Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork, (25 April 1694 – 4 December 1753) was a British architect and noble often called the "Apollo of the Arts" and the "Architect Earl". The son of the 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork, Burlington never took more than a passing interest in politics despite his position as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

and a member of both the British

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

and the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...

. His great interests in life were architecture and landscaping, and he is remembered for being a builder and a patron of architects, craftsmen and landscapers, Indeed, he is credited with bringing

Palladian architecture Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

to Britain and Ireland. His major projects include

Burlington House Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earls of Burlington and was expanded in the mid-19th century after being purchased by the British government. To ...

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

Chiswick House Chiswick House is a Neo-Palladian style villa in the Chiswick district of London, England. A "glorious" example of Neo-Palladian architecture in west London, the house was designed and built by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694– ...

and Northwick Park.

Life

Lord Burlington was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

into a wealthy

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

family, the only son of

Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington Charles Boyle, 3rd Earl of Cork and 2nd Earl of Burlington, 4th Baron Clifford, PC (died 9 February 1704) was an English peer, courtier and politician. Early life Hon. Charles Boyle was the eldest son of Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan a ...

and his wife, Juliana Boyle ( Noel; 1672–1750). He succeeded to his titles and extensive estates in

and Ireland at the age of nine, after his father's death in February 1704. During his minority, which lasted until 1715, his English and Irish lands, as also his political interests and patronages, were managed by his mother. Burlington showed a fondness for music at an early age.

Georg Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

dedicated two operas to Burlington while staying at his residence

: '' Teseo'' and ''

Amadigi di Gaula ''Amadigi di Gaula'' ( HWV 11) is a "magic" opera in three acts, with music by George Frideric Handel. It was the fifth Italian opera that Handel wrote for an English theatre and the second he wrote for Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington in ...

''. According to Hawkins, Francesco Barsanti dedicated the six recorder sonatas of his Op. 1 to Lord Burlington, although the dedication must have appeared on the edition sold by Peter Bressan, before Walsh & Hare engraved the works c. 1727. Three foreign

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

s taken between 1714 and 1719, and a further trip to Paris in 1726, gave him opportunities to develop his taste. His professional skill as an architect (always supported by a mason-contractor) was extraordinary in an English aristocrat. He carried his copy of

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of ...

's book '' I quattro libri dell'architettura'' with him when touring the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

in 1719, but made notes on a number of blank pages, having found the region flooded and many villas inaccessible. It was on this tour that he acquired the passion for Palladian architecture. In 1719, he was one of the main subscribers of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

, a corporation that produced

baroque opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

on stage. Lord Burlington's first project, appropriately, was one of his own London residences, Burlington House, where he dismissed his

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

architect James Gibbs when he returned from the continent in 1719, and employed the Scottish architect

Colen Campbell Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer, credited as a founder of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As well as his architectura ...

, with the history-painter-turned-designer

William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, bu ...

assigned for the interiors. The courtyard front of Burlington House, prominently sited in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...

, was the first major executed statement of Neo-Palladianism. In the 1720s, Burlington and Campbell parted, and Burlington was assisted in his projects by the young

Henry Flitcroft Henry Flitcroft (30 August 1697 – 25 February 1769) was a major English architect in the second generation of Palladianism. He came from a simple background: his father was a labourer in the gardens at Hampton Court and he began as a joiner by ...

("Burlington Harry"), who developed into a major architect of the second Neo-Palladian generation, Daniel Garrett, a straightforward Palladian architect of the second rank, and some draughtsmen. Lord Burlington never closely inspected Roman ruins or made detailed drawings on the sites; he relied on Palladio and Scamozzi as his interpreters of the classic tradition to do so. Burlington's Palladio drawings include many reconstructions of

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...

' Roman buildings, which he planned to publish. In the meantime, he adapted the palazzo facade in the illustration for the London house of

General Wade Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Alliance before leading the construction of barra ...

at Old Burlington Street in 1723, which was published for ''

Vitruvius Britannicus Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer, credited as a founder of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As well as his architectura ...

'' iii (1725). This publication put a previously unknown Palladio design into circulation. Another source of his inspiration were drawings he collected, some drawings of Palladio himself which had belonged to

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings. As the most notable archit ...

, and many more of Inigo Jones' pupil John Webb, which

published in 1727 (although a date of 1736 is generally accepted) as "Some Designs of Mr Inigo Jones"... with some additional designs that were by Kent and Burlington. The important role of Jones' pupil Webb in transmitting the palladian-neo-palladian heritage was not understood until the 20th century. By the early 1730s, Palladian style had triumphed as the generally accepted manner for a British country house or public building. For the rest of his life, Lord Burlington was "the Apollo of the arts" as

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whig politician. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twi ...

phrased it— and Kent, "his proper priest." In 1739, Lord Burlington was involved in the founding of a new charitable organisation called the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word " hospita ...

. Burlington was a governor of the charity, but did not formally take part in planning the construction of this large

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...

children's home, completed in 1742. The architect for the building was a

Theodore Jacobsen Theodore Jacobsen (died 1772) was an English merchant in London, known also as an architect. Life Jacobsen was a merchant in Basinghall Street, London. He was the London-born son of Sir Jacob Jacobsen, a north German merchant, of a family closel ...

, who took on the commission as an act of charity. Many of Lord Burlington's projects have suffered from rebuilding or additions, from fire, or from losses due to urban sprawl. In many cases, his ideas were informal: at

Holkham Hall Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for the 1st Earl of Leicester,The Earldom of Leicester has been, to date, created seven times. Thomas ...

, the architect

Matthew Brettingham Matthew Brettingham (1699 – 19 August 1769), sometimes called Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an 18th-century Englishman who rose from humble origins to supervise the construction of Holkham Hall, and become one of the country's best-know ...

recalled that "the general ideas were first struck out by the Earl of Burlington and the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

, assisted by Mr. William Kent." Brettingham's engraved publication of Holkham credited Burlington specifically with the ceilings for the portico and the north dressing room. Lord Burlington's architectural drawings, inherited by his son-in-law,

William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, (8 May 1720 – 2 October 1764), styled Lord Cavendish before 1729, and Marquess of Hartington between 1729 and 1755, was a British Whig statesman and nobleman who was briefly nominal 5th Prime Mini ...

, are preserved at

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the Cavendish family since 1549. It stands on the east bank of the ...

, and enable attributions that would not otherwise be possible. In 1751, he sent some of his drawings to Francesco Algarotti in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

, together with a book on Vitruvius. Image:PalladioPalazzoJonesBurlingon.jpg, Palazzo facade drawn by

, purchased in Italy by

. Burlington purchased it from the heirs of Jones' pupil John Webb and adapted it for the London house of General Wade. Note the

Palladian window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

. Image:Burlington house1855.gif,

's Burlington House as it was in 1855, before a third storey was added. Image:Chiswickoctagon.jpg, Plate 72, Cross-section of Octagon at Chiswick House, Richard Boyle, 1727, V&A Museum no. 12957:33.

Major projects

, Piccadilly, London: Lord Burlington's own contribution to the house is likely to have been restricted to the former colonnade (demolished 1868) of the building. A monumental screening gateway to Piccadilly was built and the principle interiors of the house were reconstructed with typical Palladian features. In London, Burlington offered designs for features at several aristocratic free-standing dwellings, none of which have survived: Queensbury House in

Burlington Gardens Burlington Gardens is a street in central London, on land that was once part of the Burlington Estate. Location The street is immediately to the north of the Royal Academy of Arts and joins Old Bond Street and New Bond Street in the west and V ...

(a gateway); Warwick House, Warwick Street (interiors); Richmond House,

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

(the main building). * Tottenham House, Wiltshire, for his brother-in-law,

Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury (later styled Aylesbury) and 4th Earl of Elgin (29 May 1682 – 10 February 1747), of Ampthill, Bedfordshire and Savernake Park, Wiltshire, styled Viscount Bruce of Ampthill from 1685 to 1741, was a British ...

: Built from 1721, executed by Lord Burlington's protégé Henry Flitcroft (enlarged and remodelled since). In the original house, the high corner pavilion blocks of Inigo Jones'

Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution ...

were provided with the "

" motif to be seen at Burlington House. Burlington, with a good eye for garden effects, also designed the ornamental buildings in the park (now demolished). *

, the Dormitory: Built between 1722 – 1730 (altered, bombed, and restored), the first public work by Lord Burlington, for which Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 church ...

had provided a design which was rejected in favor of Burlington's, exhibited as a triumph for the Palladians and a sign of changing English taste. * Old Burlington Street, London: Houses, including one for General Wade which was built in 1723 (demolished). General Wade's house rendered the genuine Palladio facade in Lord Burlington's collection of drawings. * Waldershare Park, Kent, the Belvedere Tower: Built between 1725 – 27. A design for an eye-catcher garden that might have been attributed to Colen Campbell were it not have been for a ground plan found among Lord Burlington's drawings at Chatsworth House. * Chiswick House Villa, Middlesex: The "

Casina Casina ( egl, label= Montanaro, Caṡîna ; egl, label= Reggiano, Caṡèina ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Reggio ...

" in the gardens, constructed in 1717, was Lord Burlington's first essay. The

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became ...

, built between 1727 and 1729, is considered to be the finest remaining example of Neo-Palladain architecture in London and one of the gems of European 18th-century architecture. An attempt made by Burlington to create a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

situated in a symbolic Roman garden. He built the villa with enough space to house his art collection, regarded as containing "some of the best pictures in Europe", and his more select pieces of furniture, some of which was purchased on his first Grand Tour of Europe in 1714. * Sevenoaks School, School House: Built in 1730. The school depicts classic Palladian work, commissioned by Lord Burlington's friend

Elijah Fenton Elijah Fenton (20 May 1683 – 16 July 1730) was an English poet, biographer and translator. Life Born in Shelton (now Stoke-on-Trent), and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, for a time he acted as secretary to the Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of O ...

. * The

York Assembly Rooms The York Assembly Rooms is an 18th-century assembly rooms building in York, England, originally used as a place for high class social gatherings in the city. The building is situated on Blake Street and is a Grade I listed building. Designed ...

: Built between 1731 – 32 (facade remodelled). In the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

-like space, Lord Burlington attempted an archaeological reconstruction "with doctrinaire exactitude" (Colvin 1995) of the "Egyptian Hall" described by

, as it had been interpreted in Palladio's ''Quattro Libri.'' The result was one of the grandest Palladian public spaces. * Castle Hill, Devonshire. * Northwick Park, Gloucestershire. * Kirby Hall, Yorkshire (an elevation).

Marriage and children

Burlington married Lady Dorothy Savile on 21 March 1720, the daughter of William Savile, 2nd Marquess of Halifax and his second wife, Lady Mary Finch. Mary was the daughter of

Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, PC (2 July 16471 January 1730) was an English Tory statesman who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Origins He was born on 2 July 1647, the son of Heneage Finch, 1st Ea ...

and Lady Essex Rich (died 1684). Essex was the daughter of Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick, and Anne Cheeke. Anne was the daughter of Sir Thomas Cheeke of

Pirgo Pyrgo Park is a park at Havering-atte-Bower in the London Borough of Havering, in North East London, England. It is the site of the former Pirgo Palace, built before 1540 and demolished by 1814; and of Pyrgo House, built 1852, which lasted les ...

and an earlier Lady Essex Rich (died 1659). This Lady Essex was the daughter of

Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick Robert Rich, 3rd Baron Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick (December 1559 – 24 March 1619), was an English nobleman, known as Baron Rich between 1581 and 1618, when he was created Earl of Warwick. He was the first husband of Penelope Devereux, whom he d ...

and Lady Penelope Devereux. Essex was probably named after her maternal grandfather

Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, KG (16 September 1541 – 22 September 1576), was an English nobleman and general. From 1573 until his death he fought in Ireland in connection with the Plantations of Ireland, most notably the Rathlin Isl ...

. Her maternal grandmother was

Lettice Knollys Lettice Knollys ( , sometimes latinized as Laetitia, alias Lettice Devereux or Lettice Dudley), Countess of Essex and Countess of Leicester (8 November 1543Adams 2008a – 25 December 1634), was an English noblewoman and mother to the courtier ...

. They had three daughters: * Lady Dorothy Boyle (14 May 1724 – 2 May 1742). She was married to

George FitzRoy, Earl of Euston George FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (1715–1747) was an English aristocrat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1737 to 1747. He was disowned by his father for his brutal treatment of his wife and tenants. Early life and education Fit ...

, second son of

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, (25 October 1683 – 6 May 1757) was an Irish and English politician. Early life He was the only child and heir of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663–1690) (an illegitimate son of King Charles I ...

and Lady Henrietta Somerset. No known descendants. * Lady Julianna Boyle (1727–1730). * Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle (27 October 1731 – 8 December 1754). She married

William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington William John Robert Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (10 December 1917 – 9 September 1944) was a British politician and British Army officer. He was the elder son of Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, and therefore the heir to the duke ...

(later

Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and ha ...

after her death). They were parents to

William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, (14 December 1748 – 29 July 1811), was a British nobleman, aristocrat, and politician. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, by his wife, the heiress Lady Charlotte B ...

, George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington, and two other children. Burlington died at Chiswick House, aged 59. Upon his death, the Earldom of Cork passed to a cousin, John Boyle, and the title of the Earl of Burlington became extinct. It was recreated in 1831 for his grandson, George Cavendish, and is now held by the Cavendish family as a courtesy title for the Dukes of Devonshire.

Gallery of architectural works

File:Chiswick House.jpg, Chiswick House Entrance Front File:Chiswick House 311.jpg, Chiswick House Garden Front File:South western view of Chiswick Villa showing Venetian window.jpg, Chiswick House south western view File:Collegedorm.jpg, Westminster School Dormitory File:Burlington House in 1854.jpg, Burlington House File:Holkham Hall - geograph.org.uk - 206890.jpg, Holkham Hall File:Tottenham House about 1790.JPG, Tottenham House

References

;Additional sources: *

Howard Colvin Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field: ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840 ...

(1995). ''Dictionary of British Architects''. 3rd ed. * ''Handel. A Celebration of his Life and Times 1685–1759''.

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

External links