Celebrating Sir John Vanbrugh: rockstar of the English Baroque?

View of Castle Howard exterior north front, main house crowned by a dome, with west wing and separate kitchen block, in a grassy landscape.

Vanbrugh isn’t quite as well known as Sir Christopher Wren, his contemporary, but you have probably seen at least two of the houses he designed: Castle Howard, dreamy setting for Brideshead Revisited, and Blenheim Palace, a location for over 70 dramas including Bridgerton. Vanbrugh is also famous as a playwright (and he designed his own theatre) so it is appropriate that his buildings have attracted location scouts. As part of the national events celebrating Sir John Vanbrugh, who died in March 1726, Dr Susie West took part in the Vanbrugh: From Stage to Stone conference, held at Downing College, Cambridge on 27 March 2026. The conference explored his extraordinary life as soldier, playwright, impresario, architect and landscape architect. Susie discussed how innovative he was in designing large and complex houses; surprisingly, making good use of corridors in an age where these were almost unknown in English houses (Vanbrugh explained the concept to his client the Duchess of Marlborough). Rockstar? A big personality whose buildings are as distinctive as the opening chords to a great music track. Definitely on Susie’s fantasy dinner party guest list.