Editing John Vanbrugh (section)

====The College of Arms====
Vanbrugh's introduction and advancement in the [[College of Arms]] remain controversial. On 21 June 1703 the obsolete office of Carlisle Herald was revived for Vanbrugh. This appointment was followed by a promotion to the post of [[Clarenceux King of Arms]] in March 1704. In 1725 he sold this office to Knox Ward, and he told a friend he had "got leave to dispose in earnest, of a place I got in jest".<ref>''The Complete Works of Sir John Vanbrugh'', ed. G. Webb, Volume 4: The letters (1928), p. 170.</ref> His colleagues' opposition to an ill-gotten appointment ought to have been directed to Lord Carlisle, who as [[Earl Marshal|Deputy Earl Marshal]], arranged both appointments and against whose wishes they were powerless. Vanbrugh went on to make more friends than enemies at the College, however. The pageantry of state occasions appealed to his theatrical sense, his duties were not difficult, and he appears to have performed them well. In the opinion of a modern [[herald]] and historian, although the appointment was "incongruous", he was "possibly the most distinguished man who has ever worn a herald's [[tabard]]."<ref>[[Anthony Wagner|A. R. Wagner]], ''Heralds of England''. 1967, p. 326.</ref> In May 1706 Lord Halifax and Vanbrugh – representing the [[octogenarian]] [[Garter King of Arms]], [[Henry St George, the younger|Sir Henry St George]] – led a delegation to [[Hanover]] to confer the [[Order of the Garter]] on [[George II of Great Britain|Prince George]], later to become King George II. Vaughan Hart has shown how Vanbrugh's interest in arms and heraldry found expression in, and gave meaning to, his architecture.