The battle and the gift
In 1704 John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, won the Battle of Blenheim. As his reward the Crown gave him the royal manor at Woodstock, and Parliament voted money towards a great house there. It was first called Blenheim Castle; the name Blenheim Palace came in the 19th century.
A quarrel and an exile
The Duchess, Sarah, had wanted Christopher Wren as architect, and she criticised Vanbrugh’s costs and design; he was later banned from the site. After her final quarrel with Queen Anne the money stopped, with about £220,000 spent, and the Marlboroughs lived abroad until the Queen’s death in 1714. The Duke restarted the work at his own expense in 1716.
Saving the palace
In November 1895 the 9th Duke married the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, and her family’s money helped save the palace. Blenheim became a World Heritage Site in 1987, and it remains the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough; the 12th Duke succeeded in 2014.
