must break". That new play, The Relapse, did turn out a tremendous success that saved the company, not least by virtue of Colley Cibber again bringing down the house with his second impersonation of Lord Foppington. "This play (the Relapse)", writes Cibber in his autobiography forty years later, "from its new and easy Turn of Wit, had great Success".

The Provoked Wife

Main article: The Provoked Wife

Vanbrugh's second original comedy, The Provoked Wife, followed soon after, performed by the rebel actors' company. The Provoked Wife is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh. This play is different in tone from the largely farcical The Relapse, and adapted to the greater acting skills of the rebels. Vanbrugh had good reason to offer his second play to the new company, which had got off to a brilliant start by premièring Congreve's Love For Love, the greatest London box-office success for years. The actors' cooperative boasted the established star performers of the age, and Vanbrugh tailored The Provoked Wife to their specialties. While The Relapse had been robustly phrased to be suitable for amateurs and minor acting talents, he could count on versatile professionals like Thomas Betterton, Elizabeth Barry, and the rising young star Anne Bracegirdle to do justice to characters of depth and nuance. Elizabeth Barry (1658 – November 7, 1713) was an English actress of the Restoration period Anne Bracegirdle, (c 1671 &ndash September 12[[ 748]] was an English Actress.

The Provoked Wife is a comedy, but Elizabeth Barry who played the abused wife was especially famous as a tragic actress, and for her power of "moving the passions", i. e. , moving an audience to pity and tears. Barry and the younger Bracegirdle had often worked together as a tragic/comic heroine pair to bring audiences the typically tragic/comic rollercoaster experience of Restoration plays. Vanbrugh takes advantage of this schema and these actresses to deepen audience sympathy for the unhappily married Lady Brute, even as she fires off her witty ripostes. In the intimate conversational dialogue between Lady Brute and her niece Bellinda (Bracegirdle), and especially in the star part of Sir John Brute the brutish husband (Betterton), which was hailed as one of the peaks of Thomas Betterton's remarkable career, The Provoked Wife is something as unusual as a Restoration problem play. The problem play is a form of drama that emerged during the 19th century as part of the wider movement of realism in the arts The premise of the plot, that a wife trapped in an abusive marriage might consider either leaving it or taking a lover, outraged some sections of Restoration society.

Changing audience taste

In 1698, Vanbrugh's argumentative and sexually frank plays were singled out for special attention by Jeremy Collier in his Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage, particularly for their failure to impose exemplary morality by appropriate rewards and punishments in the fifth act. Jeremy Collier ( 23 September 1650 - 26 April 1726) was an English theatre critic non-juror Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage is an anti-theatre pamphlet written in 1698 by the Non-juror bishop and divine Jeremy Vanbrugh laughed at these charges and published a joking reply, where he accused the clergyman Collier of being more sensitive to unflattering portrayals of the clergy than to real irreligion. However, rising public opinion was already on Collier's side. The intellectual and sexually explicit Restoration comedy style was becoming less and less acceptable to audiences and was soon to be replaced by a drama of sententious morality. Restoration comedy is the name given to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710 Colley Cibber's Love's Last Shift, with its reformed rake and sentimental reconciliation scene, can be seen as a forerunner of this drama.

Although Vanbrugh continued to work for the stage in many ways, he produced no more original plays. With the change in audience taste away from Restoration comedy, he turned his creative energies from original composition to dramatic adaptation/translation, theatre management, and architecture.

Architect

As an architect (or surveyor, as the term then was) Vanbrugh is thought to have had no formal training (compare Early life above). Sir John Vanbrugh (pronounced "Van'-bru" (24 January 1664? – 26 March 1726 was an English Architect and Dramatist, perhaps best known His inexperience was compensated by his unerring eye for perspective and detail and his close working relationship with Nicholas Hawksmoor. Perspective, in context of vision and Visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the Eye based on their spatial attributes or Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 - 25 March 1736) was a British Architect born to a humble family in Nottinghamshire Hawksmoor, a former clerk of Sir Christopher Wren, was to be Vanbrugh's collaborator in many of his most ambitious projects, including Castle Howard and Blenheim. Sir Christopher Wren ( 20 October 1632 &ndash 25 February 1723) was a 17th century English Designer, Astronomer During his almost thirty years as a practising architect Vanbrugh designed and worked on numerous buildings. More often than not his work was a rebuild or remodel, such as that at Kimbolton Castle, where Vanbrugh had to follow the instructions of his patron. Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, is best known as the final home of King Henry VIII 's first queen Catherine of Aragon. Consequently these houses, which often claim Vanbrugh as their architect, do not typify Vanbrugh's own architectural concepts and ideas.

Though Vanbrugh is best known in connection with stately houses, the parlous state of London's 18th-century streets did not escape his attention. In the London Journal of March 16, 1722–23, James Boswell comments:

Vanbrugh's chosen style was baroque, which had been spreading across Europe during the 17th century promoted by, among others, Bernini and Le Vau. Baroque architecture, starting in the early 17th century in Italy, took the humanist Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical "Bernini" redirects here For people named Bernini see Bernini (surname. Louis Le Vau (1612 – October 11 1670) was a French Classical Architect who worked for Louis XIV of France. The first baroque country house built in England was Chatsworth House designed by William Talman three years before Castle Howard. Chatsworth House is a large Country house at Chatsworth, Derbyshire, England 3½ miles north east of Bakewell. William Talman (1650&ndash1719 was an English architect and landscape designer In the race for the commission of Castle Howard, the untrained and untried Vanbrugh astonishingly managed to out-charm and out-clubman the professional but less socially adept Talman and to persuade the Earl of Carlisle to give the great opportunity to him instead (see Downes, 193–204). Charles Howard 3rd Earl of Carlisle, PC (c1669 – 1 May 1738) was a British Statesman who was made a Privy Counsellor Seizing it, Vanbrugh instigated European baroque's metamorphosis into a subtle, almost understated version that became known as English baroque. Three of Vanbrugh's designs act as milestones for evaluating this process:-

1. Castle Howard, commissioned in 1699;
2. Blenheim Palace, commissioned in 1704;
3. Seaton Delaval Hall, begun in 1718. Castle Howard is a Stately home in North Yorkshire, England 15 miles (24 km north of York. Blenheim Palace  is a large and Monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. Seaton Delaval Hall is a Country house in Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, between Seaton Sluice and Seaton

Work in progress on each of these projects overlapped into the next, providing a natural progression of thoughts and style.

Castle Howard

Main article: Castle Howard

Vanbrugh's south facade of Castle Howard. Castle Howard is a Stately home in North Yorkshire, England 15 miles (24 km north of York. A facade or façade (fəˈsɑːd is generally one side of the exterior of a Building, especially the front but also sometimes the sides and rear Castle Howard is a Stately home in North Yorkshire, England 15 miles (24 km north of York.

Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, a fellow member of the Kit-Cat Club, commissioned Vanbrugh in 1699 to design his mansion, often described as England's first truly baroque building. Charles Howard 3rd Earl of Carlisle, PC (c1669 – 1 May 1738) was a British Statesman who was made a Privy Counsellor The Kit-Cat Club (sometimes Kit-Kat Club) was an early 18th century English Club in London with strong political and literary associations committed A mansion is a large dwelling House. The word itself derives (through Old French) from the Latin word mansus (the perfect passive participle The baroque style at Castle Howard is the most European that Vanbrugh ever used.

Castle Howard, with its immense corridors in segmental colonnades leading from the main entrance block to the flanking wings, its centre crowned by a great domed tower complete with cupola, is very much in the school of classic European baroque. In Classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of Columns joined by their Entablature, often free-standing as in the famous elliptically In Architecture, a cupola or lantern is a radially symmetrical ornamental structure (often dome-shaped or quadrilateral located on top of a larger It combined aspects of design that had only appeared occasionally, if at all, in English architecture: John Webb's Greenwich Palace, Wren's unexecuted design for Greenwich, which like Castle Howard was dominated by a domed centre block, and of course Talman's Chatsworth. John Webb ( 1611 - 24 October 1672) was an English Architect. A possible inspiration for Castle Howard was also Vaux-le-Vicomte in France. The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a classical French Chateau located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 km southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

The interiors are extremely dramatic, the Great Hall rising 80 feet (24 m) into the cupola. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Scagliola, and Corinthian columns abound, and galleries linked by soaring arches give the impression of an opera stage-set — doubtless the intention of the architect. Scagliola (from the Italian scaglia, meaning "chips" is a technique for producing Stucco columns Sculptures and other The Corinthian order is one of the Classical orders of Greek and Roman Architecture, characterized

Castle Howard was acclaimed a success. This fantastical building, unparalleled in England, with its facades and roofs decorated by pilasters, statuary, and flowing ornamental carving, ensured that baroque became an overnight success. While the greater part of Castle Howard was inhabited and completed by 1709, the finishing touches were to continue for much of Vanbrugh's lifetime. The west wing was finally completed after Vanbrugh's death.

The acclaim of the work at Castle Howard led to Vanbrugh's most famous commission, architect for Blenheim Palace.

Blenheim Palace

Main article: Blenheim Palace

The West facade of Blenheim Palace ("Vanbrugh's castle air") shows the unique severe towering stone belvederes ornamenting the skyline. Blenheim Palace  is a large and Monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. Blenheim Palace  is a large and Monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. Belvedere (occasionally Belvidere) is an architectural term adopted from Italian (literally "fair view" which refers to any architectural structure sited

The Duke of Marlborough's forces defeated King Louis XIV's army at Blenheim, a village on the Danube in 1704. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent The Battle of Blenheim (referred to in some countries as the Second Battle of Höchstädt) fought on 13 August 1704 was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj Marlborough's reward, from a grateful nation, was to be a splendid country seat, and the Duke himself chose fellow Kit-Cat John Vanbrugh to be the architect. Work began on the palace in 1705.

Blenheim Palace was conceived to be not only a grand country house, but a national monument. The English country house is generally accepted as a large House or Mansion, once in the ownership of an individual who also usually owned another Great Consequently, the light baroque style used at Castle Howard would have been unsuitable for what is in effect a war memorial. A war memorial is a building monument statue or other edifice to celebrate a War or victory or (predominating in modern times to commemorate those who died or were injured The house had to display strength and military glory. It is in truth more of a castle, or citadel, than a palace. A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. A citadel is a fortress for protecting a Town, sometimes incorporating a Castle. A palace is a grand residence especially the home of a Head of state or some other high-ranking Public figure. The qualities of the building are best illustrated by the massive East Gate (illustration, below, left), set in the curtain wall of the service block, which resembles an impregnable entrance to a walled city. Curtain wall is a term used to describe a building Façade which does not carry any dead load from the building other than its own dead load Few realise it also serves as water tower for the palace, thus confounding those of Vanbrugh's critics who accused him of impracticability. A water tower, watershed, or elevated water tower is a large elevated water storage container

Vanbrugh's monumental East Gate at Blenheim Palace is more the entrance to a citadel than to a palace. Blenheim Palace  is a large and Monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. A citadel is a fortress for protecting a Town, sometimes incorporating a Castle. A palace is a grand residence especially the home of a Head of state or some other high-ranking Public figure. Vanbrugh cunningly slightly tapered the sides to create an illusion of even greater height and drama.

Blenheim, the largest non-royal domestic building in England, consists of three blocks, the centre containing the living and state rooms, and two flanking rectangular wings both built around a central courtyard: one contains the stables, and the other the kitchens, laundries, and storehouses. A state room in a large European Mansion is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed to impress For alternative meanings of the word "court" see Court (disambiguation. A stable is a Building in which Livestock, especially Horses are kept For the Banana Yashimoto novel see Kitchen (novel A kitchen, is a room or part of a room (sometimes called "kitchen Laundry can be items of Clothing and other Textiles that require Washing the act of washing clothing and textiles If Castle Howard was the first truly baroque building in England, then Blenheim Palace is the most definitive. While Castle Howard is a dramatic assembly of restless masses, Blenheim is altogether of a more solid construction, relying on tall slender windows and monumental statuary on the roofs to lighten the mass of yellow stone.

The suite of state rooms placed on the piano nobile were designed to be overpowering and magnificent displays, rather than warm, or comfortable. The piano nobile is the principal Floor of a large House, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture. Cosy, middle class comfort was not the intention at Versailles, the great palace of Marlborough's foe, and it was certainly not deemed a consideration in the palace built to house the conqueror of Versailles' master. The middle class, in colloquial usage consists of those who have some economic independence but not a great deal of social Influence or power. Versailles (vɛʀsaj in French) formerly de facto capital of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important

The pediment over the south portico is a complete break from the convention. The flat top is decorated by a trophy bearing the marble bust of Louis XIV looted by Marlborough from Tournai in 1709, weighing 30 tons. Tournai (in Dutch Doornik, in Latin: Tornacum) is a Walloon City and municipality of Belgium The positioning of the bust was an innovative new design in the decoration of a pediment.

As was common in the 18th century, personal comfort was sacrificed to perspective. Windows were to adorn the facades, as well as light the interior. Blenheim was designed as a theatre piece from the 67 foot (20 m) high great hall, leading to the huge frescoed saloon, all designed on an axis with the 134 foot (41 m) high column of victory in the grounds, with the trees planted in the battle positions of Marlborough's soldiers. Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or A state room in a large European Mansion is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed to impress Over the south portico (illustrated right), itself a massive and dense construction of piers and columns, definitely not designed in the Palladian manner for elegant protection from the sun, a huge bust of Louis XIV is forced to look down on the splendours and rewards of his conqueror. If this placement and design was an ornamental feature created by Vanbrugh, or an ironic joke by Marlborough, is not known. However, as an architectural composition it is a unique example of baroque ornament.

At Blenheim, Vanbrugh developed baroque from the mere ornamental to a denser, more solid, form, where the massed stone became the ornament. The great arched gates and the huge solid portico were ornament in themselves, and the whole mass was considered rather than each facade.

Seaton Delaval Hall

Main article: Seaton Delaval Hall

Seaton Delaval Hall – corps de logis viewed from the north

Seaton Delaval Hall was Vanbrugh's final work, this northern, seemingly rather bleak country house is considered his finest architectural masterpiece;^[4] by this stage in his architectural career Vanbrugh was a master of baroque, he had taken this form of architecture not only beyond the flamboyant continental baroque of Castle Howard, but also past the more severe but still decorated Blenheim. Seaton Delaval Hall is a Country house in Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, between Seaton Sluice and Seaton Seaton Delaval Hall is a Country house in Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, between Seaton Sluice and Seaton Corps de logis is the architectural term which refers to the principal block of a large usually classical, Castle, Mansion or Palace Seaton Delaval Hall is a Country house in Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, between Seaton Sluice and Seaton ornament was almost disguised: a recess or a pillar was not placed for support, but to create a play of light or shadow. For other uses of the term see Ornament In Architecture, ornament is a decorative detail used to embellish parts of a building or interior The silhouette of the building was of equal, if not greater, importance than the interior layout. A silhouette is a view of some object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior with the silhouette usually being black In every aspect of the house, subtlety was the keyword.

Built between 1718 and 1728 for Admiral George Delaval, it replaced the existing house on the site. It is possible that the design of Seaton Delaval was influenced by Palladio's Villa Foscari (sometimes known as "La Malcontenta"), built circa 1555. Andrea Palladio ( November 30, 1508 – August 19, 1580) was an Italian Architect, widely considered the most influential Villa Foscari is a patrician Villa in Mira, near Venice, northern Italy, designed by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio Both have rusticated facades and similar demilune windows over a non-porticoed entrance. Rustication is an architectural term that contrasts with Ashlar, smoothly finished squared block masonry surfaces Even the large attic gable at Villa Foscari hints at the clerestory of Seaton's great hall. An attic is a space found directly below the pitched Roof of a house or other building (also called garret, Loft or A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof Clerestory (ˈklɪə(rstɔəri lit clear storey, also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is an architectural term denoting

The design concept Vanbrugh drew up was similar to that employed at Castle Howard and Blenheim: a centre block between two arcaded and pedimented wings. However, Seaton Delaval was to be on a much smaller scale. Work began in 1718 and continued for ten years. The building is an advancement on the style of Blenheim, rather than the earlier castle Howard. The principal block, or corps de logis, containing, as at Blenheim and Castle Howard, the principal state and living room, forms the centre of a three-sided court. Corps de logis is the architectural term which refers to the principal block of a large usually classical, Castle, Mansion or Palace Towers crowned by balustrades and pinnacles give the house something of what Vanbrugh called his castle air. A baluster (according to OED derived through the French balustre, from Italian balaustro, from balaustra, "pomegranate flower" A pinnacle (from Latin pinnaculum, a little feather pinna compare Panache) is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap

Seaton Delaval is one of the few houses Vanbrugh designed alone without the aid of Nicholas Hawksmoor. The sobriety of their joint work has sometimes been attributed to Hawksmoor, and yet Seaton Delaval is a very sombre house indeed. Whereas Castle Howard could successfully be set down in Dresden or Würzburg, the austerity and solidity of Seaton Delaval firmly belongs in Northumberland landscape. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German Würzburg (ˈvʏɐ̯ʦbʊɐ̯k is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. The non-metropolitan county of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west Vanbrugh, in the final stage in his career, was fully liberated from the rules of the architects of a generation earlier. The rustic stonework is used for the entire facade, including on the entrance facade, the pairs of twin columns supporting little more than a stone cornice. The term cornice comes from Italian cornice, meaning “ledge The twin columns are severe and utilitarian, and yet ornament, as they provide no structural use. This is part of the furtive quality of the baroque of Seaton Delaval: the ornamental appears as a display of strength and mass.

The likewise severe, but perfectly proportioned, garden facade has at its centre a four columned, balcony-roofed portico. Balcony (from Italian balcone, scaffold cf High German balcho, beam balk probably cognate with Persian term بالكانه Here the slight fluting of the stone columns seems almost excessive ornament. As at Blenheim, the central block is dominated by the raised clerestory of the great hall, adding to the drama of the building's silhouette, but unlike Vanbrugh's other great houses, no statuary decorates the roof-scape here. Clerestory (ˈklɪə(rstɔəri lit clear storey, also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is an architectural term denoting The decoration is provided solely by a simple balustrade hiding the roof line, and chimneys disguised as finials to the balustrading of the low towers. The finial is an architectural device typically carved in stone and employed to decoratively emphasize the Apex of a Gable, or any of various distinctive ornaments Vanbrugh was now truly a master of the baroque. The massing of the stone, the colonnades of the flanking wings, the heavy stonework and intricate recesses all create light and shade which is ornament in itself. In Classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of Columns joined by their Entablature, often free-standing as in the famous elliptically

Among architects, only Vanbrugh could have taken for his inspiration one of Palladio's masterpieces, and while retaining the humanist values of the building, alter and adapt it, into a unique form of baroque unseen elsewhere in Europe.

Architectural reputation

Vanbrugh's prompt success as an architect can be attributed to his friendships with the influential of the day. No less than five of his architectural patrons were fellow members of the Kit-Cat Club. The Kit-Cat Club (sometimes Kit-Kat Club) was an early 18th century English Club in London with strong political and literary associations committed In 1702, through the influence of Charles Howard, Earl of Carlisle, Vanbrugh was appointed comptroller of the Royal Works (now the Board of Works, where several of his designs may still be seen). A comptroller or controller (kənˈtroʊlər ˈkɑmˌtroʊ- also financial controller, abrv The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW was the principal instrument of London -wide government from 1855 until the establishment of the London County Council in 1889 In 1703, he was appointed commissioner of Greenwich Hospital, which was under construction at this time, and succeeded Wren as the official architect (or Surveyor), while Hawksmoor was appointed Site Architect. History of the Buildings Greenwich Hospital was built on the site of the Palace of Placentia, more commonly known as Greenwich Palace which had fallen into disrepair Vanbrugh's small but conspicuous final changes to the nearly completed building were considered a fine interpretation of Wren's original plans and intentions. Thus what was intended as an infirmary and hostel for destitute retired sailors was transformed into a magnificent national monument. His work here is said to have impressed both Queen Anne and her government, and is directly responsible for his subsequent success. Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714 became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 succeeding William III of England and II of

Vanbrugh's reputation still suffers from accusations of extravagance, impracticability and a bombastic imposition of his own will on his clients. Ironically, all of these unfounded charges derive from Blenheim — Vanbrugh's selection as architect of Blenheim was never completely popular. The Duchess, the formidable Sarah Churchill, particularly wanted Sir Christopher Wren. Sarah Churchill ( née Jenyns spelt Jennings in most modern references Duchess of Marlborough (5 June 1660 (old style &ndash 18 October 1744 Sir Christopher Wren ( 20 October 1632 &ndash 25 February 1723) was a 17th century English Designer, Astronomer However, eventually a warrant signed by the Earl of Godolphin, the parliamentary treasurer, appointed Vanbrugh, and outlined his remit. Most often the term warrant refers to a specific type of Authorization; a Writ issued by a competent officer usually a Judge or Magistrate Sidney Godolphin first Earl of Godolphin (c 1645 &ndash September 15, 1712) was a leading British politician of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth Sadly, nowhere did this warrant mention Queen, or Crown. This error provided the get-out clause for the state when the costs and political infighting escalated.

Blenheim Palace The great court, and state entrance to the palace. Blenheim Palace  is a large and Monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. The Duchess of Marlborough felt the building was extravagant.

Though Parliament had voted funds for the building of Blenheim, no exact sum had ever been fixed upon, and certainly no provision had been made for inflation. Almost from the outset, funds had been intermittent. Queen Anne paid some of them, but with growing reluctance and lapses, following her frequent altercations with her one time best friend, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. After the Duchess's final argument with the Queen in 1712, all state money ceased and work came to a halt. £220,000 had already been spent and £45,000 was owing to workmen. The Marlboroughs went into exile on the continent, and did not return until after Queen Anne's death in 1714.

The day after the Queen's death the Marlboroughs returned, and were reinstated in favour at the court of the new King George I. George I (George Louis German Georg Ludwig; 28 May 1660 &ndash 11 June 1727 For the first year of his life George was the only heir to his father's and three childless The 64-year-old Duke now decided to complete the project at his own expense; in 1716 work re-started and Vanbrugh was left to rely entirely upon the means of the Duke of Marlborough himself. Already discouraged and upset by the reception the palace was receiving from the Whig factions, the final blow for Vanbrugh came when the Duke was incapacitated in 1717 by a severe stroke, and the thrifty (and hostile) Duchess took control. The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to The Duchess blamed Vanbrugh entirely for the growing extravagance of the palace, and its general design: that her husband and government had approved them, she discounted. (In fairness to her, it must be mentioned that the Duke of Marlborough had contributed £60,000 to the initial cost, which, supplemented by Parliament, should have built a monumental house. ) Following a meeting with the Duchess, Vanbrugh left the building site in a rage, insisting that the new masons, carpenters and craftsmen were inferior to those he had employed. The master craftsmen he had patronised, however, such as Grinling Gibbons, refused to work for the lower rates paid by the Marlboroughs. Master Wood carver Grinling Gibbons ( 4 April 1648 - 3 August 1721) was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands The craftsmen brought in by the Duchess, under the guidance of furniture designer James Moore, completed the work in perfect imitation of the greater masters, so perhaps there was fault and intransigence on both sides in this famed argument. James Moore and Jim Moore are the names of Cowboy Jimmy Moore (b

Vanbrugh was deeply distressed by the turn of events. The rows and resulting rumours had damaged his reputation, and the palace he had nurtured like a child was forbidden to him. In 1719, while the duchess was "not at home", Vanbrugh was able to view the palace in secret; but when he and his wife, with the Earl of Carlisle, visited the completed Blenheim as members of the viewing public in 1725, they were refused admission to even enter the park. The palace had been completed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 - 25 March 1736) was a British Architect born to a humble family in Nottinghamshire

That Vanbrugh's work at Blenheim has been the subject of criticism can largely be blamed on those, including the Duchess, who failed to understand the chief reason for its construction: to celebrate a martial triumph. In the achievement of this remit, Vanbrugh was as triumphant as was Marlborough on the field of battle.

After Vanbrugh's death Abel Evans suggested this as his epitaph:

Under this stone, reader, survey
Dead Sir John Vanbrugh's house of clay. Abel Evans (1679-1737 was an English poet and follower of John Milton, and theologian
Lie heavy on him, Earth! For he
Laid many heavy loads on thee!

Throughout the Georgian period reaction to Vanbrugh's architecture varied, Voltaire described Blenheim Palace as 'a great mass of stone with neither charm nor taste', in 1766 Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield described the Roman amphitheatre at Nimes as 'Ugly and clumsy enough to have been the work of Vanbrugh if it had been in England. François-Marie Arouet ( 21 November 1694 30 May 1778) better known by the Pen name Voltaire, was a French Philip Dormer Stanhope 4th Earl of Chesterfield PC KG ( 22 September 1694 &ndash 24 March 1773) was a British Nîmes ( Provençal Occitan: Nimes in both classical and Mistralian norms is a city in southern France. ' In 1772 Horace Walpole described Castle Howard thus 'Nobody had informed me that I should at one view see a palace, a town, a fortified city, temples on high places, woods worthy of being each a metropolis of the Druids, vales connected to hills by other woods, the noblest lawn in the world fenced by half the horizon, and a mausoleum that would tempt one to be buried alive; in short I have seen gigantic palaces before, but never a sublime one. Horace Walpole 4th Earl of Orford ( 24 September, 1717 &ndash 2 March, 1797) more commonly known as Horace Walpole, was a politician ' In 1773 Robert Adam and James Adam in the preface to their 'Works in Architecture' described Vanbrugh's buildings as 'so crowded with barbarisms and absurdities, and so born down by their own preposterous weight, that none but the discerning can separate their merits from their defects'. Robert Adam ( 3 July 1728 &ndash 3 March 1792) was a Scottish neoclassical Architect, Interior designer James Adam ( 21 July 1732 &ndash 20 October 1794) was a Scottish Architect and Furniture designer, but in 1786 Sir Joshua Reynolds wrote in his 13th Discourse '. Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 &ndash 23 February 1792 was the most important and influential of 18th century English painters . . in the buildings of Vanbrugh, who was a poet as well as an architect, there is a greater display of imagination, than we shall find perhaps in any other. ' In 1796 Uvedale Price described Blenheim as 'uniting the beauty and magnificence of Grecian architecture, the picturesqueness of Gothic, and the massive grandeur of a castle. Sir Uvedale Price (baptized 14 April 1747 &ndash 14 September 1829) author of the Essay on the Picturesque As Compared With The Sublime ' In Sir John Soane's 5th Royal Academy lecture of 1809 praised Vanbrugh's 'bold flights of irregular fancy' and called him 'the Shakespeare of architects. Sir John Soane ( 10 September 1753 &ndash 20 January 1837) was an English Architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical '

List of architectural works

1. Castle Howard 1699 west wing designed by Sir Thomas Robinson only completed in early 19th century. Castle Howard is a Stately home in North Yorkshire, England 15 miles (24 km north of York.
2. The architect's own house in Whitehall, known as "Goose-pie house", demolished c1890, 1703. Whitehall is a road in Westminster in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards traditional
3. The Orangery Kensington Palace 1704. Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England
4. The Queen's Theatre, Haymarket 1704–05 (demolished).
5. Blenheim Palace 1705–1722 stable court never completed. Blenheim Palace  is a large and Monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England.
6. Grand Bridge, Blenheim 1708–22
7. Kimbolton Castle 1708–19 remodelled the building. Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, is best known as the final home of King Henry VIII 's first queen Catherine of Aragon.
8. Demolished part of Audley End and designed new Grand Staircase 1708
9. Claremont House 1708 then known as Chargate, rebuilt to the designs of Henry Holland. Audley End House ( is largely an early 17th-century Country house just outside Saffron Walden, Essex, south of Cambridge, England Henry Holland ( July 20, 1745 – June 17, 1806) was an Architect to the English nobility who trained under Capability Brown
10. Kings Weston House 1710–14. Kings Weston House ( is a historic building in Kings Weston Lane Kingsweston, Bristol, England.
11. Grimsthorpe Castle 1715–30 only the north side of the courtyard was rebuilt. Grimsthorpe Castle is a Country house in Lincolnshire, England four miles (6 km north-west of Bourne on the A151.
12. Eastbury Park 1713–1738 demolished except for Kitchen Wing, completed by Roger Morris who amended Vanbrugh's design.
13. Morpeth Town Hall 1714. Morpeth is the County town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town
14. The Belvedere Claremont Landscape Garden 1715. Claremont Landscape Garden, just outside Esher, Surrey, England, is one of the earliest surviving gardens of its kind &mdash still featuring its original
15. The Great Kitchen St James's Palace 1716–17 (demolished). St James's Palace is one of London's oldest Palaces It is situated on Pall Mall in London, just north of St
16. Completion of State rooms Hampton Court Palace 1716–18. Hampton Court Palace is a former royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west London, England.
17. Vanbrugh Castle 1718, the architect's own house in Greenwich, also houses for other members of his family (none survive). Greenwich ( ˈɡrɛnɪtʃ GREN-itch /ˈɡrɛnɪdʒ/ GREN-idge or /ˈɡrɪnɪdʒ/ GRIN-idge is a district in south-east London,
18. Stowe, Buckinghamshire 1720, added north portico, also several temples and follies in the garden up until his death. Stowe is a village and also a Civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England.
19. Seaton Delaval Hall 1720–28. Seaton Delaval Hall is a Country house in Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, between Seaton Sluice and Seaton
20. Lumley Castle 1722, remodelling work. Lumley Castle is a 14th century Quadrangular castle at Chester-le-Street in the North of England, near to the city of Durham and a
21. Newcastle Pew Old Church Esher 1724
22. Temple of the Four Winds, Castle Howard 1725–8. Esher (iːʃə not /ɛʃə/) is a Town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole.
23. The Vanbrugh walls in Claremont Estate Esher. Esher (iːʃə not /ɛʃə/) is a Town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. Attributed works include:

1. Ordnance Board Building Woolwich 1716–19. Woolwich (ˈwʊlɪtʃ or /ˈwʊlɪdʒ/ is a suburb in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River
2. Barracks Berwick-upon-Tweed 1717–19. Berwick-upon-Tweed ( ˈbɛrɪk- ( Scots: Berwick or historically South Berwick) situated in the county of Northumberland, is the northernmost
3. The Great Store Chatham Dockyard 1717 (demolished). Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England
4. The Gateway Chatham Dockyard 1720. Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England
5. The Summerhouse Swinstead, Lincs. after 1715

Legacy

Vanbrugh is remembered today for his vast contribution to British culture, theatre, and architecture. An immediate dramatic legacy was found among his papers after his sudden death, the three-act comedy fragment A Journey to London. Vanbrugh had told his old friend Colley Cibber that he intended in this play to question traditional marriage roles even more radically than in the plays of his youth, and end it with a marriage falling irreconcilably apart. The unfinished manuscript, today available in Vanbrugh's Collected Works, depicts a country family travelling to London and falling prey to its sharpers and temptations, while a London wife drives her patient husband to despair with her gambling and her consorting with the demi-monde of con men and half-pay officers. A sharper is an older term common since the seventeenth-century for thieves who use trickery to part an owner with his or her money possessions A confidence trick or confidence game (also known as a bunko, con, flim flam, gaffle, grift, scam, scheme As with The Relapse at the outset of Vanbrugh's dramatic career, Colley Cibber again became involved, and this time he had last word. Cibber, now poet laureate and successful actor-manager, completed Vanbrugh's manuscript under the title of The Provoked Husband (1728) and gave it a happy and sententious ending in which the provocative wife repents and is reconciled: a eulogy of marriage which was the opposite of Vanbrugh's declared intention to end his last and belated "Restoration comedy" with marital break-up. A Poet Laureate is a Poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events A eulogy is a speech or writing in Praise of a person or thing Cibber considered this projected outcome to be "too severe for Comedy", and such severity was in fact rarely to be seen on the English stage before Ibsen. "Ibsen" redirects here For other people named Ibsen see Ibsen (disambiguation.

The role of Sir John Brute in The Provoked Wife became one of David Garrick's most famous roles. David Garrick (born 19 February 1717 in Hereford &ndash 20 January 1779) was an English Actor, Playwright,

On the 18th-century stage, Vanbrugh's Relapse and Provoked Wife were only considered possible to perform in bowdlerised versions, but as such, they remained popular. Throughout Colley Cibber's long and successful acting career, audiences continued to demand to see him as Lord Foppington in The Relapse, while Sir John Brute in The Provoked Wife became, after being an iconic role for Thomas Betterton, one of David Garrick's most famous roles. David Garrick (born 19 February 1717 in Hereford &ndash 20 January 1779) was an English Actor, Playwright, In the present day, The Relapse, now again to be seen uncut, remains a favourite play.

With the completion of Castle Howard English baroque came into fashion overnight. It had brought together the isolated and varied instances of monumental design, by, among others, Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren. Vanbrugh thought of masses, volume and perspective in a way that his predecessors had not.

He also had the unusual skill, for an architect, of delivering the goods that his clients required. His reputation has suffered because of his famed disagreements with the Duchess of Marlborough, yet, one must remember his original client was the British Nation, not the Duchess, and the nation wanted a monument and celebration of victory, and that is what Vanbrugh gave the nation.

His influence on successive architects is incalculable. Nicholas Hawksmoor, Vanbrugh's friend and collaborator on so many projects continued to design many London churches for ten years after Vanbrugh's death. Vanbrugh's pupil and cousin the architect Edward Lovett Pearce rose to become one of Ireland's greatest architects. Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1699 &ndash 1733 was an Irish Architect, and the chief exponent of Palladianism in Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world His influence in Yorkshire can also be seen in the work of the amateur architect William Wakefield who designed several buildings in the county that show Vanbrugh's influence.

Vanbrugh is remembered throughout Britain, by inns, street names, a university college (York) and schools named in his honour, but one only has to wander through London, or the English country-side dotted with their innumerable country houses, to see the ever present influence of his architecture. Vanbrugh College is a college of the University of York, UK and was opened in 1968.

See also

• The Relapse
• Restoration comedy
• Elizabeth Barry
• Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage
• Colley Cibber
• Greenwich Hospital
• Nicholas Hawksmoor
• Baroque

Notes

References

External links

• The Vanbrugh articles in Encyclopædia Britannica and Dictionary of National Biography are available by subscription only. See also the caution in Early life, above, about the basis of both these articles in traditional rather than scholarly sources. Sir John Vanbrugh (pronounced "Van'-bru" (24 January 1664? – 26 March 1726 was an English Architect and Dramatist, perhaps best known
• Vanbrugh, The Provoked Wife. Use with caution, this is an abridged and bowdlerised text.
• Colley Cibber, Apology, vol. 1
• Colley Cibber, Apology, vol. 2
• Castle Howard
• Blenheim Palace
• Seaton Delaval Hall
• Vanbrugh Castle