Duke's Ambush Reaps Palatial Reward

By David Ellis

Today Blenheim Palace is one of the most-visited royal tourist attractions in England with over 500,000 visitors per year.

After you've marveled at the billion dollar's worth of statues, paintings, antique furnishings, chandeliers and the great expanse of the palace, there are row-boats and motor launches on the enormous man-made lake, a maze, miniature train ride, grandiose formal gardens, park-like grounds, butterfly house, an adventure play area for the children. You can see it all by following a inter-active, self-guided tour detailing many of the Palace's illicit relationships, intrigues and tales of life downstairs and upstairs.

Blenheim Palace Grounds: Bridge Over Lake

Special events are also held regularly throughout the year including battle reenactments, jousting tournaments, vintage and prestige car shows, craft and food fairs and music festivals.

Blenheim Palace is about an hour's drive from London; for opening hours of the palace, the formal gardens and park visit www.blenheimpalace.com.

The Palace has a checkered and interesting history.

After John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, lead 56,000 British and Austrian troops on a five week march from the Low Countries to the Danube in 1704 to defeat an even larger number of French in the Battle of Blenheim during the War of Spanish Succession, Queen Anne, on his return home, asked how she could reward him in thanks for such a marvelous British conquest.

Blenheim Palace: Fountain & Maze

The Duke and his wife, the Duchess Sarah, decided a small place up country would be nice, somewhere to which they could reside between overseas wars and gun-smoke and cannon balls and people who kept wanting to trample the Duke with their horses.

The Queen agreed, and called-in the famous architect, Sir John Vanbrugh, to design a suitable country retreat at Woodstock near Oxford, with building to commence in 1705.

The architect's centre-piece for the ambitious residence he suggested would be the Great Reception Hall with 20 metre high ceilings and with enough space for the Duke and Duchess to entertain 250 friends together for drinks and nibblies, with further rooms in which a more than 100 could stay on for formal dinner. It also included a library with enough shelving for 10,000 books. There was also a chapel to save going into town on rainy Sundays.

Blenheim Palace: Aerial View

There were also to half a hundred rooms of more for the Marlborough's personal use and for employee's to live and work. In fact their "country house" would evolve into a palace covering a mind blowing 2.8 hectares (or close to 30 average Australian suburban house blocks,). In addition to this there was a further 800 hectares (2000 acres) for landscaping with woodlands, flower displays, man-made lakes and hedges.

It was called Blenheim Palace in honour of the Duke's battle victory, but the Duchess was heard to say many times that her preference was for a more homely and smaller place.

And it wasn't all smooth sailing for Blenheim Palace on another matter.

The Duke was called overseas to fight numerous battles (being the victor in each,) leaving the Duchess to spend a increasing time with the Queen. The two women had been personal friends for a number years, and the Queen, showing her appreciation for the friendship and the constantly proffered advice given by Sarah, appointed her as Mistress of the Robes (the highest office a woman could hold in the Court). Sarah was also Keeper of the Privy Purse and Groom of the Stole.

Blenheim Palace: Green Writing Room & Blenheim Tapestry

But Sarah, who was also outspoken and not afraid to speak her mind to the Queen, found that over time after a number of disputes between the two, the Queen and other close aides finally hatched a plan to move Sarah and the Duke out of royal circles.

Work stopped on Blenheim Palace was still being built 1712 after the Queen had had enough and had spent nearly A$500,000 on the Marlborough's partly-built palace.

Following the Queen's passing two years later, the Duke took over the completion of his Palace. It was finished in 1722 the same year the Duke died - seventeen years after construction had begun.