"As we passed through the entrance archway and the lovely scenery burst upon me," she later wrote, "the place could not have looked more glorious, and looking at the lake, the bridge, the miles of magnificent park ... and the huge and stately palace ... I felt awed."
It was here, just months later, on Nov. 30 that she gave birth to her famous son, renowned British Prime Minister and World War II hero Sir Winston Churchill. In fact, the 187-room property, just eight miles north of Oxford and a short walk from the nearby tiny town of Woodstock, was always very dear to Churchill, who was also baptized in the chapel here, proposed marriage here and is buried nearby.
Located 65 miles north of London in Oxfordshire, the 18th century, Baroque-style Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is surrounded by a gorgeously green, 2,000-acre park, with exquisite Italian gardens, fountains and the Grand Bridge. The stunning estate has a fascinating, yet controversial, 300-year history.
The site of concerts, celebrity wedding receptions and films, it's been home for generations of the Marlborough and Spencer-Churchill clan, including ancestors of the late Princess Diana. They include some colorful, eccentric characters who encompassed greed, jealousy, paranoia, estrangement, infidelity, ruthlessness and snobbery.
Currently the warm, hospitable home of the 11th duke and duchess of Marlborough, it's been referred to both as "Britain's Versailles" and as "The Dump" by Laura, Duchess of Marlborough, widow of Bert, the 10th duke.
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And Alexander Pope once referred to it as "the most inhospitable thing imaginable and the most selfish. ... I never saw so great a thing with so much littleness in it. ... It's a great pile of stone without harmony or taste."
Even American-born Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan - who reigned here for 11 years (1895-1906) as the duchess of Marlborough when she was unhappily married to the ninth duke - commented: "It is strange that in so great a house there should not be one really livable room. It's planned to impress rather than to please."
The "house" later known as Blenheim Palace came about in 1705 as a gift from Queen Anne to a 52-year-old soldier from humble beginnings, John Churchill, who commanded the British forces during the War of Spanish Succession. On Aug. 13, 1704, he brilliantly won what became known as The Battle of Blenheim over Louis XIV's French forces. Returning to Britain a military hero, he and his wife Sarah were rewarded by being named the first duke and duchess of Marlborough and were promised a palace in their honor, to be called Blenheim.
Architect Sir John Vanbrugh was commissioned to build the masterpiece that ultimately became the Migraine McMansion project. Due to politics, plots and lack of funding for various reasons, the work was stopped in 1712. Once building resumed in 1716, Sarah, who constantly battled Vanbrugh, exclaimed that it was "a chaos which only God Almighty could finish. You're making this place too much of a monument! I want a home to live in."
Vanbrugh quit in a rage and three years later, in 1719, Duchess Sarah and the duke - who vowed to complete the palace at his own expense - moved into a few rooms. It was finally finished in 1722, the same year as the duke's death. Alas, he never saw its final completion.
Vanbrugh returned once more in 1725 to view the property but, sadly, was refused admittance to the grounds. He died a year later.
Despite all the disputes, lawsuits, delays and headaches during its construction, today Blenheim Palace is a delight for the 250,000 tourists who visit each year.
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In fact, Churchill was born in the Dean Jones Room, named after the first duke's former chaplain. It was later said to be haunted by his ghost, who reportedly never appeared again after Churchill arrived.
The palace's 180-foot-long library - with over 10,000 books, a white marble statue of Queen Anne, tables filled with family photos and framed programs and invitations - houses an 1891 Henry Willis & Sons organ, which the ninth duchess of Marlborough (formerly Consuelo Vanderbilt) liked to listen to after dinner.
In the Winston Churchill exhibit within the palace, as recordings of his speeches play in the background, visitors can peruse numerous photos, manuscripts, books and mementos of his famous life, including letters he wrote as a child, as well as his artwork - some of his paintings were featured by Hallmark as Christmas cards. There are tributes to him from Americans, including a proclamation from President John F. Kennedy giving Churchill honorary U.S. citizenship on April 9, 1963.
Tourists are amused to read a handwritten letter from Miss Charlotte Thomson, headmistress of Brighton Preparatory School, to Lord Randolph, dated March 16, 1888, when Winston was 14: "My worst fears were realized ... he has only scraped through."
As Churchill, who died on Jan. 24, 1965, once commented of his beloved Blenheim Palace: "At Blenheim I took two very important decisions: To be born and to marry. ... The cumulative labours of Vanbrugh and 'Capability' Brown have succeeded at Blenheim in setting an Italian palace in an English park without apparent incongruity."
IF YOU GO
Blenheim Palace is open several months of the year, normally mid-March through October, with various events and occasional tours of the private family apartments. For information, please visit www.blenheimpalace.com.
Churchill's England 2006 is an exclusive tour that will include a gala banquet in Blenheim Palace's Great Hall, private visits to the state rooms, birth room, his schools, country houses and grave site. Dates: May 20-May 28. For information visit www.winstonchurchill.org; e-mail info@winstonchurchill.org; telephone (888) 972-1874.
The Bear Hotel, Woodstock, a charming hotel and restaurant in a former 13th century carriage house, within walking distance of Blenheim Palace: www.oxtowns.co.uk/woodstock/thebear/.
For information on traveling within Great Britain, visit www.visitbritain.com.
Sharon Whitley Larsen is a freelance travel writer.
© Copley News Service
