This post is inspired by the Oscar nominated movie “The Favourite”. Intrigued by the leading characters of the movie Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham I read their Wikipedia bios there I read about the Duchess of Marlborough’s work with the architect of Bleinheim Palace, Sir John Vanbrugh. In fact witout it being named the second scene of the movie features the Queen presenting the Duchess with an architectural model of Bleinheim.
Sir John Vanbrugh was born in 1664 and died in 1726 in London. He was an architect and a dramatist. He wrote several plays. His two most famous are The Relapse and The Provoked Wife. His plays were sexually explicit. Ahead of his time he came to the defence of women’s rights in marriage. As an architect his most admired creations are indeed Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He epitomized English Baroque. Vanbrugh was knighted in 1714.
Grimsthorpe Castle
Lincolnshire, England
Home of the Eresby family since 1516
It occupies 3000 acres of land
1516
Stowe House
Buckinghamshire, England
1562
Vanbrugh Castle
As time pases these country homes or castles are sometimes reinvented to continue their life. In this cae Vanbrugh Castle has been divied into 4 privately owned flats. I’m in! Is there anyone who wants me to keep an eye open for them. 1719
Kilbolton Castle
Alterations in 1720
Blenheim Palace
Principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough
Blenheim, Oxfordhsire, England
Originaly intended fur John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough it is featuredin the Movie the Favourite when The Queen offers it to Sarah as a gift.
It is in the English Baroque Style
1722
Seaton Delaval Hall
Northumberland, England
It has never been continuously inhabitated
1718
Kings Weston House
Tudor Style
1719
Castle Howard
North Yorkshire, England
It has been a the private residence of the Howard family for 300 years.
Not a castle but more of a country house – it has been featured in both versions of Bridestead
1799
Lumley Castle
The Georgian Style alterations are attributed to him
[…] As the world around us shuts down and we continue to live our lives creating more and more physical distancing I hope you are staying safe, taking care of yourself and your loved ones. These are difficult times! Something we’ve never experienced before. I was telling a friend yesterday it feels quite surreal and rather heavy. When taking a client out for a showing yesterday afternoon I wore gloves and suggested that for his safety and the owner’s safety he not touch anything. It was odd but it went well! In the spirit of armchair tourism House Beautiful has made a selection of 10 historic homes that have virtual tours. I debated splitting this post in two but left it as one giving you several homes to tour and several hours of solitary activity. Should you wish more activities, the other day I posted At Home Activities which features operas you can stream, museums you can virtually visit, books you can download, colouring books you can download and more. Just as I was about to post, I stumbled upon a post by Architectural Digest & CN Traveler which provides yet other virtual options. And so… Buckingham Palace London, England You may remember that we’d previously explored Buckingham Palace in a post Architurecture – Royal Residences. Vizcaya Museu and Gardens Miami, Florida The Frick Collection New York, New York Monticello Charlottesville, Virginia Frida Kaylo Museum Mexico City, Mexico Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Boston, Massachusetts Lyndhurst Mansion Tarrytown, New York Mount Vernon Mount Vernon, Virginia The Mark Twain House Hartford, Connecticut Blenheim Palace Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England Bleinheim Palace was previously featured in a the post Architect – Sir John Vanbrugh. […]