Blenheim Palace - it's not easy being a duke!

On top of the double decker bus - what a beautiful day!

On 25 September, Mum, Dad, Isaac, and I left Bath and took a train to Oxford. We then boarded a bus and rode out to Blenheim Palace, which is in a village called Woodstock. It was a beautiful day for a trip to the palace. I had been learning quite a bit about this palace in British Studies, so I was very glad we decided to stop here on our way back to the manor.

Entrance to the Palace

The palace was built between 1705 and 1724. The palace and the land it is built upon was given from the queen to John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, for winning the Battle of Blenheim. This battle was against the French and the Bavarians in the Spanish Succession. The Battle of Blenheim was a major battle and is considered to be one of the major turning points of  the Spanish Succession. This was quite a great gift for winning a battle!

The Palace was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, and building began in 1705. Vanbrugh was not a trained architect, so he worked alongside the qualified and practical Nicholas Hawksmoor to build the awe-inspiring Palace that still stands today. 


The 1st Duke of Marlborough was married to Sarah Jennings. Sarah was a very "cantankerous" woman and ended up getting into a fight with Queen Anne in 1711. Because of their fight, the Marlboroughs were forced into exile until Queen Anne died in 1714. When the Marlboroughs went into exile, the funding for the building of the palace ceased. Fortunately for us, the Duke was brought back into favour of the courts after the Queen died. He was able to return to the palace and continued building it with his own funds. However, he died before the palace was completed. When he died, it was up to his wife to finish building the palace. Rumor has it that Sarah did not particularly like the palace - it created a lot of friction between her and her husband - but after the duke died, she decided she had to finish it...oh the lengths that love will take us!  I am so glad Sarah finished this palace - it is a beautiful building-one that is definitely worth visiting.
The palace is built in English Baroque architecture - this means that it is quite flamboyant. The rooms are huge and very ornate and the furnishings were simply amazing. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside of the palace, so you'll have to go there in person to see the inside.

One of the water gardens outside of the palace

Mum and Dad by the hedge row :)

If you are an astute reader, you may remember that the Duke of Marlborough's last name was Churchill. He was a brilliant strategist in the British army. Well he is a descendant of Winston Churchill - another great wartime hero. In fact, Winston Churchill was born and married here. He is also buried here.

Lady Sarah and the 1st Duke really only focused on building the palace. The development of the gardens began when the 4th Duke of Marlborough became Duke. There are beautiful gardens throughout the palace. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to experience them all, but just being around the outside of the palace was an incredible experience. 

Rear view of the palace

The amount of land surrounding the palace is amazing!

We were blessed with clear blue skies and beautiful weather. You couldn't ask for a nicer day at Blenheim Palace!

Mum, Dad, and Isaac at the Italian Gardens

Gate house out of the palace - notice that the tower intentionally becomes narrower as it comes to the top-
This is done to make the gate house look taller than it really is

You know, it is not easy being a duke...unfortunately, after the 1st Duke of Blenheim died, he ended up being succeeded by his daughter, Henrietta. This was unusual, but his two sons were dead, so a special Act of Parliament came into play that allowed Henrietta to assume her father's position. When Henrietta died, her nephew, Charles Spencer, became Duke. Now, does the name Spencer ring a bell? 

View of the gardens as we were walking out - the tall column standing in the way distance
is the Column of Victory 

It should...if you remember Princess Diana's last name was Spencer. Princess Di was also related to the family that owns Blenheim Palace. In fact, she visited here frequently and enjoyed the palace. It makes me wonder what it must be like to be a princess visiting a palace - but that is a story for another day...

The Grand Bridge

Although the 1st Duke of Marlborough was not penniless, most of his fortune went into building the palace. So when he died, he did not have much of an inheritance. By the 1870's, the Marlborough family was in poor financial shape and many of the treasures in the palace were sold. Charles, the 9th Duke of Marlborough, was credited for bringing the family back into financial stability, and he did it the only way you could in the late 19th century - he married Consuelo Vanderbilt, a wealthy American. Consuelo's mother desperately wanted her daughter to marry royalty - her father had made it big in the railroads. The duke received 50,000 shares in the Beech Creek Railway Company and was given $100,000 a year for the rest of his life. During their honeymoon, the Duke and new Duchess began to purchase tapestries, furniture, and paintings to refurbish the palace. 


Despite the flourishing of the palace at this time, the marriage between the Duke and Duchess was an arranged marriage. After the wedding vows were said, Charles told Consuelo that he really loved another woman. However, despite their unhappiness, Charles and Consuelo ended up having two children. Consuelo was never happy in her marriage - what woman would be under these circumstances??? They finally divorced in 1921, and Consuelo lived long enough to see her son, John, become the 10th Duke of Marlborough.

One last view of the Grand Bridge - boy is it grand!

Currently, John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer-Churchill is the 11th Duke of Marlborough. He and his family live at Blenheim Palace. Throughout the palace, you can see family pictures. There are lots of great wedding pictures, and the family looks as though they have fun together. 


As I have been researching Blenheim Palace, I came across another very interesting fact. Although the current Duke maintains full and final control over all matters relating to the palace, its day-to-day operations are managed by Sodhexo Prestige, which is a division of Sodhexo. Now the strange coincidence is that the food service at the University of Evansville is also run by Sodhexo - it truly is a small world :)


After our visit to the palace, we walked into the quaint village of Woodstock and went to the Star Inn for a bite to eat and of course, a pint!

This is a great little pub - complete with a quaint bar, a fireplace, and open to all - including dogs! As we were eating in the pub, we noticed this couple who had 2 rather large dogs sitting with them near the fire. The woman's dog was really well behaved, but the husband's German Shepherd did not have good manners. In fact, I think this was the first unruly dog I have met in England since I have been here. I was kind of shocked but felt better that there is at least one dog in England that has bad manners!

Cheers!

Woodstock is a beautiful little village. It is in the Cottswolds, which is an area me Mum wanted to visit :) The name "Woodstock" means "clearing in the woods" which indicates Woodstock was a place where English Kings would log. The Domesday Book of 1066 indicates that Woodstock was a royal forest. Woodstock is also famous because King Henry II courted Rosamund Clifford (Fair Rosamund) here. Regardless of what happened here long ago in the little town of Woodstock, today it remains a beautiful place to visit. Here are some of my favourite pictures from our time at the Star Inn...it is an awesome place to eat if you happen to be in Woodstock!

Cheers to everyone!

They even have a table for one!

The Bar

I want this glass for Christmas - I tried to buy it from the pub, but they wouldn't sell it to me!

Dad and his homemade beefburger

 

Isaac and his fish and chips and mushy peas - he ALWAYS orders fish and chips!
I had the same thing - they were good!

Mum and her chicken 

When we finished eating, we had a few minutes to roam the village of Woodstock before the bus came to take us back to Oxford. 

Mom and this guy we met at the pub with a Caterpillar sweatshirt on!
He doesn't work for Cat but he likes his sweatshirt :)

The buildings in Woodstock were gorgeous. They even had really cool doors - imagine that! My door fetish continues to be fed!

I wish my front door looked like this one!

We had to get on the bus and went back to Oxford to take the train back to Grantham. As we were entering Oxford, Mum saw a grocery store she wanted to go into, so we got off the bus early and were able to walk through part of Oxford. 

Oxford is beautiful and looks like it would be a fun place to visit. Unfortunately, we only had about an hour before we had to get back on the train. But while we were there, we were able to find several more great British signs...I'm thinking my mum could get some advertising ideas for new nurses from the Pizza place that was looking for help.

What a happy couple! Fortunately we saw them when they were happy :)

Our train took us from Oxford to Paddington station in London. Since we had nothing better to do, we decided to walk the 3 1/2 miles from Paddington to King's Cross so we could get our train back to Grantham. We saw some interesting sites along the way...

Cool London apartments - I wonder how much it costs to live in one of these?!?

We were not sure what this tower in London was for, but it looked cool, so I took a picture of it.


We had a great time at Blenheim Palace. We were able to see a lot and spend time together as a family, which you just can't get enough of. It has been wonderful that Isaac and I have been able to share some of our experiences with mum and dad, and maybe, just maybe, if Isaac marries right, we will end up living in a palace :) I think we could pass off as a royal family - don't you?