Who was John Vanbrugh?
Architect and Dramatist.
Date and Place of Birth:
24th January 1664, London, England.
Family Background:
Son of a tradesman and grandson of a Protestant
refugee merchant from Ghent, Belgium.
Education:
Educated in France.
Chronology/Biography of Sir John Vanbrugh:
1666: Family move
to Chester.
1683: Studies architecture
in France.
1686: Vanbrugh is
given a commission in the Earl of Huntington’s regiment as
an ensign but soon after resigns his post.
1688: He is imprisoned
at Calais as a spy by the French.
1691: He is transferred
to a prison in Vincennes.
1692: He is now transferred
to the Bastille in Paris but is later released on parole.
1693: Returns to
England.
1694: Vanbrugh takes
part in the naval battle of Camaret Bay.
1695: He is promoted
to a Captain in Lord Berkeley’s marine regiment.
1696: The plays "The
Relapse" and "Aesop" are performed at Drury Lane
Theatre.
1697: "The Provoked
Wife opens at Lincoln’s Inn Fields theatre in London and Aesop
Part II at Drury Lane.
1698: "The Country
House" is performed at Drury Lane.
1699: Vanbrugh visits
site of the Castle Howard after he receives a commision form Lord
Carlisle.
1700: The Kit Kat
Club, a group of Whig reformers including Vanbrugh sponsor a production
of Falstaff. This is the first public proof that the club exists.
"The Pilgrim" opens at Drury Lane. Foundation stone at
Castle Howard is laid. He is permitted to build house on site of
the former Whitehall Palace which was destroyed by fire.
1701: Building of
his house at Whitehall begins. This will later be satirised by Jonathan
Swift as "Goose Pie House".
1702: The cast and
Vanbrugh himself are prosecuted for indecency for a performance
of the "The Provoked Wife". "The False Friend"
is first performed at Drury Lane theatre. He is appointed as Comptroller
of the Board of Works by Carlisle. Building
work at Castle Howard reaches the roof.
1703: He begins work
on the Queen’s Theatre in the Haymarket, London. He spends
most of his time at Maze Hill in Blackheath, then just outside London.
1704: He visits the
works at Castle Howard.
1705: He visits Woodstock
in Oxfordshire where he is commissioned to build Blenheim Palace.
The building is to be paid for by the British Government as a thank
you to the Duke of Marlborough for winning the Battle of Blenheim
earlier in the year. "The Confederacy" and "The Mistake"
are performed at the new Queen’s Theatre.
1706: He visits Hanover
in Germany. Leases out the Queen's Theatre.
1707: "The Cuckold
in Conceit" opens in London. Is employed by Lord Manchester
to restore Kimbolton Castle.
1708: Finally sells
the Haymarket Theatre. Works at Audley End near Saffron Walden.
1709: The main part
of Castle Howard is now complete and he spends the summer there.
He is now in dispute with the Duchess of Marlborough parts of Blenheim.
1712: Works at Blenheim
Pace finally come to a standstill.
1713: Vanbrugh’s
term as Comptroller of the Board of Works comes to an end.
1714: He is Knighted
by the King, George the First. Sells his house Chargate to Lord
Clare, who renames it ‘Claremont’.
1715: He is reappointed
as the Comptroller of the Board of Works. Works on designs for Claremont.
He is also appointed Surveyor of Gardens and Waters.
1716: Spends the
summer in the north of England. He succeeds Christopher
Wren as Surveyor to the Greenwich Hospital. He quarrels with
the Duchess of Marlborough over her granddaughter’s marriage
to the Earl of Newcastle and relations break down completely and
he resigns as architect at Blenheim leaving it up to his colleague
Nicholas Hawksmoor to compete the project.
1718: He is not given
the post of Surveyor-General of Royal Works.
1719: Recently married
he begins building a home now known as "Vanbrugh Castle"
in Greenwich. He also designs buildings for the garden at Stowe.
Again he fails to become the Surveyor of the Royal Works.
In need of money he mortgages Vanbrugh Castle to his brother.
1720: He and Henrietta
move into ‘Vanbrugh Castle’.
Written Works:
- 1691–2 The
Provoked Wife.
- 1696: "Aesop"
- 1698: “The Country
House”.
- 1696: The Relapse,
Or, Virtue in Danger
- 1702: “The False
Friend”.
- 1705: “The Confederacy”.
“The Mistake”
- 1707: "The
Cuckold in Conceit"
Marriage:
1719 to Henrietta Maria Yarborough. In 1719.
She is then aged 26 and he 55.
Places of Interest:
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE:
Stowe House
LONDON:
Kensington Palace, The Orangery
Hampton Court Palace, State Rooms
NORTHUMBERLAND:
Seaton Delaval Hall, Seaton Deleval, between Blyth
and and Whitley Bay. (now administered by the National Trust)
Barracks, Berwick-upon-Tweed.
OXFORSHIRE:
Blenheim Palace, Woodstock.
YORKSHIRE:
Castle Howard, Malton
Date and Place of Death:
26th March 1726, London, England of asthma.
Age at Death:
62.
Site of Grave:
St. Stephen's Church, Walbrook, City of London,
England.
