the grand town house, unremarkable for its exterior but with a circulating plan for reception rooms suitable for entertaining within on a forgotten scale of lavishness. Many of these anachronistic palaces are now long demolished or have been transformed for other uses and are inaccessible for public viewing. Hence, what little remains in London of his work is unknown to the general public. Of Brettingham's work, only the buildings he remodelled have survived, and for this reason Brettingham now tends to be thought of as an "improver" rather than an architect of country houses. There is no evidence that Brettingham ever formally studied architecture or travelled abroad. Reports of him making two trips to Continental Europe, are the result of confusion with his son, Matthew Brettingham the Younger. That he enjoyed success in his own lifetime is beyond doubt—Robert Adam calculated that when Brettingham sent his son, Matthew, on the Grand Tour (1747), he went with a sum of money in his pocket of around £15,000 (£ in ), an enormous amount at the time. However, part of this sum was probably used to acquire the statuary in Italy (documented as supplied by Matthew Brettingham the Younger) for the nearly completed Holkham Hall. Matthew Brettingham the Younger wrote that his father "considered the building of Holkham as the great work of his life". While the design of that great monumental house, which still stands, cannot truly be accredited to him, it is the building for which Brettingham is best remembered. Notes References Colvin, Howard (1995). A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840. Third edition. Yale University Press. Girouard, Mark (1978). Life in the English Country House. Yale University Press. . Harling, Robert (1969). Historic Houses. Conde Nast Publications. Howell James, D. E. (1964). "Matthew Brettingham and the County of Norfolk", Norfolk Archaeology 33, Part III. Jackson-Stops, Gervase (1990). The Country House in Perspective. Pavilion Books. . Lucas, Robin (September 2004; online edition January 2008). "Brettingham, Matthew, the elder (1699–1769)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 6 March 2008. (Subscription required) Nicolson, Nigel (1965). Great Houses of Britain. George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd. . The National Trust (1988; repr. 1997). Kedleston Hall. Sheppard, F. H. W. (ed.) (1960). Survey of London. Volume 29: St. James Westminster, Part 1. English Heritage. Wilson, Michael I. (1984) William Kent. Routledge & Kegan Paul. . External links Holkham Hall Kedleston Hall