It is the chef-d’œuvre of the architect, Sir John Vanbrugh, he who laid in England “many a heavy load,” and whose graceful and emphatically “comfortable” structures, including notably that of Blenheim, adorn several of our English shires. Comparing Castle Howard with Blenheim, Dr. Waagen writes—“The former is less ‘broken up’ than the latter, and though not of equal extent, has a grander and more massive appearance. In the whole arrangement of the mansion and the garden, the architect evidently had Versailles in his mind as the perfection of this style.”
The Mausoleum.
Sir John Vanbrugh was, as his name indicates, of Dutch descent. He was born at Chester in 1666. his father being a sugar-baker in that city. In 1695, his architectural skill having acquired him some reputation, he was appointed one of the commissioners for completing Greenwich Palace, at the time when it was about to be converted into a hospital. In 1702 he built Castle Howard for the Earl of Carlisle, who was so pleased with his skill, that, being at the time Deputy Earl Marshal of England, he conferred upon him the important appointment of Clarencieux King-of-arms. In 1726 he died, and was buried in the church of St. Stephen, Walbrook.
En route to the house, we pass, to the left, in a hollow adjoining a broad lake, the Dairy, a pretty building picturesquely placed; and right before us is a steep ascent, from which there is a fine view—north, south, east, and west.
The Dairy.
The South Front shows Castle Howard in its finest point of view: it is in length 323 feet; the centre consists of a pediment and entablature supported by fluted Corinthian pilasters; and the door is reached by a flight of stately steps. “The North Front consists of an elaborate centre of the Corinthian order, with a cupola rising from the top, and on either side extensive wings—the east according to the original design, the west from a design by Sir James Robinson, which has been more recently built in a very different style from the other wing; and, as the building has been deemed by some architectural critics to be wanting in the qualities of lightness and elegance, and uniformity of parts, to this circumstance is owing the alleged incongruity.”
