Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is the home of the Duke of Marlborough. The construction of this huge manor house, which occurred between 1705 and 1722,was originally a gift from the nation to the 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, for his military triumph against the French and Bavarians in the Battle of Blenheim. Sir Winston Churchill was descended from the Duke and was born at Blenheim Palace, which is its major claim to fame.

Blenheim Palace is just outside of Oxford in the village of Woodstock. Its close proximity is the main reason I visited. While I admire Winston Churchill, I had no real urge to spend nearly 20 quid to tour the place. Steve thought I should go and when my final Sunday in Oxford dawned sunny and beautiful, I hopped on the bus to Woodstock.

This blog covers Blenheim Palace. I will share my photos of the extensive grounds in the next blog. 

Talk about a long driveway! I was about halfway along when I snapped this pic.

The rather ornate gate. The entrance was around the corner, though

When I went inside, I found myself in a rather large courtyard with a shop/cafe combo and public toilets. I walked through the indicated archway and found myself looking at this. The palace was a lot bigger than I realized. The entrance courtyard was little more than a foyer, really. The main building is to my left.

This was to my right. There was a half marathon benefitting the British Heart Foundation going on the day I visited. This was the finish line. I have no idea what the monument is far in the background. I saw nothing about it, and with the run festivities, I didn't go near that side of the property.

The main building that houses the apartments open to the public. Blenheim is the home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and his family for part of the year, so the public only has access to some parts.

I stepped in the door and immediately looked up into this.

The entrance hall was quite grand.

I was rather embarrassed when I took this picture. You aren't allowed to use flash photography in an effort to preserve the antiques and paintings. I set my camera up accordingly, but when I took this photo the flash went off. I was politely chastised by one of the workers there. I was mortified.

This is the room where Winston Churchill was born. In the exhibit about him, he was quoted as saying (and I paraphrase) that he made two big life decisions as Blenheim Palace. One was to be born and the other was to get married, and he was quite happy with both.

Winston's velvet robe and slippers.

The back side of the entrance hall.

The rooms were laid out one after another. First there were a series of sitting rooms and then state rooms. Each was quite ornate and embellished with tapestries, paintings, and antique furniture.

Clearly this is a lady's sitting room.

The dining room was quite grand, as you can see.

Another interesting ceiling.

My first thought as I looked at the table was how good it'd be to have Thanksgiving here -  if only they celebrated it.

The state rooms came after the dining room. These rooms were gilded with 9 carat gold. I thought that seemed a bit much. Like the room wasn't ornate enough.

Even the furniture is gilded! Though I must confess I quite liked this piece.

This struck me as gilding for gilding's sake. I mean, yes, it's pretty. But is it really necessary?

That's a painting of France's King Louis XIV, the first Duke's nemesis, over the fireplace. It's actually a copy. The original painting hangs in Versailles. Most of the tapestries depict the Battle of Blenheim.

More gilding.

A pretty spiffy clock.

And some dazzling antiques.

A memorial statue of Queen Anne, the first Duke's benefactor. His wife was even one of the queen's closest ladies. But they had a falling out and the Marlboroughs were exiled for several years until Anne's death.

The library was lovely. I read some of the spines and spotted what I think were first-edition Charles Dickens.

The library takes up one end of the Long Gallery. This was used as an entertaining space. And yes, that's a pipe organ at the end. No, this area was never used as a chapel. The organ is the entertainment. The current family had framed invitations on display, such as to the wedding of Charles and Diana. Nothing for William and Kate's nuptials, though.

A closer look at the pipe organ.

I've never been this close to one before, so I was a bit intrigued.

Getting a bit artistic.

This is the chapel. Many of the dukes and duchesses are buried beneath the chapel.

This is the chapel's pipe organ. It's only about eight feet tall.

The memorial to the 1st Duke of Marlborough, his wife, and two of their children who did not live to adulthood.

Once you step outside of the chapel, you are at the back of the palace and the start of the gardens. While Blenheim Palace is pretty, it just didn't do it for me. When I toured Hampton Court, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring its history. Here, I am afraid I just didn't care.

The grounds, though, were quite beautiful and the time I spent outside made the trip worth it, as you will see when I publish the next blog.