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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.
Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) was an English dramatist turned architect, best known for designing Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace, two of the most ambitious Baroque buildings in Britain. A member of the Whig elite and the Kit-Cat Club, Vanbrugh's work can be read through the social forms of his times but, as Sir John suggests, more importantly in the context of his unique theatrical imagination as it was revealed through his collaborations with professional architects, like Nicholas Hawksmoor. Mocked in his own life, Vanbrugh is now celebrated as one of England's most original and daring architects.