View source for Matthew Brettingham

{{short description|English architect}}
{{about|the architect born in 1699|his son|Matthew Brettingham the Younger}}
{{featured article}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox architect
| name = Matthew Brettingham
| image = Matthew Brettingham the Elder.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Portrait by [[John Theodore Heins]], 1749
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1699}}
| birth_place = [[Norwich]], England
| death_date = 19 August 1769 (aged 69–70)
| death_place = Norwich, England
| occupation = [[Architect]]
| years_active = 
| spouse = 
| awards = 
| practice = 
| significant_buildings = {{Plainlist|
*[[Holkham Hall]]
*[[Kedleston Hall]]
*[[Norfolk House]]
*[[Cumberland House]]
}}
| significant_projects = 
| significant_design = 
| signature = 
}}
'''Matthew Brettingham''' (1699&nbsp;– 19 August 1769), sometimes called '''Matthew Brettingham the Elder''', was an English architect who supervised the construction of [[Holkham Hall]], and became one of the best-known architects of his generation, despite coming from modest origins. Much of his principal work has since been demolished, particularly his work in London, where he revolutionised the design of the grand [[townhouse (Great Britain)|townhouse]]. As a result, he is often overlooked today, remembered principally for his [[Palladian]] remodelling of numerous country houses, many of them situated in the [[East Anglia]] area of [[Great Britain|Britain]]. As Brettingham neared the pinnacle of his career, Palladianism began to fall out of fashion and [[neoclassicism]] was introduced, championed by the young [[Robert Adam]].

Born in Norwich, into a family of craftsmen, Brettingham worked initially as a surveyor, gaining experience through jobs for the city's civic authorities. Work included restorations at [[Norwich Cathedral]], at [[Norwich Castle|the castle]], at the local prison and [[Shirehall, Norwich|the shire hall]]. His professional ascent began in [[1743]] with his appointment to the post of [[Clerk of Works]] at Holkham. The succeeding decades saw many aristocratic commissions, predominantly in East Anglia, but including work at [[Kedleston Hall]] in Derbyshire.

In addition to designing their [[English country house|country houses]], Brettingham developed a substantial practice in the construction of town houses for the aristocracy. Major commissions included [[Norfolk House]] and [[Cumberland House]]. Drawing inspiration from Italian urban palazzi, and from [[Andrea Palladio]]'s [[Palladian villas of the Veneto|rural villas]], he created a style and arrangements of rooms perfectly suited to the lavish entertaining undertaken by the mid-18th-century nobility. Here, as in the country, he was ultimately superseded, and his reputation eclipsed, by the rise and success of Robert Adam. Brettingham died in 1769. His son, [[Matthew Brettingham the Younger]], also pursued an  architectural career.

==Early life==
Brettingham was born in 1699, the second son of Launcelot Brettingham (1664–1727), a [[bricklayer]] or stonemason from [[Norwich]], the [[county town]] of [[Norfolk]], England.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://www.parksandgardens.org/people/matthew-brettingham-the-elder|title=Matthew Brettingham the Elder|publisher=Parks&Gardens UK|access-date=17 November 2023|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117175357/https://www.parksandgardens.org/people/matthew-brettingham-the-elder|url-status=live}}</ref> The younger Brettingham married Martha Bunn (c. 1697–1783) at [[St Augustine's Church, Norwich]], on 17 May 1721 and they had nine children together.<ref name="Lucas">{{cite web|url=http://www.norwichchurches.co.uk/monuments/Matthew%20Brettingham/Matthew%20Brettingham.html|first=Robin|last=Lucas|title=Matthew Brettingham the Elder (1699–1769) – Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|date=2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112014809/http://www.norwichchurches.co.uk/monuments/Matthew%20Brettingham/Matthew%20Brettingham.html |access-date=13 January 2024|archive-date=12 January 2008 }}</ref> His early life is little documented, and one of the earliest recorded references to him is in 1719, when he and his elder brother Robert were admitted to the city of Norwich as [[wikt:freeman|freemen]] bricklayers. A critic of Brettingham's at this time claimed that his work was so poor that it was not worth the nine [[shilling]]s a week (£{{formatnum:{{inflation|UK|0.45|1719}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}) he was paid as a [[artisan|craftsman]] bricklayer.{{sfn|Howell|1964|p=345}} Whatever the quality of his bricklaying, he soon advanced himself and became a building [[independent contractor|contractor]].{{sfn|Howell|1964|p=345}}

==Local contractor==
[[Image:Norwich Castle keep, 2009.jpg|270px|thumb|left|alt=Norwich Castle, repaired by Brettingham|Brettingham repaired Norwich Castle]]
During the early eighteenth century, a building contractor had far more responsibilities than the title suggests today. A contractor often designed, built, and oversaw all the details of a building's construction to completion. Architects, often called [[Surveyor (surveying)|surveyors]], were employed only for the grandest and largest of buildings. By 1730, Brettingham is referred to as a surveyor, working on more important structures than [[cottage]]s and agricultural buildings. In 1731, it is recorded that he was paid £112 (£{{formatnum:{{inflation|UK|112|1731|r=-2}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}) for his work on Norwich Gaol.{{sfn|Howell|1964|p=346}} From then, he appears to have worked regularly as the surveyor to the Justices (the contemporary local authority) on public buildings and bridges throughout the 1740s. Projects dating from this time include the remodelling of the Shirehouse in Norwich,{{sfn|Howell|1964|p=346}} the construction of [[Lenwade]] Bridge over the [[river Wensum]] in 1741,<ref name="Lucas"/> repairs to the façade of [[Norwich Cathedral]] in the 1740s,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?TNF2318-Norfolk-Architects-(Article)|title=Norfolk Architects: Matthew Brettingham (1699–1769)|publisher=[[Norfolk County Council]]|access-date=13 January 2024|archive-date=13 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113084452/https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?TNF2318-Norfolk-Architects-(Article)|url-status=live}}</ref> and to [[Norwich Castle]] between 1747 and 1749,<ref name="auto1"/> as well as the rebuilding of much of [[King's Lynn Minster|St Margaret's Church, King's Lynn]], which had been severely damaged by the collapse of its spire in 1742.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1211336|desc=Church of St Margaret, Saturday Market Place|grade=I|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref><ref name="Lucas"/> His work on the Shirehouse, which was in the [[Gothic architecture|gothic]] style and showed a versatility of design rare for Brettingham, was to result in a protracted court case that was to rumble on through a large part of his life, with allegations of financial discrepancies.{{sfn|Howell|1964|p=348}} In 1755, the case was eventually closed, and Brettingham was left several hundred [[Pound Sterling|pounds]] out of pocket—several tens of thousands, in present-day terms—and with a stain—if only a local one—on his character. Transcripts of the case suggest that it was Brettingham's brother Robert, to whom he had subcontracted and who was responsible for the flint stonework of the Shirehouse, who may have been the cause of the allegations.{{sfn|Howell|1964|p=349}}{{sfn|Colvin|1995|p=155}} Brettingham's brief flirtation with the Gothic style, in the words of Robin Lucas, indicates "the approach of an engineer rather than an antiquary" and is "now seen as outlandish".<ref name="Lucas"/> The Shirehouse was demolished in 1822.{{sfn|Colvin|1995|p=157}}

==Architect==
[[File:Holkham Hall South.jpg|thumb|left|270px|alt=Holkham Hall, by architect Matthew Brettingham portico with two square flanking wings|[[Holkham Hall]]. Matthew Brettingham's first notable employment was here as [[Clerk of the Works]] and executive architect in 1734]]

In 1734, Brettingham had his first great opportunity when two of the foremost Palladian architects of the day, [[William Kent]] and [[Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington|Lord Burlington]], were collaboratively designing a grandiose Palladian country [[palace]], [[Holkham Hall]], at [[Holkham]] in Norfolk for [[Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation)|Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1373659|desc=Holkham Hall|grade=I|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> Brettingham was appointed [[Clerk of Works]] (sometimes referred to as executive architect),{{sfn|Nicolson|1965|p=247}} at an annual salary of £50 (£{{formatnum:{{inflation|UK|50|1734|r=-2}}}} per year in {{CURRENTYEAR}}). He retained the position until the Earl died in 1759. The illustrious architects were mostly absent; indeed, Burlington was more of an [[idealist]] than an architect, thus Brettingham and the patron Lord Leicester were left to work on the project together, with the practical Brettingham interpreting the architects' plans to Leicester's requirements. It was at Holkham that Brettingham first worked with the fashionable Palladian style, which was to be his trademark. Holkham was to be Brettingham's springboard to fame, as it was through his association with it that he came to the attention of other local [[patron]]s, and further work at [[Heydon Hall]]<ref>{{NHLE|num=1000187|desc=Heydon Hall Park and Gardens|grade=II*|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> and [[Honingham Hall]] established Brettingham as a local country-house architect.{{sfn|Colvin|1995|pp=155–157}}

Brettingham was commissioned in 1742 to redesign [[Langley Hall]], a [[mansion]] standing in its own parkland in South Norfolk.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1306509|desc=Langley Park School|grade=I|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> His design was very much in the Palladian style of Holkham, though much smaller: a large principal central block linked to two flanking secondary wings by short corridors. The corner [[tower]]s, while similar to those later designed by Brettingham at [[Euston Hall]], were the work of a later owner and architect. The [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] entrance lodges were a later addition, by Sir [[John Soane]]. In 1743, Brettingham began work on the construction of [[Hanworth Hall]], Norfolk, also in the Palladian style, with a nine-bay façade of brick with the centre three bays projected with a [[pediment]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1049863|desc=Hanworth Hall|grade=I|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref>

In 1745, Brettingham designed [[Gunton Hall]] in Norfolk for Sir [[Baron Suffield|William Harbord]], three years after the former house on the site was gutted by fire.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1049868|desc=Gunton Park|grade=II*|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref> The new house of brick had a principal façade like that of Hanworth Hall, however, this larger house was seven bays deep, and had a large service wing on its western side.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1000331|desc=Gunton Park, park and gardens|grade=II*|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref> His commissions began to come from further afield: [[Goodwood House|Goodwood]] in Sussex and Marble Hill, [[Twickenham]].<ref name="Lucas" />{{sfn|Colvin|1995|p=156}}

[[Image:Gunton Park. Print 1819. by JP Neale..jpg|thumb|left|270px|alt=Gunton Hall, designed by Matthew Brettingham country house across a pond|Gunton Hall, designed by Matthew Brettingham]]

In 1750, now well-known, the architect received an important commission to remodel [[Euston Hall]] in East Anglia, the Suffolk country seat of the influential [[Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton|2nd Duke of Grafton]].{{sfn|Colvin|1995|p=156}}<ref>{{NHLE|num=1376940|desc=Euston Hall|grade=II*|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> The original house, built circa 1666 in the French style, was built around a central [[courtyard|court]] with large [[pavilions]] at each corner. While keeping the original layout, Brettingham formalised the [[window|fenestration]] and imposed a more classically severe order whereby the pavilions were transformed to towers in the Palladian fashion (similar to those of [[Inigo Jones]]'s at [[Wilton House]]). The pavilions' [[dome]]s were replaced by low [[pyramid]] roofs similar to those at Holkham. Brettingham also created the large service courtyard at Euston that now acts as the entrance court to the mansion, which today is only a fraction of its former size.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eustonhall.co.uk/history|title=The History of Euston Hall|publisher=Euston Hall|access-date=13 January 2024|archive-date=13 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113101725/https://www.eustonhall.co.uk/history|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Euston commission seems to have brought Brettingham firmly to the notice of other wealthy patrons. In 1751, he began work for [[Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont]] at [[Petworth House]], Sussex. He continued work intermittently at Petworth for the next twelve years, including designing a new picture gallery from 1754, and a pair of lodges, originally called [[Gog and Magog]] but renamed the [[Gohanna]] lodges in honour of Lord Egremont's prize-winning racehorse, in 1756–1763.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jollands.com/gohanna|title=Gohanna Lodges|publisher=Giles Jollands Architect|access-date=18 November 2023|archive-date=18 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118054812/https://www.jollands.com/gohanna|url-status=live}}</ref> Over the same period his country-house work included alterations at [[Moor Park (house)|Moor Park]], Hertfordshire;<ref>{{NHLE|num=1173698|desc=Moor Park and Orangery/Stable block|grade=I|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> [[Wortley Hall]], Yorkshire;<ref>{{NHLE|num=1192585|desc=Wortley Hall with Attached South-Front Terrace and Steps Including Attached Retaining Wall and Steps|grade=II*|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> Wakefield Lodge, Northamptonshire;{{efn|Wakefield Lodge, a hunting lodge for the Dukes of Grafton, is generally attributed to [[William Kent]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1371656|desc=Wakefield Lodge|grade=II*|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> However, as at Holkham, exact attribution is uncertain. In a paper for [[The Georgian Group]] published in 1993, Richard Hewlings suggests Brettingham may have had considerable input, perhaps executing Kent's initial designs.{{sfn|Hewlings|1993|p=43–61}}}} and Benacre House, Suffolk.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1032108|desc=Benacre Hall Stables|grade=II|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref><ref name="Lucas" />{{sfn|Colvin|1995|p=156}}

==London townhouses==
[[Image:J Bowles's view of St James's Square.jpg|thumb|270px|alt=St James's Square in the 1750s: Brettingham designed Norfolk House on the far right.|St James's Square in the 1750s: Brettingham designed [[Norfolk House]] on the far right]]

From 1747, Brettingham operated from London as well as Norwich. This period marks a turning point in his career, as he was now no longer designing country houses and farm buildings just for the local aristocrats and the Norfolk [[gentry]], but for the greater aristocracy based in London.{{sfn|Howell|1964|p=350}}

One of Brettingham's greatest solo commissions came when he was asked to design a town house for [[Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk]] in [[St James's Square]], London.{{sfn|Girouard|1978|p=196}} Completed in 1756, the exterior of this mansion was similar to those of many of the great ''palazzi'' in Italian cities: bland and featureless, the [[piano nobile]] distinguishable only by its tall pedimented windows. This arrangement, devoid of [[pilaster]]s and a pediment giving prominence to the central bays at roof height, was initially too severe for the English taste, even by the fashionable Palladian standards of the day. Early critics declared the design "insipid".{{sfn|Girouard|1978|p=197}} There were, however, exceptions to this view; after attending the opening party in 1756, [[Horace Walpole]] described the house as "a scene of magnificence and taste".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/norfolk-house-londons-missing-palace-178996|first=John Martin|last=Robinson|title=Norfolk House: The lost London palace that was razed to the ground, recreated 80 years on|publisher=[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]]|date=10 June 2018|access-date=17 November 2023|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117121107/https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/norfolk-house-londons-missing-palace-178996|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Image:York (Cumberland) House Pall Mall.jpg|thumb|left|150px|alt=Plan of the ground and first floors of York House|Plan of the ground and first floors of York House. Illustrating a circuit of rooms rather than an enfilade]]

But it was the design of the interior of [[Norfolk House]] that was particularly influential, coming to define the layout and ground plan of the London town house for the next century.{{sfn|Girouard|1978|p=197}} The floor plan was based on an adaptation of one of the secondary wings he had built at Holkham Hall.{{sfn|Girouard|1978|p=195}} A circuit of reception rooms centred on a grand staircase, with the staircase hall replacing the Italian traditional inner courtyard or two-storey hall. This arrangement of salons allowed the circulation of guests at large parties; having been received at the head of the staircase they were able to move through the reception rooms without having to double back on later-arriving guests. The second advantage was that while each room had access to the next, it also had access to the central stairs, thus allowing only one or two rooms to be used at a time for smaller functions. Previously, guests in London houses could only reach the principal salon by progressing through a long enfilade of minor reception rooms. In this square and compact way, Brettingham came close to recreating the layout of an original Palladian [[villa]]. He transformed what [[Andrea Palladio]] had conceived as a country retreat into a London mansion appropriate for the lifestyle of the British aristocracy, with its reversal of the usual Italian domestic pattern of a large ''palazzo'' in town, and a smaller villa in the country. As happened so often in Brettingham's career, [[Robert Adam]] later developed this design concept further, and was credited with its success. However, Brettingham's plan for Norfolk House was to serve as the [[prototype]] for many London mansions over the next few decades.{{sfn|Girouard|1978|p=197}}{{sfn|Sheppard|1960|pp=187–202}}

Brettingham's additional work in London included two more houses in St James's Square: No. 5 for the [[William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford (1722-1791)|2nd Earl of Strafford]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bdgsp.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/5-St-Jamess-Square-SW1-Final-BDGSP.pdf|title=5 St James's Square|publisher=BDG Sparkes Porter|access-date=18 November 2023|archive-date=18 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118055358/https://www.bdgsp.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/5-St-Jamess-Square-SW1-Final-BDGSP.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and No. 13 for [[Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1235824|desc=13 St James's Square|grade=II*|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Sheppard|1960|pp=99–103}}{{sfn|Sheppard|1960|pp=136–149}} Lord Egremont, for whom Brettingham was working in the country at Petworth, gave Brettingham another opportunity to design a grandiose London mansion—the Egremont family's town house. Begun in 1759, this Palladian palace, known at the time as Egremont House, or more modestly as 94 Piccadilly, is one of the few great London town houses still standing. It later came to be known as [[Cambridge House]] and was the home of [[Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]], and then of the [[Naval & Military Club]]. The club sold the house at the end of the 20th century, and planning permissions for conversion, firstly to a single private house and subsequently to a hotel and apartments, were approved in 2007, 2013 and 2017.<ref>City of Westminster (25 October 2007) [http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/csu/Planning_Applications_Sub-Committee/Minutes_2007/33-%20Minutes%2025%20October%202007.doc Minutes of Planning Applications Sub-Committee 3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410025635/http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/csu/Planning_Applications_Sub-Committee/Minutes_2007/33-%20Minutes%2025%20October%202007.doc |date=10 April 2008 }}. Retrieved on 10 March 2008.</ref> As at 2021, the plans remained uncompleted.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/hidden-wonders|first=David|last=Taylor|title=Hidden wonders in London's Piccadilly|publisher=Construction Index|date=30 December 2021|access-date=18 November 2023|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117162053/https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/hidden-wonders|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Kedleston Hall==
[[Image:North Front of Kedleston Hall.png|600px|thumb|center|alt=The North Front of Kedleston Hall main house with two flanking houses|The North Front of Kedleston Hall "has been described as 'the grandest Palladian façade in Britain, and with few rivals anywhere in the world'"{{sfn|National Trust|1998|p=10}}]]

In 1759 Sir [[Viscount Scarsdale#Barons Scarsdale (1761)|Nathaniel Curzon, later 1st Baron Scarsdale]], commissioned Brettingham to design a great country house on his Derbyshire estate. Thirty years before a prospective design for a new Kedleston Hall had been drawn up by [[James Gibbs]], one of the leading architects of the day,{{sfn|National Trust|1998|p=7}} but Curzon wanted his new house to match the style and taste of Holkham. Lord Leicester, Holkham's owner and Brettingham's employer, was a particular hero of Curzon's.{{sfn|Jackson-Stops|1990|p=94}} Curzon was a [[Tory]] from a very old Derbyshire family, and he wished to create a showpiece to rival the nearby [[Chatsworth House]] owned by the [[British Whig Party|Whig]] [[Duke of Devonshire]], whose family were relative newcomers in the county, having arrived little more than two hundred years earlier.{{sfn|Jackson-Stops|1990|p=96}} However, the Duke of Devonshire's influence, wealth, and title were far superior to Curzon's, and Curzon was unable either to complete his house or to outdo the Devonshires ([[William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire]], had been prime minister in the 1750s). This commission might have been the ultimate accolade Brettingham was seeking, to recreate Holkham but this time with full credit. [[Kedleston Hall]] was designed by Brettingham on a plan by Palladio for the unbuilt Villa Mocenigo.{{sfn|Jackson-Stops|1990|p=94}} The design by Brettingham, similar to that of Holkham Hall, was for a massive principal central block flanked by four secondary wings, each a miniature [[country house]], themselves linked by [[Quadrant (architecture)|quadrant]] corridors.{{sfn|Harling|1969|p=126}} From the outset of the project, Curzon seems to have presented Brettingham with rivals. In 1759, while Brettingham was still supervising the construction of the initial phase, the northeast family block, Curzon employed architect [[James Paine (architect)|James Paine]], the most notable architect of the day, to supervise the kitchen block and quadrants.{{sfn|Jackson-Stops|1990|p=95}} Paine also went on to supervise the construction of Brettingham's great north front. However, this was a critical moment for architecture in England. Palladianism was being challenged by a new taste for neoclassical designs, one exponent of which was [[Robert Adam]].{{sfn|Jackson-Stops|1990|p=95}} Curzon had met Adam as early as 1758, and had been impressed by the young architect newly returned from Rome. He employed Adam to design some garden [[pavilions]] for the new Kedleston.{{sfn|National Trust|1998|p=9}} So impressed was Curzon by Adam's work that by April 1760 he had put Adam in sole charge of the design of the new mansion, replacing both Brettingham and Paine.{{sfn|National Trust|1998|p=9}} Adam completed the north façade of the mansion much as Brettingham had designed it, only altering Brettingham's intended portico.{{efn|The architectural critic, Benjamin Forgey, in a review of the Kedleston exhibition at the [[The Octagon House|Octagon Museum]] in Washington, D.C., in 1987, drew a contrast between the Brettingham/Paine north front, and Adam's south façade; "the north front, its pedimented centerpiece and symmetrical wings designed mainly by Brettingham and/or Paine (but with a few telling alterations by Adam), is an impressive neoclassical exercise, strong, simple, clear. The south front, designed by Adam in 1760, is a vastly more muscular, more original undertaking, with projecting domed rotunda, sweeping double staircase and powerful Corinthian columns combined with elegant surface decorations".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/11/21/robert-adams-world-of-details/5642ea63-b37a-4b5f-8546-103ac013129e/|last=Forgey|first=Benjamin|title=Robert Adam's World of Details|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=21 November 1987|access-date=18 November 2023|archive-date=3 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203043359/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/11/21/robert-adams-world-of-details/5642ea63-b37a-4b5f-8546-103ac013129e/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}{{sfn| National Trust|1998|p=10}} The basic layout of the house remained loyal to Brettingham's original plan, although only two of the proposed four secondary wings were executed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/109257|title=Plan of the principal floor of Kedleston Hall (as built) – Item NT109257|publisher=National Trust|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref>

Brettingham moved on to other projects. In the 1760s, he was approached by his most illustrious patron, [[Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany]] (brother of King [[George III]]), to design one of the greatest mansions in [[Pall Mall, London|Pall Mall]], [[York House, Pall Mall|York House]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.soane.org/SCHEME692|title=Cumberland House, 86 Pall Mall|publisher=[[Sir John Soane's Museum]]|access-date=18 November 2023|archive-date=18 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118091605/https://collections.soane.org/SCHEME692|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Sheppard|1960|pp=364–367}} The rectangular mansion that Brettingham designed was built in the Palladian style on two principal floors, with the [[state room]]s as at Norfolk House, arranged in a circuit around the central staircase hall. The house was a mere [[pastiche]] of Norfolk House, but for Brettingham it had the kudos of a royal occupant.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ribapix.com/designs-for-alterations-to-cumberland-house-formerly-york-house-86-pall-mall-london-plan-of-the-third-floor_riba82118|title=Designs for alterations to Cumberland House (formerly York House) 86 Pall Mall, London|publisher=[[RIBA]]|access-date=17 November 2023|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117124937/https://www.ribapix.com/designs-for-alterations-to-cumberland-house-formerly-york-house-86-pall-mall-london-plan-of-the-third-floor_riba82118|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[Image:Plan of Holkham Hall.png|thumb|alt=Brettingham published the plans of Holkham Hall in 1761|In 1761, Brettingham published the plans of Holkham Hall, signing each plate in the lower left corner "Matthew Brettingham, Architect"]]

Its royal occupant may very well have made York House the pinnacle of Brettingham's career. Built during the 1760s, it was one of his last grand houses. His last country-house commission was at [[Packington Hall]], Warwickshire.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1116473|desc=Packington Hall|grade=II*|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> In 1761, he published his plans of Holkham Hall, calling himself the architect, which led critics, including [[Horace Walpole]], to decry him as a purloiner of Kent's designs.{{efn|A portrait of Brettingham by John Theodore Heins Senior, showing him holding a drawing of the Triumphal Arch at Holkham, is held in the library of the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/matthew-brettingham-the-elder-16991769-216399|title=Matthew Brettingham the Elder (1699–1769)|publisher=Art UK|access-date=18 November 2023|archive-date=18 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118073356/https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/matthew-brettingham-the-elder-16991769-216399|url-status=live}}</ref>}}<ref name="Lucas" />{{sfn|Wilson|1984|pp=175–176}} Brettingham died on 19 August 1769 at his house outside St Augustine's Gate, Norwich, and was buried in the aisle of the parish church.<ref name="Lucas"/><ref name="auto1"/> Throughout his long career, Brettingham did much to popularise the Palladian movement.<ref>Centre for Urban History, School of Historical Studies, University of Leicester (25 June 2007) [http://www.le.ac.uk/urbanhist/resources/smalltowns/appendices.html Architecture: The Classical Style] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010045616/http://www.le.ac.uk/urbanhist/resources/smalltowns/appendices.html |date=10 October 2007 }}. Retrieved on 7 March 2008.</ref> His clients included a royal duke and at least twenty-one assorted [[peerage|peers]] and peeresses. He is not a household name today largely because his provincial work was heavily influenced by Kent and Burlington, and unlike his contemporary [[Giacomo Leoni]] he did not develop, or was not given the opportunity to develop, a strong personal stamp to his work on country houses. Ultimately, he and many of his contemporary architects were eclipsed by the designs of Robert Adam. Adam remodelled Brettingham's York House in 1780 and, having supplanted both Brettingham and [[James Paine (architect)|James Paine]] at Kedleston, went on to replace Paine as architect at [[Nostell Priory]],<ref>{{NHLE|num=1262071|desc=Nostell Priory|grade=I|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref> [[Alnwick Castle]],<ref>{{NHLE|num=1371308|desc=Alnwick Castle|grade=I|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref> and [[Syon House]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.soane.org/SCHEME892|title=Syon House, Brentford, Greater London: designs for the interior and the park for the 1st Duke of Northumberland, 1761–69|publisher=[[Sir John Soane's Museum]]|access-date=17 November 2023|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117133948/https://collections.soane.org/SCHEME892|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Brettingham's principal contribution to architectural change was perhaps the design of the grand London town house; often with unremarkable exteriors, Brettingham replaced the traditional long Baroque [[enfilade]]s with a circulating plan of reception rooms suitable for lavish and large scale entertaining. Many of these anachronistic palaces are now long demolished; York House was torn down between 1908 and 1912, and Norfolk House in 1938;{{efn|The panelling from the music room at Norfolk House, decorated by [[Giovanni Battista Borra]], survives in the collection of the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O11094/panelled-room/|title=Panelled Room|publisher=[[V&A]]|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref>}}{{sfn|Colvin|1995|pp=156–157}} or have been transformed for other uses and are inaccessible for public viewing. Hence, what little remains in London of his work is generally unknown. Outside of London, of Brettingham's work, only the buildings he re-modelled have survived, and for this reason Brettingham tends to be thought of as an "improver" rather than an architect of country houses. His entry in the [[Art UK]] directory describes him as "never more than an orthodox and unenterprising Palladian."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/matthew-brettingham-the-elder-16991769-216399|title=Matthew Brettingham the Elder (1699–1769)|publisher=[[Art UK]]|access-date=13 January 2024|archive-date=19 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119144838/https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/matthew-brettingham-the-elder-16991769-216399|url-status=live}}</ref> George Wardlaw Burnet's entry in the 1885 [[Dictionary of National Biography]] concluded, "Exhibiting no great novelty of conception, it must be admitted he displayed knowledge and skill equal to those of any architect of his time".{{sfn|Burnet|1886|pp=287–288}}

There is no evidence that Brettingham ever formally studied architecture or travelled abroad. Reports of him making two trips to Continental Europe,{{sfn|Burnet|1886|pp=287–288}} are the result of confusion with his son, [[Matthew Brettingham the Younger]].{{sfn|Howell|1964|p=345}} That he enjoyed success in his own lifetime is beyond doubt—Robert Adam calculated that when Brettingham sent his son on the [[Grand Tour]] (1747), he went with a sum of money in his pocket of around £15,000 (£{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|15000|1747|r=-2}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}), an enormous amount at the time.{{sfn|Howell|1964|p=350}} However, part of this sum was probably used to acquire the statuary in Italy (documented as supplied by Matthew Brettingham the Younger) for the nearly completed Holkham Hall.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/book/the-plans-elevations-and-sections-of-holkham-in-norfolk-the-seat-of-the|title=The Plans, Elevations and Sections, Of Holkham In Norfolk, The Seat of the late Earl of Leicester. To which are added. The Ceilings and Chimney-Pieces; And Also A Descriptive Account of the Statues, Pictures and Drawings; Not in the former Edition. By Matthew Brettingham, Architect.|publisher=[[Royal Academy]]|access-date=17 November 2023|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117132613/https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/book/the-plans-elevations-and-sections-of-holkham-in-norfolk-the-seat-of-the|url-status=live}}</ref> Matthew Brettingham the Younger wrote that his father "considered the building of Holkham as the great work of his life",{{sfn|Colvin|1995|p=154}} and it is perhaps the building for which he is best remembered although the exact nature and extent of his contribution continues to be a matter of scholarly debate.{{sfn|Schmidt|2015|pp=83–108}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/the-creation-of-holkham-hall-247166|first=John|last=Goodall|title=The creation of Holkham Hall|publisher=[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]]|date=4 September 2022|access-date=17 November 2023|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117140003/https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/the-creation-of-holkham-hall-247166|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/holkham-hall-there-are-few-places-a-modern-visitor-can-get-so-close-to-the-realities-of-life-on-the-grand-scale-in-18th-century-britain-246497|first=John|last=Goodall|title=Holkham Hall: There are few places a modern visitor can get so close to the realities of life on the grand scale in 18th century Britain|publisher=[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]]|date=28 August 2022|access-date=17 November 2023|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117131016/https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/holkham-hall-there-are-few-places-a-modern-visitor-can-get-so-close-to-the-realities-of-life-on-the-grand-scale-in-18th-century-britain-246497|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ribapix.com/matthew-brettingham-the-elder_riba100458|title=Matthew Brettingham the Elder|publisher=[[RIBA]]|access-date=17 November 2023|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117174844/https://www.ribapix.com/matthew-brettingham-the-elder_riba100458|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
*{{cite DNB|no-icon=1|last=Burnet|first=G. W.|wstitle=Brettingham, Matthew|volume=6|pages=287–288
}}
* {{cite book
|first=Howard|last=Colvin|author-link=Howard Colvin
|year=1995
|title=A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840
|edition=3
|location= New Haven, US and London
|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]
|isbn=0-300-06091-2
}}
*{{cite book
|first=Mark|last=Girouard|author-link=Mark Girouard
|year=1978
|title=Life in the English Country House
|location= New Haven, US and London
|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]
|isbn=0-300-02273-5
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Harling|first=Robert 
|year=1969
|title=Historic Houses
|publisher=Conde Nast Publications
}}
*{{cite journal |last=Hewlings |first=Richard |date=1993 |title=Wakefield Lodge and Other Houses of the Second Duke of Grafton |url=https://georgiangroup.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/GGJ_1993_04_Hewlings_0001.pdf |journal=[[The Georgian Group]] |volume=3 |issue= |pages=43–61 |doi= |access-date=18 November 2023}}
* {{cite journal
|last=Howell|first=James D. E.
|year=1964
|url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/details.xhtml?recordId=3237040
|title=Matthew Brettingham and the County of Norfolk
|journal=Norfolk Archaeology
|volume=33, Part III
|issue=3
|doi=10.5284/1077966
}}
* {{cite book
|first=Gervase|last=Jackson-Stops|author-link=Gervase Jackson-Stops
|year=1990
|title=The Country House in Perspective
|publisher=Pavilion Books
|isbn=1-85145-383-0
}}
* {{cite book
|first=Nigel|last=Nicolson|author-link=Nigel Nicolson
|year=1965
|title=Great Houses of Britain
|location=London
|publisher=George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd.
|isbn=0-600-01651-X
}}
*{{cite book
|editor1=National Trust
|year=1998
|title=Kedleston Hall
|publisher=Derbyshire Countryside
|url=https://archive.org/details/kedlestonhall0000anon/
|url-access=registration
}}
*{{cite journal |last=Schmidt |first=Leo | author-link = Leo Schmidt |date=2015 |title=Holkham Hall: An Architectural 'Whodunnit' |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/architectural-history/article/abs/holkham-hall-an-architectural-whodunnit/529347643D701320ED2EB728DC69A1F5 |journal=Architectural History |volume=58 |issue= |pages=83–108 |doi=10.1017/S0066622X00002598 |s2cid=194901745 |access-date=18 November 2023|url-access=subscription }} (Subscription required)
* {{cite book
|last=Sheppard|first=F. H. W. | author-link = Francis Sheppard
|year=1960
|title=St. James Westminster, Part 1
|publisher=[[Survey of London]]
|volume=29
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Wilson|first=Michael I.
|year=1984
|title=William Kent
|location=London
|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul
|isbn=0-7100-9983-5
}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Matthew-Brettingham-article.ogg|date=30 December 2020}}
*[http://www.holkham.co.uk/ Holkham Hall]
*[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kedleston-hall Kedleston Hall]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brettingham, Matthew}}
[[Category:British neoclassical architects]]
[[Category:1699 births]]
[[Category:1769 deaths]]
[[Category:British bricklayers]]
[[Category:Architects from Norwich]]
[[Category:18th-century English architects]]