Under this stone, reader, survey,
Dead Sir John Vanbrugh's house of clay.
Lie heavy on him, Earth! For he
Laid many heavy loads on thee!
Sotto questa pietra, lettore, pensa,
vi è la casa di argilla del defunto Sir John Vanbrugh.
Giaci pesante su di lui, Terra ! Che lui
molti carichi pesanti su di te Collocò !
Queste le parole che scrisse Abel Evans (1675–1737) quale epitaffio per la tomba di Sir John Vanbrough, uomo di teatro, scrittore di canovacci teatrali ed architetto, quasi per diletto, ma è proprio a questa sua arte, il disegno architettonico, che egli passò alla storia legando il suo nome alle più imponenti residenze situate nella campagna inglese che tanto fascino esercitano su di noi: Castle Howard, il cui disegno fu commissionato nel 1699, Blenheim Palace, nel 1704, Kings Weston House, cominciata nel 1712, Seaton Delaval Hall, cominciata nel 1718.
Ma perchè le così dette MANSIONS o STATELY HOMES gratificano così tanto i nostri occhi ?
Forse perché, immerse completamente nel verde, rispondono a quell'ideale arcadico di bellezza e di pace che segretamente giace in ciascuno di noi, forse perché la loro imponenza ci suggerisce sicurezza e tranquillità, forse perché i tesori che ancor oggi custodiscono, provenienti tutti dai Grand Tours che vedevano 'impegnati' i giovani rampolli nel vecchio continente prima di accasarsi durante il XIX secolo, e che rappresentano opere arte di enorme valore di cui sono ancor oggi arredate, appagano il nostro bisogno di incanto, di eleganza, di gradevolezza ... sta di fatto che questi capolavori dell'architettura barocca inglese rimangono tra gli edifici più visitati del mondo, spesso ancora abitati dai discendenti di coloro che li commissionarono, passati di generazione in generazione come autentici patrimoni di famiglia ... vediamoli insieme, seppur per sommi capi, avventurandoci in una sorta di visita virtuale !
Charles Howard, III Conte di Carlisle, con Vanbrugh ed altri membro della Londra Whig più facoltosa al Kit-Cat Club, commissionò nel 1699 al giovane artista teatrale, architetto senza arte né parte, potremmo dire, senza titoli di studi in merito e senza alcuna esperienza che lo promuovesse, se non un viaggio attraverso l'Europa appena conclusosi che lo aveva condotto ad ammirare i più prestigiosi edifici del tempo e la progettazione del suo palazzo nei pressi di York, sovente descritto come il primo edificio totalmente e realmente barocco di tutta l'Inghilterra.
Lo stile barocco a Castle Howard è il più europeo che Vanbrugh abbia mai disegnato: con i suoi immensi corridoi definiti da colonnati a segmenti che conducono dall'ingresso principale alle ali che lo fiancheggiano, con il suo imponente blocco centrale coronato da una grande torre completa di cupola, esprime molto della scuola del barocco classico; esso combina gli aspetti della progettazione che erano fino ad allora apparsi di quando in quando, se non per nulla, nell'architettura inglese, mi riferisco al Greenwich Palace caduto in rovina durante la guerra civile e parzialmente ricostruito da John Webb (1611 – 1672) ( ma quando i fondi finirono, fu commissionato nel 1694 a Sir Christopher Wren e al suo assistente Nicholas Hawksmoor di distruggere quanto rimaneva del palazzo e di ricostruirlo senza alcun compenso come il nuovo Royal Hospital, futura sede di accoglienza dei marinai fuori servizio. Sir John Vanbrugh succedette a Wren come architetto, completando il complesso dei suoi piani originali. ) e, naturalmente, Chatsworth House di William Talman (1650 – 1719), considerato un uomo molto rude al quale, si dice, fu preferito John Vanbrugh per la progettazione di Castle Howard proprio di conseguenza al suo carattere.
Gli interni sono decisamente di grande effetto,
la Great Hall Entrance raggiunge gli 80 piedi (24 m) nel colmo della cupola;
scagliola, ad imitazione del marmo, e colonne corinzie abbondano, e le gallerie collegate tra loro da archi svettanti danno l'impressione di un palco d'opera - senza dubbio era questo l'intendimento dell'architetto così tanto avvezzo al mondo del teatro.
Castle Howard fu da subito un successo, la fiducia che Charles, III Conte di Carlisle aveva riposto nell'amico fu appieno confermata da ciò che fu in grado di realizzare: questo edificio meraviglioso senza precedenti in Inghilterra, con le sue facciate e con i suoi tetti decorati da lesene, statue, e con intagli ornamentali che sembrano rincorrersi l'un l'altro, fu motivo decisivo del destino del barocco in Inghilterra e di quello di John Vanbrugh, al contempo, poiché il plauso che Castle Howard riscosse condusse alla sua più famosa commissione: fu scelto quale architetto per realizzare Blenheim Palace.
I lavori cominciarono con il 1705 e, non essendo egli architetto altamente qualificato, ma solamente per diletto, talento e buongusto, Vanbrugh accettò di lavorare sul progetto fianco a fianco con Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Ben si comprende che Blenheim Palace fu concepito per essere non solo una grande casa di campagna, ma un edificio commemorativo d'importanza e valore nazionale, anzi, lo doveva essere prima di essere una residenza signorile confortevole e ciò che ne risultò fu una sorta di piccolo villaggio fortificato, una cittadella.
Il fatto di anteporre l'importanza e le esigenze nazionali a quelle private, secondo quanto voleva Queen Anne e lo stesso Governo, mise più volte pesantemente in conflitto Vanbrugh con la Duchessa Sarah, che gli avrebbe preferito Sir Christopher Wren, la quale pretendeva che Blenheim Palace divenisse una confortevole casa di campagna per la sua famiglia, ma le dispute giunsero ad un punto tale che Vanbrugh, considerato una sorta di nemico nel suo agire artisticamente ispirato che assecondava le reali volontà, rassegnò le proprie dimissioni nel mese di novembre del 1716, prima che il palazzo fosse portato a termine, ma comunque è il suo estro che è riuscito a renderlo il capolavoro dell'arte barocca quale è considerato anche se egli lasciò che a completare l'opera fosse il suo compagno Hawksmoor.
- CASTLE HOWARD -
Lo stile barocco a Castle Howard è il più europeo che Vanbrugh abbia mai disegnato: con i suoi immensi corridoi definiti da colonnati a segmenti che conducono dall'ingresso principale alle ali che lo fiancheggiano, con il suo imponente blocco centrale coronato da una grande torre completa di cupola, esprime molto della scuola del barocco classico; esso combina gli aspetti della progettazione che erano fino ad allora apparsi di quando in quando, se non per nulla, nell'architettura inglese, mi riferisco al Greenwich Palace caduto in rovina durante la guerra civile e parzialmente ricostruito da John Webb (1611 – 1672) ( ma quando i fondi finirono, fu commissionato nel 1694 a Sir Christopher Wren e al suo assistente Nicholas Hawksmoor di distruggere quanto rimaneva del palazzo e di ricostruirlo senza alcun compenso come il nuovo Royal Hospital, futura sede di accoglienza dei marinai fuori servizio. Sir John Vanbrugh succedette a Wren come architetto, completando il complesso dei suoi piani originali. ) e, naturalmente, Chatsworth House di William Talman (1650 – 1719), considerato un uomo molto rude al quale, si dice, fu preferito John Vanbrugh per la progettazione di Castle Howard proprio di conseguenza al suo carattere.
Gli interni sono decisamente di grande effetto,
la Great Hall Entrance raggiunge gli 80 piedi (24 m) nel colmo della cupola;
scagliola, ad imitazione del marmo, e colonne corinzie abbondano, e le gallerie collegate tra loro da archi svettanti danno l'impressione di un palco d'opera - senza dubbio era questo l'intendimento dell'architetto così tanto avvezzo al mondo del teatro.
Castle Howard fu da subito un successo, la fiducia che Charles, III Conte di Carlisle aveva riposto nell'amico fu appieno confermata da ciò che fu in grado di realizzare: questo edificio meraviglioso senza precedenti in Inghilterra, con le sue facciate e con i suoi tetti decorati da lesene, statue, e con intagli ornamentali che sembrano rincorrersi l'un l'altro, fu motivo decisivo del destino del barocco in Inghilterra e di quello di John Vanbrugh, al contempo, poiché il plauso che Castle Howard riscosse condusse alla sua più famosa commissione: fu scelto quale architetto per realizzare Blenheim Palace.
- BLENHEIM PALACE -
L'esercito di John Churchill, I Duca di Marlborough sconfisse l'esercito di Re Luigi XIV a Blenheim, un villaggio sul Danubio nel 1704: il premio di una nazione riconoscente doveva essere una splendida residenza di campagna, e il duca stesso fu invitato dalla regina a scegliere l'architetto che prediligeva per questa sorta di monumento nazionale; inutile dire che egli volle Sir John Vanbrugh, degno ormai di cotanto prestigio, quale l'architetto del proprio palazzo.I lavori cominciarono con il 1705 e, non essendo egli architetto altamente qualificato, ma solamente per diletto, talento e buongusto, Vanbrugh accettò di lavorare sul progetto fianco a fianco con Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Ben si comprende che Blenheim Palace fu concepito per essere non solo una grande casa di campagna, ma un edificio commemorativo d'importanza e valore nazionale, anzi, lo doveva essere prima di essere una residenza signorile confortevole e ciò che ne risultò fu una sorta di piccolo villaggio fortificato, una cittadella.
Frattanto la Duchessa si era, con i sui modi maldestri, inimicata anche la regina, il che indusse i duchi a lasciare la Gran Bretagna per farvi ritorno solo dopo la morte di quest'ultima, e, per completare l'edificio, i cui lavori si erano arrestati, dovettero impiegare il loro proprio capitale anziché quello nazionale !
La Duchessa non lo perdonò, e quando nel 1725 egli tentò di visitare Blenheim, pagando come qualsiasi altro membro del pubblico, gli fu proibito di addentrarsi nei terreni, figurarsi nell'edificio. 1
La Duchessa non lo perdonò, e quando nel 1725 egli tentò di visitare Blenheim, pagando come qualsiasi altro membro del pubblico, gli fu proibito di addentrarsi nei terreni, figurarsi nell'edificio. 1
- KINGS WESTON HOUSE -
Kings Weston House fu edificata tra il 1712 e il 1719 per Edward Southwell Jr. ( 1705 - 1755 ), politico anglo-irlandese, laddove giaceva in precedenza un vecchio edificio risalente all'epoca Tudor:
Ricostruzione dell'originario edificio elisabettiano a Kings Weston.
Pianta del piano terra di Kings Weston prima della ricostruzione (Bristol Record Office)
Questo edificio rappresenta il solo progettato da Vanbrugh al di fuori del territorio londinese - ci troviamo infatti nei pressi di Bristol - e per la prima volta non si tratta di qualcosa di così tanto maestoso, il che non significa che il talento e la creatività del nostro non abbiano comunque avuto modo di esprimersi al meglio, basti pensare all'insieme dei fumaioli che sono stati artisticamente raggruppati al centro del tetto terrazzato a costituire un elemento architettonico di grande prestigio apparendo come una sorta di enorme balaustra o, se volete, di tempio a cielo aperto - quello che vediamo noi oggi è il risultato di una ricostruzione risalente al 1968, ottenuta grazie all'utilizzo della Bath Stone, la pietra di Bath dal caldo colore tinta miele.
L'intera tenuta comprende la più grande quantità di edifici mai realizzati da Vanbrugh all'interno di una stessa proprietà, la maggior parte dei quali sono andati, però, demoliti o sono stati pesantemente contraffatti, mentre rimangono a tutt'oggi intatte le componenti residenziali le cui facciate hanno comunque visto alterare il loro originario aspetto cromatico, da che le pietre estratte sul sito, anticamente tinta ocra, tendono ora ad un arancio rosato.
Ma senza troppo soffermarci sui dettagli architettonici, diamo uno sguardo veloce agli interni che ci mostrano ambienti connotati da grande fascino ed eleganza ...
- SEATON DELAVAL HALL -
Seaton Delaval rappresenta l'ultimo edificio progettato da Vanbrugh ed il coronamento del suo successo, maturato con Castle Howard e Blenheim Palace ed è una delle poche residenze che egli progettò da solo senza l'aiuto di Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Costruita tra il 1718 e il 1728 per l'Ammiraglio George Delaval, che ha voluto sostituire la sua precedente residenza sul sito, questa dimora ci appare piuttosto cupa, austera, tanto da inserirsi a pieno titolo nel contesto ambientale architettonico dell'intero Northumberland; si dice che la progettazione di Seaton Delaval sia stata influenzata da Villa Foscari del Palladio (nota anche come "La Malcontenta"), costruita intorno al 1555: entrambe hanno facciate in pietra rustica e finestre a mezzaluna simili nel corso di un ingresso non porticato ed anche il grande frontone del sottotetto a Villa Foscari accenna al lucernario del Great Hall di Seaton ... è probabile che Vanbrugh, vedendola, ne sia rimasto colpito ed abbia voluto ad essa ispirarsi (Tra gli architetti, solo Vanbrugh avrebbe potuto trarre ispirazione da uno dei capolavori di Palladio, e pur mantenendo i valori umanistici della costruzione, alterarli ed adattarli al barocco, in una forma unica, invisibile altrove in Europa).
Anche qui, come per Castle Howard e Blenheim, il disegno che Vanbrugh elaborò fu quello di un corpo de logis contenente i locali principali ed il soggiorno, che rappresenta, inoltre, il centro di una corte a tre lati, tra due ali di accompagnamento, ovviamente a pianta diversa rispetto agli edifici realizzati in precedenza.
e persino le scuderie erano sontuose, magnifiche con i loro 60 piedi di ampiezza,
colme di purosangue solo nella stagione di caccia o quando la famiglia ricolmava la propria dimora la casa di ospiti in occasione di leggendarie feste teatrali.
Seaton Delaval Hall - walled garden
Ma ditemi, non pensate anche voi che abbia dell'inverosimile che un emerito gentleman, uomo di teatro come attore e come autore di pièces divenute famose, architetto non dilettante, ma per mero diletto, abbia realizzato opere che appartengono oggi al National Trust quali patrimoni dell'arte britannica e mondiale, ovvero edifici senza pari prima, né dopo - eccezion fatta per le residenze reali, ovviamente ?!?
Ebbene, spero con ciò di aver suscitato il vostro entusiasmo ed il vostro interesse, la campagna inglese e le residenze patrizie che la dominano sono sempre motivo di grande gioia per me !
E che la vostra giornata sia prodiga di letizia, ve lo auguro di vero cuore,
a presto 💕
BIBLIOGRAFIA:
Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., London, 2012.
CITAZIONI:
1 - Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., London, 2012, pag. 46.
Under this stone, reader, survey,
Dead Sir John Vanbrugh's house of clay.
Lie heavy on him, Earth! For he
Laid many heavy loads on thee!
- picture 1
These are the words which Abel Evans (1675-1737) wrote as an epitaph for the tomb of Sir John Vanbrough, a man of theater, actor and writer of theatrical plots and architect, almost for fun, but it is precisely this art of his, the architectural design, which will made his history by tying his name to the most impressive residences located in the English countryside that so charms have on us: Castle Howard, whose design was commissioned in 1699, Blenheim Palace, dating back to 1704, Kings Weston House, begun in 1712, Seaton Delaval Hall, begun in 1718.
But because our eyes are so captured by the so-called MANSIONS or STATELY HOMES and so gratified by them?
Maybe because, completely immersed in the green, they look based on that Arcadian ideal of beauty and peace that secretly lies in each of us, maybe because their grandeur suggests security and tranquility, maybe because of the treasures that they still guard, coming from all the Grand Tours which saw the young scions 'taken' in the old continent before than getting married during the XIXth century, representing art works of great value with which they're still decorated today, maybe because they satisfy our need of charm, elegance, pleasantness ... truth is these English Baroque architectural masterpieces remain among the most visited buildings in the world, often still inhabited by the descendants of those who commissioned them, passed from generation to generation as authentic family heritages ... let's see them together, albeit briefly, in a sort of virtual tour!
- CASTLE HOWARD -
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Charles Howard, III Earl of Carlisle, with Vanbrugh and others member of the wealthiest London Whig to the Kit-Cat Club, commissioned in 1699 at the young theater artist, architect without history, we could say, since he had no titles of studies on the subject and was without any experience that would promote him, if not a trip through Europe just ended which had led him to admire the most prestigious buildings of the time and the design of his palace near York, often described as the first building totally and truly baroque of the whole England.
The baroque Castle Howard is the most European that Vanbrugh ever designed: with its immense corridors defined by columns in segments that lead from the main entrance to the wings that flank it, with its impressive central block crowned by a big full tower dome, expresses much of the classical school of the Baroque; it combines aspects of the design that had appeared ocasionally or not at at all, till then, in Britain, I am thinking of Greenwich Palace fell into disrepair during the civil war and partly rebuilt by John Webb (1611 - 1672) (but when the money ended, it was commissioned in 1694 to Sir Christopher Wren and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor to destroy what remained of the building and to rebuild it without compensation as the new Royal Hospital, the future home of sailors out of order. Sir John Vanbrugh succeeded Wren as architect, completing the complex of its original plans.) and, of course, Chatsworth House by William Talman (1650 - 1719), considered a very rude man whom, they say, was preferred John Vanbrugh for the design of Castle Howard just a consequence to his character.
The interiors are very impressive,
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the Great Hall Entrance reaches 80 feet (24 m) at the height of its dome;
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scagliola in imitation of marble and Corinthian columns abound, and galleries linked together by soaring arches give the impression of an opera stage - no doubt this was the architect's intention so much accustomed to the world of theater he was.
- picture 13
The baroque Castle Howard is the most European that Vanbrugh ever designed: with its immense corridors defined by columns in segments that lead from the main entrance to the wings that flank it, with its impressive central block crowned by a big full tower dome, expresses much of the classical school of the Baroque; it combines aspects of the design that had appeared ocasionally or not at at all, till then, in Britain, I am thinking of Greenwich Palace fell into disrepair during the civil war and partly rebuilt by John Webb (1611 - 1672) (but when the money ended, it was commissioned in 1694 to Sir Christopher Wren and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor to destroy what remained of the building and to rebuild it without compensation as the new Royal Hospital, the future home of sailors out of order. Sir John Vanbrugh succeeded Wren as architect, completing the complex of its original plans.) and, of course, Chatsworth House by William Talman (1650 - 1719), considered a very rude man whom, they say, was preferred John Vanbrugh for the design of Castle Howard just a consequence to his character.
The interiors are very impressive,
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the Great Hall Entrance reaches 80 feet (24 m) at the height of its dome;
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scagliola in imitation of marble and Corinthian columns abound, and galleries linked together by soaring arches give the impression of an opera stage - no doubt this was the architect's intention so much accustomed to the world of theater he was.
- picture 13
Castle Howard was an immediate success, the confidence that Charles, III Earl of Carlisle had put in his friend was fully confirmed by what he was able to realize: this beautiful building without precedent in England, with its facades and its roofs decorated by pilasters, statues and ornamental carvings that seem to chase each other, was a decisive reason for the fate both of the Baroque in England and of John Vanbrugh's, at the same time, as the approval that Castle Howard collected led to his most famous commission: he was chosen as the architect who had to realize Blenheim Palace.
- BLENHEIM PALACE -
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The army of Sir John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, defeated the army of King Louis XIV in Blenheim, a village on the Danube in 1704: the prize of a grateful nation had to be a beautiful country house, and the Duke himself was invited by his Queen to choose the architect who was his favorite for this sort of national monument; needless to say he wanted Sir John Vanbrugh, now worthy of so great prestige, as the architect of his own palace.
Works began in 1705 and, since he wasn't at all a highly qualified architect, but just an architecth for delight, gifted with much talent and good taste, Vanbrugh agreed to work on the project side by side with Nicholas Hawksmoor.
It is well understood that Blenheim Palace was designed to be not only a large country house, but a commemorative building of national importance and value, indeed, it had to be thus before being a comfortable manor house and what resulted was a kind of small fortified village, a citadel.
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The fact of putting the importance of the national requirements before than the private ones, as wanted Queen Anne and the Government itself, put several times Vanbrugh with the Duchess Sarah often heavily in conflict, given she would have preferred Sir Christopher Wren as architect and claimed that Blenheim Palace became a comfortable country house for her family, but the disputes came to a point that Vanbrugh, considered a kind of enemy in his artistically inspired acting that pandered to the royal will, resigned in November 1716, before the palace was completed, but it is his talent that made of it the masterpiece of Baroque art which is still considered today, even if he left that to complete the work was his companion Hawksmoor.
Meanwhile the Duchess, with her clumsy ways, had quarreled even with the Queen, which led the Dukes to leave Britain, for coming back only after the death of the latter, and, to complete the building, the works of which were arrested, they had to use their own capital, rather than the national one !
The Duchess did not forgive him, and when in 1725 he attempted to visit Blenheim, paying like any other memeber of the public, he was forbidden to enter even the grounds, let alone the house. 1
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Kings Weston House was built between 1712 and 1719 for Edward Southwell Jr. (1705-1755), an Anglo-Irish politician, where previously was lying an old building dating back to the Tudor period:
- picture 24 - A reconstruction of the Elizabethan mansion at Kings Weston.
- picture 25 - The ground floor plan of Kings Weston house before it was rebuilt in 1712. (Bristol Record Office)
This building is the only one designed by Vanbrugh outside the London area - we are in fact close to Bristol - and for the first time this is not something so majestic, which doesn't mean that the talent and the creativity of our exceptional gifted man haven't had the possibility to be expressed at their best, just think of the set of chimneis that have been artistically grouped in the center of the roof terrace to form an architectural element of great prestige by appearing as a sort of huge rail, or, if you prefer, an open air temple - what we see today is the result of a reconstruction dating back to 1968, thanks to the use of Bath stone by the warm honey colored tint.
The entire estate has the largest number of buildings ever realized by Vanbrugh within the same property, most of which have been, however, demolished or heavily counterfeited, while the residential components - whose facades have anyway seen altering their original color given the stones extracted on the site, formerly ocher, tend now to a pinkish orange - still remain intact.
But let's don't stop too much on the architectural details, let's take, rather, a quick look to the interiors that show us the connotations of environments by great charm and elegance ...
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Seaton Delaval is the last building designed by Vanbrugh which represents the crowning glory of his success, gained with Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace, and is one of the few houses that he designed by himself without the aid of Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Built between 1718 and 1728 for Admiral George Delaval, who wanted to replace its former residence on the site, this house seems rather gloomy, austere, much to enter fully into the architectural environment of the entire Northumberland; it is said that the design of Seaton Delaval was influenced by Palladio's Villa Foscari (also known as "La Malcontenta"), built around 1555: both have rustic stone facades and similar half-moon windows inside a non-porch entrance hall and even the large attic pediment at Villa Foscari hints at the skylight of the Great Hall of Seaton ... we may suppose that Vanbrugh, seeing it, he felt far impressed and wanted to inspired himself to it (among the architects, only Vanbrugh could draw inspiration from one of Palladio's masterpieces, and while maintaining the humanistic values of the building, to alter and adapt them to the Baroque in a unique shape, unseen elsewhere in Europe).
- picture 32
Here, as for Castle Howard and Blenheim, the design that Vanbrugh drew up was that of a 'corpo de logis' containing the main rooms and the living room, which also represents the center of a three-sided courtyard, between two flanking wings, obviously in a different plant than the buildings made previously.
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Towers crowned by balustrades and pinnacles give the house what Vanbrugh considered his 'castle-look' and
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even the stables, with their magnificent 60 feet width,were sumptuous,
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full of thoroughbreds only during the hunting season or when the family filled the house with guests for their legendary theater festivals.
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- picture 45 - Seaton Delaval Hall - walled garden
And here we are at the conclusion of this virtual tour made by my side ...
But tell me, don't you also think that it's almost incredible that an emeritus gentleman, a man belonging to the world of the theater, both as an actor and as an author of pièces become famous, architect, not as an amateur, but for mere pleasure, has made works which now belong to the National Trust such heritage of the British art and the whole world, ie buildings unmatched before or since - except for the royal residences, of course?!?
Well, I hope with this to have aroused your enthusiasm and your interest, the English countryside and the patrician houses dominating it are always a reason of great joy for me!
And may your day be generous with joy, I hope it with my whole heart,
see you soon 💕
The army of Sir John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, defeated the army of King Louis XIV in Blenheim, a village on the Danube in 1704: the prize of a grateful nation had to be a beautiful country house, and the Duke himself was invited by his Queen to choose the architect who was his favorite for this sort of national monument; needless to say he wanted Sir John Vanbrugh, now worthy of so great prestige, as the architect of his own palace.
Works began in 1705 and, since he wasn't at all a highly qualified architect, but just an architecth for delight, gifted with much talent and good taste, Vanbrugh agreed to work on the project side by side with Nicholas Hawksmoor.
It is well understood that Blenheim Palace was designed to be not only a large country house, but a commemorative building of national importance and value, indeed, it had to be thus before being a comfortable manor house and what resulted was a kind of small fortified village, a citadel.
- picture 15
The fact of putting the importance of the national requirements before than the private ones, as wanted Queen Anne and the Government itself, put several times Vanbrugh with the Duchess Sarah often heavily in conflict, given she would have preferred Sir Christopher Wren as architect and claimed that Blenheim Palace became a comfortable country house for her family, but the disputes came to a point that Vanbrugh, considered a kind of enemy in his artistically inspired acting that pandered to the royal will, resigned in November 1716, before the palace was completed, but it is his talent that made of it the masterpiece of Baroque art which is still considered today, even if he left that to complete the work was his companion Hawksmoor.
Meanwhile the Duchess, with her clumsy ways, had quarreled even with the Queen, which led the Dukes to leave Britain, for coming back only after the death of the latter, and, to complete the building, the works of which were arrested, they had to use their own capital, rather than the national one !
The Duchess did not forgive him, and when in 1725 he attempted to visit Blenheim, paying like any other memeber of the public, he was forbidden to enter even the grounds, let alone the house. 1
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- KINGS WESTON HOUSE -
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Kings Weston House was built between 1712 and 1719 for Edward Southwell Jr. (1705-1755), an Anglo-Irish politician, where previously was lying an old building dating back to the Tudor period:
- picture 24 - A reconstruction of the Elizabethan mansion at Kings Weston.
- picture 25 - The ground floor plan of Kings Weston house before it was rebuilt in 1712. (Bristol Record Office)
This building is the only one designed by Vanbrugh outside the London area - we are in fact close to Bristol - and for the first time this is not something so majestic, which doesn't mean that the talent and the creativity of our exceptional gifted man haven't had the possibility to be expressed at their best, just think of the set of chimneis that have been artistically grouped in the center of the roof terrace to form an architectural element of great prestige by appearing as a sort of huge rail, or, if you prefer, an open air temple - what we see today is the result of a reconstruction dating back to 1968, thanks to the use of Bath stone by the warm honey colored tint.
The entire estate has the largest number of buildings ever realized by Vanbrugh within the same property, most of which have been, however, demolished or heavily counterfeited, while the residential components - whose facades have anyway seen altering their original color given the stones extracted on the site, formerly ocher, tend now to a pinkish orange - still remain intact.
But let's don't stop too much on the architectural details, let's take, rather, a quick look to the interiors that show us the connotations of environments by great charm and elegance ...
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- SEATON DELAVAL HALL -
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Seaton Delaval is the last building designed by Vanbrugh which represents the crowning glory of his success, gained with Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace, and is one of the few houses that he designed by himself without the aid of Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Built between 1718 and 1728 for Admiral George Delaval, who wanted to replace its former residence on the site, this house seems rather gloomy, austere, much to enter fully into the architectural environment of the entire Northumberland; it is said that the design of Seaton Delaval was influenced by Palladio's Villa Foscari (also known as "La Malcontenta"), built around 1555: both have rustic stone facades and similar half-moon windows inside a non-porch entrance hall and even the large attic pediment at Villa Foscari hints at the skylight of the Great Hall of Seaton ... we may suppose that Vanbrugh, seeing it, he felt far impressed and wanted to inspired himself to it (among the architects, only Vanbrugh could draw inspiration from one of Palladio's masterpieces, and while maintaining the humanistic values of the building, to alter and adapt them to the Baroque in a unique shape, unseen elsewhere in Europe).
- picture 32
Here, as for Castle Howard and Blenheim, the design that Vanbrugh drew up was that of a 'corpo de logis' containing the main rooms and the living room, which also represents the center of a three-sided courtyard, between two flanking wings, obviously in a different plant than the buildings made previously.
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Towers crowned by balustrades and pinnacles give the house what Vanbrugh considered his 'castle-look' and
- picture 36
even the stables, with their magnificent 60 feet width,were sumptuous,
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full of thoroughbreds only during the hunting season or when the family filled the house with guests for their legendary theater festivals.
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- picture 45 - Seaton Delaval Hall - walled garden
And here we are at the conclusion of this virtual tour made by my side ...
But tell me, don't you also think that it's almost incredible that an emeritus gentleman, a man belonging to the world of the theater, both as an actor and as an author of pièces become famous, architect, not as an amateur, but for mere pleasure, has made works which now belong to the National Trust such heritage of the British art and the whole world, ie buildings unmatched before or since - except for the royal residences, of course?!?
Well, I hope with this to have aroused your enthusiasm and your interest, the English countryside and the patrician houses dominating it are always a reason of great joy for me!
And may your day be generous with joy, I hope it with my whole heart,
see you soon 💕
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., London, 2012.
QUOTATIONS:
1 - Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., London, 2012, pag. 46.
Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY
Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., London, 2012.
QUOTATIONS:
1 - Michael Paterson, PRIVATE LIFE IN BRITAIN'S STATELY HOMES - Masters and Servants in the Golden Age, Constable & Robinson Ltd., London, 2012, pag. 46.
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FLORAL BLISS
Dave's WORDLESS WEDNESDAY
Sandee's WORDLESS WEDNESDAY
