Exterior view
by VANBRUGH, John, Photo
From 1699 John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor were commissioned to build Castle Howard, a country seat in New Yorkshire, by the Earl of Carlisle. The complex, between courtyard and garden, consists of corridor-like living quarters. their centre the salon, opening onto the garden, is balanced on the side of the courtyard by the great square hall. This has the effect of a religious space, with its abbreviated transept and the mighty tambour and dome that had never been seen before in English secular architecture.
The picture shows the entrance. The fa�ade, with its alternating twin giant Doric pilasters and double window axes is highly original.