Born in London in 1664, Sir John Vanbrugh lived a life less ordinary, with various, and sometimes concurrent, careers as an architect, playwright, soldier, spy, courtier, diplomat, theatre impresario, and garden designer. On stage as in his architecture, his experiences and travel inspired and defined some of his most notable work -and some of Britain’s most remarkable buildings.

This celebratory exhibition traces the moment when an ambitious Vanbrugh with a teeming imagination encountered the equally ambitious Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle in the confines of the Kit-Cat Club in London, and was commissioned to design the Earl’s new house. Vanbrugh’s bold, theatrical vision for a grand country mansion was captivating, and inspired Carlisle to take a chance on this would-be architect who had never built anything before, thereby giving rise to the extraordinary Castle Howard.

Staging the Baroque combines showstopping architectural models, film and historical storytelling to recount this extraordinary tale of inspirational collaboration.

The exhibition is included in House and Gardens admission tickets.