<!--An oil portrait on canvas of Matthew Brettingham the Elder holding a drawing of Kent's Triumphal Arch, Holkham Hall, was painted by John Theodore Heins in 1749. It was bequeathed by Rupert Gunnis to the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1965.-->
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 eventually became one of the country's better-known
architects of his generation. Much of his principal work has since been demolished, particularly his work in London, where he revolutionised the design of the grand
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
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.
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. He married Martha Bunn (c. 1697–1783) at St. Augustine's Church, Norwich, on 17 May 1721 and they had nine children together.
His early life is little documented, and one of the earliest recorded references to him is in...
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