Presented by The Georgian Group, thanks to grant awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Sir John Vanbrugh’s (1664-1726) life and achievements will be celebrated across the UK in 2026, his tercentenary year, following a six-figure grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to The Georgian Group.
Sometimes referred to as ‘The Rockstar of the English Baroque’, Vanbrugh was also one of the great Restoration dramatists. His architectural work was as bold and daring as his early political activism and risqué plays. Among many other achievements – including as a herald and political activist – Vanbrugh is celebrated for his capacity to exploit the emotional impact of architecture, making exciting and dramatic use of light and shadow and recessions and projections.
Presented by the Georgian Group – the conservation organisation founded in 1937 to protect and promote Georgian heritage – VANBRUGH300 will include a variety of events, exhibitions and activities at six of the architect’s most significant creations: Castle Howard, Blenheim Palace, Seaton Delaval, Grimsthorpe Castle, Kimbolton Castle and Stowe House.
The year-long festival celebrating the life and achievements of the man who did so much to shape the way we see and understand our country today, has been made possible by a £193,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with additional support from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
Vanbrugh first found fame as a playwright, with two hugely popular plays, The Relapse (1696) and The Provoked Wife (1697). Then, without any formal training, he turned his attention to architecture and, aided by Nicholas Hawksmoor (c.1661-1736), secured a series of commissions that would have an indelible effect on country house design.
Although Vanbrugh’s corpus was not large, he almost single-handedly popularised the ornate, full-blooded Baroque style that became de rigeur for grand country houses. Vanbrugh’s bold and daring work extended beyond country houses to the design of temples, belvederes, pyramids and other garden features. The originality of such work means Vanbrugh is also credited with a vital role in the development of the 18th– century English garden.
The year-long festival willexplore just how the untrained Vanbrugh became the most prominent starchitect of his time. His charm, intellect, flamboyance and connections certainly helped, but he was also gifted with extraordinary imaginative power and spatial ability as a designer. Vanbrugh approached architectural design with great originality and a willingness to take liberties.
The VANBRUGH300 partners – Castle Howard (Yorkshire), Blenheim Palace (Oxfordshire), Seaton Delaval (Northumberland), Grimsthorpe Castle (Lincolnshire), Kimbolton Castle (Cambridgeshire) and Stowe House (Buckinghamshire) – all perfectly demonstrate his ability to dramatically exploit the emotional possibilities of architecture.
Activities at each site will feature exhibitions, schools’ programmes, adult and community activities, lectures, volunteer training, and much more, all supported by a dedicated VANBRUGH300 website.
As part of its mission to promote and protect our Georgian heritage, the Georgian Group has not only created the partnership with the six country houses for VANBRUGH300 but is also coordinating a complementary series of educational projects, in which Vanbrugh’s story will provide material to support the national curriculum learning in schools and initiate exploration with local communities.
Dr Anya Lucas, Director of the Georgian Group, says “The tercentenary of Vanbrugh’s death represents an important opportunity to celebrate and bring to the fore the story of one of our period’s great architects, a bold and theatrical figure who is sure to have broad appeal and who should be better known. VANBRUGH300 will bring the life, stories, and work of Vanbrugh together for a wide range of audiences.”
She added, “One of our key aims is to work with young and local audiences in each area. Importantly, transport to the Houses for young people will be largely funded by the project as this can be a barrier for school visits. By hosting community-driven programmes and collaborations with local people, Vanbrugh 300 will also contribute to local creative economies and help to drive tourism to the regions.”
Sir Charles Saumarez Smith CBE, whose new biography of the architect John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture will be published in November 2025, says VANBRUGH300 will play a vital role in preserving his story, and bringing it to new audiences. “I am so delighted that the Georgian Group will now be able to celebrate Vanbrugh’s tercentenary with such a rich programme of planned events, drawing attention not just to Castle Howard and Blenheim, Vanbrugh’s greatest houses, but those that are less well known, including Seaton Delaval in Northumberland, Grimsthorpe in Lincolnshire and his work in the grounds of Stowe”.
Charles Saumarez Smith is also a curator, along with Roz Barr, of the Sir John Soane’s Museum exhibition John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture. The show, which is organised jointly with the Victoria and Albert Museum and opens in February 2025, will be an opportunity to see as many of Vanbrugh’s drawings as possible, not just for his major projects like Castle Howard, but his smaller more experimental drawings for schemes such as the housing estate he planned at Greenwich.
Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re proud to support VANBRUGH300 – an imaginative celebration of one of Britain’s most influential architects. Thanks to this project, more people will be able to learn about his remarkable life and legacy. Heritage is a great way of bringing people together and inspiring curiosity and this project is a great example of this.”
