Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace
UNESCO World Heritage Site
	View of front and main entrance of palace
Criteria	Cultural: ii, iv
Reference	425
Inscription	1987 (11th Session)

Blenheim Palace is a grand building in the town of Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, UK. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[1]

History

The palace was built to celebrate a great victory over the French at Blenheim, in 1704. The great country home was designed by architects Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. It has a park that was landscaped by Capability Brown.^[1]

Blenheim was the home of John Churchill, who was the 1st Duke of Marlborough. His successors still live in the palace.^[1]

Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim.^[1]

Blenheim Palace and its grounds were named a World Heritage Site, in 1987.^[1]

Gallery

Drawing of main entrance, 1715
General plan, 1725
Wrought iron gate

Blenheim Palace Media

An engraving of Blenheim Palace
The architect Sir John Vanbrugh c.1705, in a painting by Godfrey Kneller
Blenheim Palace ("John Vanbrugh's castle air"): west façade showing the unique severe towering stone belvederes ornamenting the skyline
The Hensington Gates the main entrance to Blenheim Park 1709 by Hawksmoor
An 18th-century engraving showing The Great Court
Grand salon, Blenheim Palace, c. 1918, William Bruce Ellis Ranken
The architect slightly tapered the sides of the east gate to create an illusion of even greater height, the wrought iron gates date from the 1840s.
The pediment over the south portico is a complete break from the convention. The flat top is decorated by a trophy bearing the marble bust of Louis XIV in the centre was looted by Marlborough from Tournai in 1709, weighing 30 tons. The positioning of the bust was an innovative new design in the decoration of a pediment.
The Red Drawing Room with The Marlborough Family by Sir Joshua Reynolds in situ. Ellis Waterhouse described the painting as 'the most monumental achievement of British portraiture.'