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Sir John Vanbrugh, an eminent dramatic Writer, Son of Mr. Giles Vanbrugh, of London, Merchant, was born in the Parish of St. Stephen's, Wallbrook, in 1666. The Family of Vanbrugh were for many Years Merchants of great Credit and Reputation, at Antwerp, and came into England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, on account of the Persecution for Religion.

Sir John received a very liberal Education, and at the Age of nineteen, was sent by his Father to France, where he continued some Years: He became very eminent for his Poetry, to which he discovered an early propension. And, pity it is, that this agreeable Writer had not discovered his Wit, without any Mixture of that Licentiousness, which, tho' it pleased, tended to corrupt the Audience.

The Relapse was the first Play our Author produced, but not the first he had written; for he had at that Time by him, all the Scenes of The Provok'd Wife; but being then doubtful whether he should ever trust it to the Stage, he flung it by, and thought no more of it: Why the last written Play was first acted, and for what Reason they were given to different Stages, what follows will explain.

Upon our Author's first Step into public Life, when he was but an Ensign in the Army, and had a Heart greatly above his Income, he happened somewhere at his Winter Quarters, upon a slender Acquaintance with Sir Thomas Skipwith, to receive a particular Obligation from him; and many Years afterwards, when Sir Thomas's Interest in a Theatrical Patent (which he had a large Share in, though he little concerned himself in the Conduct of it) was rising but very slowly, Sir John thought that to give it a lift by a new Comedy, might be the handsomest Return he could make to those his former Favours; accordingly he soon after finished The Relapse, or, Virtue in Danger, which was acted at the Theatre in Drury-Lane, in 1696, with universal Applause.

Upon the Success of The Relapse, the late Lord Hallifax, who was a favourer of Betterton's Company, having formerly heard some Scenes of The Provok'd Wife read to him, engaged Sir John Vanbrugh to revise it, and give it to that Company. This was a Request not to be refused to so eminent a Patron of the Muses as Lord Hallifax, who was equally a Friend and Admirer of Sir John himself; nor was Sir Thomas Skipwith in the least disobliged by so reasonable a Compliance. The Provok'd Wife was accordingly acted at the Theatre in Lincoln's Inn-Fields in 1697, with great Success.

Tho' this Play met with so favourable a Reception, yet it was not without its Enemies: People of the graver Sort blamed the looseness of the Scenes, and the unguarded freedom of the Dialect; and indeed Sir John himself appears to have been sensible of the immorality of his Scenes; for in the Year 1725, when this Play was revived, he thought proper to substitute a new Scene in the fourth Act, in place of another, in which, in the wantonness of his Wit, he had made a Rake talk like a Rake, in the Habit of a Clergyman; to avoid which Offence, he put the same Debauchee into the Undress of a Woman of Quality; by which means the Follies he exposed in the Petticoat, appeared to the Audience innocent and entertaining; which new Scene is now for the first Time printed at the End of the Play.

Soon after the Success of The Provok'd Wife, Sir John produced the Comedy of Esop, in two Parts, which was acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury Lane, in 1697. This was originally written in French by Mr. Boursaut, about six Years before; but the Scenes of Sir Polydorus Hogstye, the Players, and the Beau, were added by our Author. This Play contains a great deal of general Satire, and useful Morality; notwithstanding which, it met with but a cold Reception from the Audience, and its run ended in about nine Days. This seemed the more surprizing, as the French Comedy was played to crowded Audiences for a Month together. The little Success this Piece met with on the English Stage, cannot be better accounted for than in the Words of Mr. Cibber, who, speaking of this Play, makes the following Observation: "The Character that delivers Precepts of Wisdom, is in some sort severe upon the Auditor, for shewing him one wiser than himself; but when Folly is his Object, he applauds himself for being wiser than the Coxcomb he laughs at; and who is not more pleased with an Occasion to commend, than to accuse himself?"

The next Play our Author wrote, was The False Friend, a Comedy, which was acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury Lane, in 1702.

In 1703, Sir John formed a Project of building a stately Theatre in the Haymarket, for which he had interest enough to get a Subscription of thirty Persons of Quality, at one hundred Pounds each, in consideration whereof, every Subscriber was for his own Life to be admitted to whatever Entertainments should be publicly performed there, without any farther Payment for Entrance.

In 1706, when this House was finished, Mr. Betterton and his Co-partners, who then acted at the Theatre in Lincoln's Inn-Fields, dissolved their Agreement, and put themselves under the direction of Sir John Vanbrugh and Mr. Congreve, imagining, perhaps, that the Conduct of two such eminent Authors might give a more prosperous turn to their Affairs; that the Plays it would now be their interest to write for them, would soon recover the Town to a true Taste, and be an Advantage that no other Company could hope for; and that till such Plays could be written, the Grandeur of their House, as it was a new spectacle, might allure the Crowd to support them: But, if these were their Views, they soon found their Dependance upon them was too sanguine; for though Sir John was a very expeditious Writer, yet Mr. Congreve was too judicious to let any Thing come unfinished from his Pen. Besides, every proper Convenience of a good Theatre had been sacrificed to shew the Audience a vast triumphal Piece of Architecture, in which, by Means of the spaciousness of the Dome, plays could not be successfully represented, because the Actors could not be distinctly heard.

Not long before this Time, the Italian Opera began to steal into England, but in as rude a Disguise as possible: notwithstanding which, the new Monster pleased, though it had neither Grace, Melody, nor Action, to recommend it. To strike in therefore with the prevailing Fashion, Sir John and Mr. Congreve opened their New Theatre with a translated Opera, set to Italian Music, called The Triumph of Love; but it met with a very cool Reception, being performed only three Times—to thin Houses.

Immediately upon the Failure of this Opera, Sir John Vanbrugh brought on his Comedy, called The Confederacy, taken, but very greatly improved, from Les Bourgeoises à la Mode, of Monsieur D'Ancourt. The Success of this Play was not equal to its Merit; for it is written with an uncommon Vein of Wit and Humour; which plainly shews that the difficulty of hearing, distinctly, in that large Theatre, was no small Impediment to the Applause that might have followed the same Actors on any other Stage; and indeed every Play acted there before the House was altered, seemed to suffer greatly from the same Inconvenience; for what few could plainly hear, it was not likely many could applaud. In a Word, the Prospect of Profits from this Theatre was so very barren, that Mr. Congreve, in a few Months, gave up his Share in it wholly to Sir John Vanbrugh; who, as he had a happier Talent of throwing the English Spirit into his Translations, than any other Author who had borrowed from them, he in the same Season produced The Mistake, a Comedy, taken from Le D'epit Amoureux, of Moliere; and The Country House, a Farce, translated from The French, which has been acted at all the Theatres with general Applause.

Sir John soon afterwards, thoroughly tired of Theatrical Affairs, determined to get rid of his Patent on the best Terms he could; he accordingly made an Offer to Mr. Owen Swiney of his House, Clothes, and Scenes, with the Queen's Licence to employ them, upon Payment of the Rent of five Pounds upon every acting Day, and not to exceed 700 l. in the Year; with which Proposal Mr. Swiney soon complied, and managed that Stage for some Time after.

Sir John is not a little to be admired for his Spirit, and readiness in producing Plays so fast upon the Neck of one another; for, notwithstanding his quick Dispatch, there is a clear and lively Simplicity in his Wit, that neither wants the Ornaments of Learning, nor has the least Smell of the Lamp, as the Face of a fine Woman, with her Locks loose about her, may then be in its greatest Beauty; such were his Productions, only adorned by Nature. And there is, besides, something so catching to the Ear, and so easy to the Memory, in all he writ, that it has been observed by all the Actors of those Times, the Stile of no Author whatsoever gave their Memory less Trouble, than that of Sir John Vanbrugh. And indeed his Wit and Humour was so little laboured, that his most entertaining Scenes seem to be no more than his common Conversation committed to Paper. As his Conceptions were so full of Life and Humour, it is not much to be wondered at, if his Muse should be sometimes too warm to wait the slow Pace of Judgment, or to endure the Drudgery of forming a regular Fable to them.

Besides the Plays already mentioned, Sir John left behind him Part of a Comedy, called A Journey to London, which has since been made an entire Play of by Mr. Cibber, and called The Provoked Husband, and was acted at the Theatre-Royal, in Drury Lane, in 1727, for twenty-eight Nights successively, with universal Applause.

In 1703, he was appointed Clarencieux King of Arms, and in 1706 was commissioned by Queen Anne to carry the Habit and Ensigns of the Order of the Garter to King George the First, then at Hanover; he was likewise Comptroller-General of the Board of Works, and Surveyor of the Gardens and Waters. In the Year 1714, he received the Order of Knighthood; and in 1719 he married Henrietta Maria, Daughter of Colonel Yarborough, of Haslington, near York, by whom he had three Children; Charles the eldest was killed at the Battle of Fontenoy, the other two died young.

Sir John died at his House in Scotland-Yard, the 26th of March, 1726, and is interred in the Family Vault, under the Church of St. Stephen's, Wallbrook.