25 OCTOBER 2003, Page 48

Forgetting Sir John

From Jay Mulraine Sir: Given the authority that Simon Jenkins enjoys in the field. I should not imme diately dismiss his attribution of Castle Howard to Nicholas Hawksmoor as a slip of the pen (`Tradition, family — and Cher's knickers', 18 October).

There is outstanding work there by Hawksmoor — not least the mausoleum — but I should be sorry if architectural historical revisionism has taken the entire fabric away from Sir John Vanbrugh.

Jay Mulraine

London W2