This is a joint event with the Greenwich Historical Society, Blackheath Society, Greenwich Society and Westcombe Society. It will be held in the Wilson Room at the Trafalgar Tavern.

2026 marks the tercentenary of the death of John Vanbrugh, the playwright-turned-architect who designed Castle Howard and Blenheim. Charles Saumarez Smith, former Director of the National Gallery has written a biography John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture and will be giving a talk at Trafalgar Tavern on Vanbrugh and Greenwich. Architectural historian Neil Bingham will introduce Saumarez Smith.

Charles Saumarez Smith’s John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture was published by Lund Humphries in November 2025. An exhibition of Vanbrugh’s drawings opens at Sir John Soane’s Museum on 4th March 2026.

Details regarding tickets to be announced.