Blenheim Palace
A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Woodstock: the English Baroque palace built between 1705 and 1722 for the Duke of Marlborough, and the birthplace of Winston Churchill.
Prices, opening times and what is open on a given day change; check the official website at blenheimpalace.com before you travel.
Blenheim Palace stands at Woodstock, in Oxfordshire. Home of the Dukes of Marlborough, it is where Sir Winston Churchill was born. Construction ran from 1705 to 1722, and in 1987 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It counts among the largest houses in England.
Why it was built
The name recalls the 1704 Battle of Blenheim. The house was conceived as a national reward for the 1st Duke of Marlborough, whose campaigns in the War of the Spanish Succession defeated French and Bavarian forces. Work began in 1705 with some money from Queen Anne, but the Crown withdrew further funds in 1712 and the project became a political quarrel that harmed the standing of its architect, Sir John Vanbrugh. His design is English Baroque, a style that was unusual and brief. The building was first called Blenheim Castle, and only from the 19th century Blenheim Palace.
The family
For about 300 years the house has belonged to the Churchill family, later styled Spencer-Churchill. Near the end of the 19th century it faced ruin until the 9th Duke married Consuelo Vanderbilt, an American railroad heiress, and her fortune rescued it. Few buildings combine so many roles: it is at once a family home, a mausoleum and a national monument.
Winston Churchill
Churchill was born in a suite of rooms at Blenheim, where a permanent exhibition now tells of his life and times. In 1908 he asked his future wife to marry him at the Temple of Diana, a small summerhouse by the lake, designed by Sir William Chambers.
The park
The grounds are an English landscape garden. When the 4th Duke engaged Capability Brown in 1764, Brown dammed the River Glyme to form the lake. The Column of Victory rises 134 feet (41 m) at the end of an avenue of elms; they were planted to mark the positions of Marlborough's troops at the Battle of Blenheim. The palace holds Grade I listing, its park and gardens are Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, and Blenheim Park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Visiting
An entry fee is charged for the palace, park and gardens. About five miles of public rights of way cross the Great Park, with access from Old Woodstock and the Oxfordshire Way. For prices and hours, use the official website. Blenheim is one of the places in the day trips from Oxford guide.