Vitruvius Britannicus

Vitruvius Britannicus is a British series of architecture books published beginning in 1715. Each volume contains architectural drawings for a selection of British buildings. Most of the drawings are of English country houses, though there are also a small number of non-residential works and original designs. The title of the series refers to Vitruvius and the books feature British examples of Palladian architecture.

The first series, which comprises three volumes, was published between 1715 and 1725 and was authored by Colen Campbell. In 1739, a second series began with the publication by Badeslade and Rocque of a fourth volume. This volume differed substantially from the original series and featured topographic images mostly. In 1769 and 1771, Woolfe and Gandon, who did not consider the 1739 volume to be a legitimate successor to the originals, produced a second series comprising the fourth and fifth volumes. In the first decade of the 19th century, George Richardson produced a third series, called The New Vitruvius Britannicus, which comprised two volumes. A fourth series was written in 1972 with the publication of a guide to the eight books.

The books of the Vitruvius Britannicus are essential documents in the history of British architecture and provide a record of many of the country's most famous built works, including several buildings that are now lost. These include Campbell's magnum opus, Wanstead House, which was demolished in 1825. Additionally, the books serve as records of British culture immediately following the Acts of Union 1707 and the Peace of Utrecht. Most scholarship has focused on the composition of Campbell's first series, which one author said was considered "the most iconic British architectural book of the eighteenth century."^[1]

The book was conceived around 1713.^[2] Vitruvius Britannicus is primarily a "book of designs," that is, a book that documents extant buildings. This is opposed to pattern books, which provide builders templates with which to construct new buildings. Vitruvius was conceived as a book of ideal designs, being a collection of works by various architects instead of an edition documenting a single architect.^[3]

In his 1953 tome Architecture in Britain 1530–1830, historian Sir John Summerson provided a substantial account of the history of the books. In Sir John's telling, Vitruvius Britannicus and a new translation by Nicholas Dubois of Palladio's I quattro libri dell'architettura sought to initiate a new Palladian movement.^[4] The view of Vitruvius as a polemic persisted for decades after Summerson published his history.^[5] However, more recent scholarship has challenged the notion of Vitruvius Britannicus as a manifesto and posited instead that it was a celebration of Palladianism.^[6]

• Vitruvius Britannicus, or, The British Architect: Volume I (1715)
• Vitruvius Britannicus, or, The British Architect: Volume II (1717)
• Vitruvius Britannicus, or, The British Architect: Volume III (1725)

• Vitruvius Britannicus, Volume the Fourth (1739)
• Vitruvius Britannicus, or, The British Architect: Volume IV (1769)
• Vitruvius Britannicus, or, The British Architect: Volume V (1771)

• The New Vitruvius Britannicus (1802)
• The New Vitruvius Britannicus, Volume II (1808)

• Guide to Vitruvius Britannicus (1972)