Blenheim Palace

Interesting facts

The Dukes of Marlborough hold the estate for a symbolic rent: a copy of the French royal flag, presented to the monarch every year on the anniversary of the battle.

In September 2019 thieves stole America, Maurizio Cattelan's working gold toilet valued at 4.75 million pounds, from a palace bathroom; it was never recovered.

Winston Churchill proposed to his future wife in 1908 at the Temple of Diana, a small classical temple in the palace grounds.

In 1895 the 9th Duke married the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, whose marriage settlement brought 2.5 million dollars in shares.

During the Second World War the palace first took in evacuated boys of Malvern College, then from September 1940 served as a base for MI5.

Vanbrugh's oversized Grand Bridge was reported to contain some thirty rooms inside its structure.

Hawksmoor's Long Library stretches about 56 metres, and the Great Hall rises some 20 metres to Thornhill's painted ceiling.

When the Crown stopped funding in 1712, about 220,000 pounds had been spent and another 45,000 pounds was owed to unpaid workmen.

Grinling Gibbons carved one of the marble doorcases in the Saloon; the other three are cheaper copies by lesser craftsmen.

Blenheim has appeared more than seventy times in film and television productions.

Why it is worth it

Blenheim Palace, at Woodstock in Oxfordshire, was the nation's reward to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, for his victory over the French and Bavarians at Blenheim in 1704. The Crown gave him the old royal manor of Woodstock, Parliament voted money, and work began in 1705; the palace was finished in 1722. The architect was Sir John Vanbrugh, a playwright with no formal training, working with Nicholas Hawksmoor. The result is one of the largest houses in England and the grandest statement of English Baroque, and in 1987 it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site.

Vanbrugh designed Blenheim less as a home than as a monument to a warrior, meant to be seen from far away. Massive blocks of stone, deep shadows and corner towers topped with heavy stone finials — which also hide the chimneys — give it what he called a castle air. The building went badly wrong: the Duchess, Sarah, disliked the design and the cost, the Crown stopped paying in 1712, and after a final quarrel Vanbrugh was banned from the site and his wife later refused entry to the park. After the Duke died, Sarah finished the palace herself. Inside, James Thornhill painted the ceiling of the Great Hall, Louis Laguerre painted the Saloon, the most richly decorated room, slipping in a self-portrait among the figures, and the Long Library has an organ of 1891.

The park is as famous as the house. Vanbrugh built a huge bridge over a modest stream; from 1764 Capability Brown raised the water into a great lake that submerged the bridge's lower rooms, producing one of the classic views of the English landscape garden. Hawksmoor's triumphal arch leads in from Woodstock, and a Column of Victory stands in the park. Early in the twentieth century Achille Duchêne added formal water terraces. Winston Churchill was born in the palace, and he is buried in the churchyard of St Martin's at nearby Bladon.

Getting there

The palace stands at the edge of the town of Woodstock, whose gate opens into the park; public footpaths also cross the Great Park. Witney is about 11 km away. Birmingham Airport (BHX) is roughly 73 km away in a straight line.

From the encyclopaedia

Blenheim Palace is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough, and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since the 19th century. One of England's largest houses, it was built between 1705 and 1722, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

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Blenheim Palace

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

Plan your visit

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From the encyclopaedia