Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (25 April 1694 – 4 December 1753) was a British architect and politician often called the "Apollo of the Arts" and the "Architect Earl". The son of the 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork, Burlington never took more than a passing interest in politics despite his position as a Privy Counsellor and a member of both the British and Irish upper chambers.
His great interests in life were architecture and landscaping, and he is remembered for being a builder and a patron of architects, craftsmen and landscapers, Indeed, he is credited with bringing Palladian architecture to Britain and Ireland. His major projects include Burlington House, Westminster School, Chiswick House and Northwick Park.
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Life
Lord Burlington was born in Yorkshire into a wealthy Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, the only son and heir of Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington by his wife Juliana Noel (1672–1750), the only daughter and heiress of the Hon. Henry Noel, the second son of Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden. He succeeded to his titles and extensive estates in Yorkshire and Ireland at the age of nine, after his father's death in February 1704. During his minority, which lasted until 1715, his English and Irish lands, as also his political interests and patronages, were managed by his mother.
Burlington showed a fondness for music at an early age. Georg Frideric Handel dedicated two operas to Burlington while staying at his residence Burlington House: Teseo and Amadigi di Gaula. According to Hawkins, Francesco Barsanti dedicated the six recorder sonatas of his Op. 1 to Lord Burlington, although the dedication must have appeared on the edition sold by Peter Bressan, before Walsh & Hare engraved the works c. 1727.