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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.
Sunday 20th September 3pm - 4:30pm
National Portrait Gallery, Central London
Join actors Harriet Walter and Stephen Boxer, and historian Ophelia Field, to celebrate the tercentenary of Sir John Vanbrugh (1664–1726), one of England’s most remarkable Baroque architects and playwrights, in a special event in partnership with The Georgian Group.
In this event, Ophelia Field explores how Vanbrugh is captured in Godfrey Kneller’s celebrated portraits of the Kit-cat Club held in the Gallery’s Collection, a group that helped launch his unlikely architectural career and led to his first commission, Castle Howard, and ultimately to designing the monumental Blenheim Palace.
While Vanbrugh’s relationship with the Duke of Marlborough was amicable and productive, his dealings with the Duchess, Sarah Churchill, became famously contentious in the building of Blenheim. Extracts of their surviving correspondence will be read by Harriet Walter as Sarah Churchill and Stephen Boxer as Vanbrugh, offering a vivid, often combative account of ambition, authority and competing artistic vision.
This will be a ticketed event and sure to be extremely popular, so early reservation of seats is advised.
