BLENHEIM PALACE

Blenheim Palace

The gift of a sovereign to the triumphant John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim is a symbol of national achievement and royal satisfaction. The greatest of English palaces (George III understandably remarked that he had 'nothing to equal this'), its Baroque grandeur and state recall palaces abroad, such as the Belvedere in Vienna built a few years later by Prince Eugene, Marlborough's companion in arms, rather than anything in the UK. 

Blenheim might well have been merely an extravagant pile; that it proved an architecturalmasterpiece was due to the imagination of Sir John Vanbrugh, who had recently at Castle Howard completed his first house, before finising Blenheim in 1722. Its build journey was not an easy one, with Vanbrugh and Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough in constant clashes, and in the end they parted ways. From 1764, the landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown transformed the park at Blenheim into a naturalistic haven, building a tree-fringed lake at its centre, around which today wonderful walks can be had with views of the palace.

By the late 19th century, the Marlboroughs’ finances were looking bleak, and a series of paintings, as well as Blenheim’s library were sold to ease the situation. Salvation came in 1895 when the super-rich American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt was encouraged by her ambitious mother to marry Charles ‘Sunny’ Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, and save Blenheim from ruin. While this was successful, the venture came at a different kind of cost: the Marlboroughs’ marriage failed, and ended in 1921. The house was used as a school and then to house MI5 during the Second World War, during which the family stayed on-site, and in 1987, Blenheim was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

In 1712 when going aborad, Marlborough left instructions 'that all persons may see ye whole Building to their Satisfaction' - words that still ring true today. Whilst the Palace remains the family home of the Dukes of Marlborough, Blenheim welcomes visitors annually from January - November.