Panel Talk: Vanbrugh's Hidden Blenheim

Wednesday 29th April, 4:30 pm to 7 pm

Donald Insall Associates Studio

12 Devonshire Street, London, W1G 7AB

This panel talk will explore Vanbrugh’s original design of Blenheim Palace and on-site findings from the current £12m conservation project.

Speakers:

• The author & historian Charles Saumarez Smith
• The client Kelly O’Driscoll, Head of Built Heritage, Blenheim Palace
• The conservation architect Edward Lewis, Practice Director, Donald Insall Associates
• Chaired by Tanvir Hasan, Director Emeritus, Donald Insall Associates

Charles, author of Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture, is perhaps the only person to have read the correspondence relating to Blenheim’s design and construction. In contrast, Kelly and Edward, both architects, know the building and its fabric intimately through their respective roles leading the current £12m conservation project - and are more aware than anyone of its design ambition, but also its shortcomings.

Together, Charles, Kelly and Edward will discuss historical records, assumptions, and their on-site findings. This will be explored through chronological themes, starting with Blenheim’s original design and concluding with its future needs:

• The changes to Vanbrugh’s original design
• The stonework paradoxes; fine craftmanship and compromised construction
• 19th and 20th century changes, new evidence and institutional memory loss
• Running Blenheim as a home & workplace, from the first Duchess to today

Doors open at 4:30, talk at 5:30, closes at 7pm.

Book your ticket here