Blenheim Palace is situated in the picturesque and historic town of Woodstock, 8 miles North West of Oxford on the A44 Evesham Road, and approximately an hour's drive from both London and Birmingham. Stratford-upon-Avon is only 45 minutes drive away.
The magnificent Blenheim Palace is set in an Estate extending to 4,998 hectares. The Park extends to 754.3 hectares, made up of:
and the remainder of the Estate outside the Park is made up of:
The name Blenheim derives from a decisive battle that took place on the 13th August 1704 on the north bank of the river Danube, near a small village called Blindheim or Blenheim, where the French leader, Marshall Tallard, had fixed his lines. Here John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, won a great allied victory over the forces of Louis XIV, thus saving Europe from French domination. In reward for his services in defending Holland and Austria from invasion by the French,a grateful Queen Anne granted to Marlborough the Royal Manor of Woodstock and signified that she would build him, at her own expense, a house to be called Blenheim.
Building began in 1705. While the Duke continued to give his Queen and country victory after victory overseas, his absence gave others the chance to hatch a plot designed to topple him from the Queen's favour. As a result, the money which had been promised to him for building Blenheim Palace didn't arrive, leaving the Duke owing £45,000 to masons, carvers and others, including Vanbrugh the architect. In the summer of 1712 all work on Blenheim Palace ceased. Following the death of Queen Anne in 1714, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough negotiated with the unpaid artisans and suppliers alike and the Palace was completed at their own expense.
The three apartments interconnecting between the Saloon and Long Library are known as the First, Second and Third State Rooms. The gilded overdoor of the First State Room is typical of the 9th Duke's redecoration.
Emblazoned with some of the finest tapestries and paintings, this State Room also displays the hastily written dispatch from the battlefield of Blenheim proclaiming 'a glorious victory' together with the Blenheim Standard; sent as quit-rent to the Sovereign at Windsor each year since the Battle of Blenheim on the battle's anniversary date (13th August).
Originally designed as a picture gallery, this 55 metre long library displays some of the finest stucco ceiling decoration within the Palace. With full length portraits of Queen Anne, King William III and the 1st Duke of Marlborough, probably the most striking feature of this room is the magnificent Willis organ.