The Building of Castle Howard: Just Where Did this House Come From?

Presented by Dr. Christopher Ridgway

Begun in 1699 by Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, Castle Howard was built by two of England’s greatest architects, Sir John Vanbrugh – adventurer, soldier, playwright, and complete architectural novice, and Nicholas Hawksmoor - an experienced architect who had learned his trade working with Sir Christopher Wren.

Crowned by a massive dome, and boasting two projecting wings, the design of the house astonished 18th-century contemporaries, but how did its bold shape come about? Are there any earlier English buildings that prepare us for this unique house, or did it spring fully-formed from the fertile imaginations of these three ambitious men?

In this talk Christopher Ridgway will trace the origins of Castle Howard during these early years of the 18th century, and the ever-growing vision of the Earl of Carlisle: not content with a magnificent mansion, he would go on to fashion this corner of Yorkshire forever in his own image, creating a sublime landscape filled with monuments, lakes, woodlands, and gardens.

Dr. Christopher Ridgway has been curator at Castle Howard since 1985, and has lectured and published widely on its architecture, landscape, and collections. He is also adjunct professor at Maynooth University, Ireland, and Chair of the Yorkshire Country House Partnership. He has sat on numerous boards and in 2019 was awarded a UK Heritage Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. His latest publication is Country House Collections, Their Lives and Afterlives, co-edited with Terence Dooley (2021).

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