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Vanbrugh300 LogoBack to homepageMade possible with National Lottery Heritage Fund

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Vanbrugh 300 is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to develop a nationwide project that aims to broaden the awareness of Vanbrugh through special displays, free education programmes and lectures, throughout his tercentenary year in 2026.

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Media

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Newsletter
4th Apr 2026

Seaton Delaval Hall Celebrates VANBRUGH300

This VANBRUGH300 newsletter reflects on the launch weekend at Seaton Delaval Hall, celebrating John Vanbrugh’s architectural and theatrical legacy through community performances, projection art, and family activities. It also highlights recent commemorative events and looks ahead to upcoming anniversary programmes.

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Article
28th Mar 2026

Northern Butterflies perform at Seaton Delaval Hall

Northern Butterflies explored the life and work of Sir John Vanbrugh through drama, imagination and play, culminating in their own original performance at Seaton Delaval Hall's V300 Weekend.

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Television
26th Mar 2026

Choral Evensong commemorating Sir John Vanbrugh

Choral Evensong to mark the 300th anniversary of Sir John Vanbrugh's death on 26th March 2026.

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Podcast
26th Mar 2026

Vanbrugh300 on the Today Show

The Today Show marked the launch of Vanbrugh300 on 26 March, commemorating 300 years since the death of the visionary architect and playwright Sir John Vanbrugh.

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Article
25th Mar 2026

Vanbrugh and his Time

Explore how Marlborough College is marking Vanbrugh300 with a dedicated programme examining his life, work, and wider cultural context.

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March Newsletter Content
Newsletter
21st Mar 2026

Staging Vanbrugh

This VANBRUGH300 newsletter focuses on John Vanbrugh’s theatrical legacy and its connection to performance today. It features Annette Rubery’s article on The Country House, highlights community and family performances at Seaton Delaval Hall, previews a special evening of Vanbrugh’s work at Grimsthorpe Castle, and outlines a wide-ranging programme of upcoming anniversary events.

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Article
21st Mar 2026

John Vanbrugh's farce The Country House

This insightful article by Dr Annette Rubery focuses on John Vanbrugh's farce The Country House, exploring its plot and Vanbrugh's progression from playwright to architect.

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Newsletter
7th Mar 2026

Laughter, Scandal and the Restoration Stage

This Vanbrugh300 newsletter explores John Vanbrugh’s theatrical career and enduring cultural influence. Featuring an article by Annette Rubery on Vanbrugh as a bold Restoration playwright, it also highlights his continuing presence on screen through Bridgerton, a recent lecture on the architects of the English Baroque, and the new exhibition Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture at Sir John Soane’s Museum.

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Article
7th Mar 2026

John Vanbrugh, the Playwright

This insightful article by Dr Annette Rubery focuses on Vanbrugh as a playwright, exploring the daring brilliance of his comedies and the theatrical world that shaped them.

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Press Coverage
28th Feb 2026

Vanbrugh300 Festival in the National Press

Over the weekend, we were delighted to see fantastic coverage of the Vanbrugh300 festival, with features in The Times, The Spectator, and The Arts Society Magazine.

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Lecture
24th Feb 2026

Wren, Vanbrugh, and Hawksmoor: The Minds that Made the English Baroque

This lecture revisits one of the most remarkable moments in British architectural history: the emergence of the English Baroque around 1700. Looking afresh at Sir Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor, and Sir John Vanbrugh, Professor Geraghty offers compelling new interpretations of their haunting and dramatic designs.

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Newsletter
21st Feb 2026

Blueprints of Power at Blenheim Palace

This Vanbrugh300 newsletter launches a year-long exploration of Sir John Vanbrugh’s great houses, beginning with Blenheim Palace and its new exhibition, Blueprints of Power. The exhibition explores Vanbrugh’s genius, ambition, rivalries, and dramatic partnership with Sarah Churchill, 1st Duchess of Marlborough, combining immersive storytelling with rare archival material and costumes from The Favourite (2018).

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Article
18th Feb 2026

Kimbolton Students Explore Architectural Legacy

As a partner house of the Vanbrugh300 festival, Kimbolton is using its historic setting to inspire students to explore Sir John Vanbrugh’s architectural legacy. Through participation in the National Gallery’s Articulation Prize, pupils have researched, analysed and presented on Vanbrugh’s work and wider artistic themes, connecting national heritage with their own school environment.

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Article
16th Feb 2026

From Bastille to Blenheim

This extended article explores Vanbrugh’s creation of Blenheim, where his genius came with challenges of fierce rivalries, political intrigue and personal conflicts.

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Website Images
Article
14th Feb 2026

Exclusive Insight: Blueprints of Power at Blenheim Palace

Exclusive insight from Blenheim Palace’s Carmen Alvarez, Collections and Conservation Manager, and Isabelle Thom, Deputy Collections Manager on their new exhibition Blueprints of Power about Vanbrugh.

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3231
Podcast
11th Feb 2026

Vanbrugh nominated on Great Lives

Caroline Quentin nominates Sir John Vanbrugh on Radio 4's Great Lives. Listen on BBC Sounds.

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Photo by Nick Howard (2)
Press Coverage
9th Feb 2026

Vanbrugh in the Times

An article in The Times recently covered Vanbrugh's Buildings as Theatre and an upcoming exhibition at the Sir John Soane Museum

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Article
9th Feb 2026

The Making of a Maverick

This extended article explores Vanbrugh’s early life, tracing his experiences as a maverick, soldier, spy, and prisoner, to reveal how these formative years helped shape one of Britain’s most distinctive architectural voices.

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Website Images
Newsletter
7th Feb 2026

The Making of a Maverick

This Vanbrugh300 newsletter explores Sir John Vanbrugh’s early life and formative experiences through a feature article, introduces a new interactive timeline, highlights recent festival events and lectures on his plays, and shares updates and upcoming activities within the nationwide 2026 celebration programme.

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Press Coverage
5th Feb 2026

Cambridge Edition on Kimbolton

The Cambridge Edition recently covered Vanbrugh 300 in their February edition, highlighting Kimbolton Castle’s inclusion in its culture section.

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Television
3rd Feb 2026

Countryfile Blenheim Estate

A Countryfile episode on the 'Blenheim Estate' highlights Vanbrugh’s vision for the palace and examines how the building is being conserved 300 years after its creation.

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Article
26th Jan 2026

A Genius of the First Class

To mark the tercentenary of Sir John Vanbrugh’s death, Charles Saumarez Smith considers the changing reactions to one of his greatest creation, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

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Newsletter
24th Jan 2026

Welcome to VANBRUGH300

The first Vanbrugh300 newsletter introduces the nationwide festival marking 300 years since Sir John Vanbrugh’s legacy, outlining his remarkable life as architect, playwright, and political figure, and previewing a year-long programme of exhibitions, events, and educational initiatives across six major houses.

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Press Coverage
11th Dec 2025

Kimbolton Castle to feature in Vanbrugh 300 celebration of architect’s work

Cambridge Network reports on Vanbrugh300.

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Podcast
1st Dec 2025

YPOM: Charles Saumarez Smith

Charles Saumarez Smith speaks to 'Your Places or Mine' and John Goodall on the architect John Vanburgh.

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Lecture
26th Nov 2025

John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture

To coincide with the publication of his book, John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture, Charles Saumarez Smith gave a lunchtime talk on Vanbrugh’s extraordinary life: his upbringing; why he spent so much time in a French gaol; the writing of The Relapse and The Provoked Wife; and how he came to design Castle Howard with no previous experience of architecture.

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Podcast
20th Nov 2025

Machine Books: Charles Saumarez Smith

Charles Saumarez Smith speaks to Machine Books about his latest fascination, the life and works of the great British baroque architect John Vanburgh.

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View across the Octagon Lake towards Vanbrugh's Lake Pavilions and Corinthian Arch ©National Trust Images Rod Edwards (1)
Article
29th Oct 2025

From curtain to cornice: The Genius of Sir John Vanbrugh

thedirt.news reports on Vanbrugh300.

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Lecture
21st Oct 2025

John Vanbrugh and the Art of Client Management

In this talk, Christine Stevenson investigates the ways in which Vanbrugh persuaded clients that boldness and unorthodoxy were the most economical routes to displays appropriate to their status.

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Lecture
14th Oct 2025

John Vanbrugh: The Critical Response

In this talk, Charles Saumarez Smith looks at changes to Vanbrugh's reputation ahead of his forthcoming book, John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture.

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Press Coverage
5th Aug 2025

VANBRUGH300: A year-long celebration of England’s boldest Baroque architect

ianVisits reports on Vanbrugh300.

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