Sir John Vanbrugh

(1664-1726)


Vanbrugh's two greatest achievements in architecture (he was also a successful playwright!) are Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard.  Both are Royal and National Monuments well worth visiting for their remarkable aesthetic and historical significance.  Both also  exhibit French and Italian formal gardens characteristic of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, as well as landscape gardens from the "Picturesque" movement that immediately followed.

Blenheim Pallace (1717-1726)


Plan


The Great Hall


Castle Howard, Yorkshire


Plan