216 SIR JOHN VANBRUGH 



The other works attributed to Lord Burlington are the 

 dormitory at Westminster, a school and almshouses at Seven- 

 oaks, both illustrated by Kent in his " Designs of Inigo Jones,'^ 

 and Burlington House, Piccadilly. Of these the dormitory 

 at Westminster was a bald and mutilated version of a design 

 by Wren, and Burlington House was probably designed by 

 Campbell. 1 



But although Burlington cannot be regarded as an architect 

 who did anything great in design, he was a munificent patron 

 of the art and of those who pursued it more practically. 



Contemporary with him, and indeed starting a little before 

 him. was another well-known but more skilful amateur, the witty 

 dramatist, Sir John Vanbrugh, who has left behind him some 

 of the largest and most ponderous houses ever built in England. 

 His patrons and friends among the nobility were all esteemed 

 good judges of architecture, and to their judgment he submitted 

 at least one of his largest designs. 



Among the noblemen who employed him was- the third 

 Earl of Carlisle, who conceived the idea of making himself a 

 magnificent home at Castle Howard, in Yorkshire, to replace 

 the ancient castle of Hinderskelf, which had been brought 

 into the family by marriage with one of the co-heiresses of 

 Lord Dacres. The scheme embraced not only a new palace, 

 but a large lay out of plantations, vistas, lakes, temples, obelisks, 

 lodges, and other objects of interest, such as had been employed 

 by Le Notre at Versailles and elsewhere. The completion of 

 his scheme is recorded in verses too bald (one would imagine) 

 to be any but his lordship's, engraved on an important obelisk. 

 They give the date of commencement as 1702, the inscription 

 is dated 1731, so that year may be held to have witnessed the 

 fulfilment of the main project. 



But the house had been occupied long before this ; for in 

 1714 Lady Mary Wortley Montague wrote from Yorkshire to 

 her husband, professing to be " in a great fright " about attempts 

 from Scotland in favour of the Pretender. " The four young 

 ladies at Castle Howard," she says, were as much alarmed as 

 she was, for their father had gone away and was not likely to 

 return for months. They had asked her to join them, a 

 suggestion which she was inclined to comply with, since 

 Castle Howard would be a safe retreat, although rather like 



1 Mr R. Blomfield's " History of Renaissance Architecture in England," 

 p. 224. 



