Blenheim Palace History

Blenheim Palace was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and started in 1705.

When John Churchill (1650-1722), the 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeated the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, Queen Anne gave him the manor of Woodstock and had the palatial home of Blenheim Palace built for him in gratitude. Blenheim Palace is set amidst breathtaking parkland, in the heart of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, eight miles from Oxford.

Blenheim Palace was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and Sir John Vanbrugh and on 30th November 1874 was the birthplace of Winston Churchill, Britain's World War II leader. Winston Churchill was born in the suite of rooms that lie to the west of the Great Hall. These rooms house the Churchill Exhibition that give a fascinating insight into his life.

It was in the grounds of Blenheim Palace that Winston Churchill proposed to Clementine. They married in 1908.

Work started on Blenheim Palace, with Sir John Vanbrugh as the principal architect. However, the duke's wife (Sarah Jennings) wanted Christopher Wren as architect and was soon at loggerheads with Vanbrugh. And with Queen Anne having second thoughts and stifling the flow of money, construction work was halted.

Work was only finished on Blenheim Palace after the duke's death when his widow Sarah ended up paying most of the bills and designing much of the interior herself.