An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which generates income for its owner.
88-528: Newbold Revel refers to an existing 18th-century country house and a historic manorial estate in North East Warwickshire . In the fifteenth century, the estate was the home of the medieval author Sir Thomas Malory . The house is today used by HM Prison Service as a training college; it is a Grade II* listed building. Historically, the Newbold Revel estate and house formed a significant part of
176-478: A proscenium . The line of celebration and honour of his victorious life began with the great column of victory surmounted by his statue and detailing his triumphs, and the next point on the great axis, planted with trees in the position of troops, was the epic Roman style bridge. The approach continues through the great portico into the hall, its ceiling painted by James Thornhill with the Duke's apotheosis , then on under
264-555: A cantankerous woman, though capable of great charm. She had befriended the young Princess Anne and later, when the princess became Queen, the Duchess of Marlborough, as Her Majesty's Mistress of the Robes , exerted great influence over the Queen on both personal and political levels. The relationship between Queen and Duchess later became strained and fraught, and following their final quarrel in 1711,
352-528: A fundraising campaign has been launched for its complete restoration. The organ in the chapel was built circa 1853 by Robert Postill of York : it is notable as a rare unaltered example of this fine builder's work, speaking boldly and clearly into a generous acoustic. Blenheim sits in the centre of a large undulating park, a classic example of the English landscape garden movement and style. When Vanbrugh first cast his eyes over it in 1704 he immediately conceived
440-418: A great triumphal arch, through the huge marble door-case with the Duke's marble effigy above it (bearing the ducal plaudit "Nor could Augustus better calm mankind"), and into the painted saloon, the most highly decorated room in the palace, where the Duke was to have sat enthroned. The Duke was to have sat with his back to the great 30-tonne marble bust of his vanquished foe Louis XIV , positioned high above
528-401: A landscape feature. The Duchess, as so often in her disputes with her architect, won the day and the remains of the manor were swept away. The architect selected for the ambitious project was a controversial one. The Duchess was known to favour Sir Christopher Wren , famous for St Paul's Cathedral and many other national buildings. The Duke however, following a chance meeting at a playhouse,
616-544: A member of the viewing public in 1725, the Duchess refused to allow her even to enter the park. Vanbrugh's severe massed Baroque used at Blenheim never truly caught the public imagination, and was quickly superseded by the revival of the Palladian style. Vanbrugh's reputation was irreparably damaged, and he received no further truly great public commissions. For his final design, Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland , which
704-478: A rage, insisting that the new masons, carpenters and craftsmen, brought in by the Duchess, were inferior to those he had employed. The master craftsmen he had patronised, however, such as Grinling Gibbons , refused to work for the lower rates paid by the Marlboroughs. The craftsmen brought in by the Duchess, under the guidance of furniture designer James Moore , and Vanbrugh's assistant architect Hawksmoor, completed
792-439: A series of cascades where the river flows in and out. The lake was narrowed at the point of Vanbrugh's grand bridge, but the three small canal-like streams trickling underneath it were completely absorbed by one river-like stretch. Brown's great achievement at this point was to actually flood and submerge beneath the water level the lower stories and rooms of the bridge itself, thus reducing its incongruous height and achieving what
880-406: A smaller but nearly identical layout of rooms, which were the suites of the Duke and Duchess themselves. Thus, the bow room corresponds exactly to the saloon in terms of its importance to the two smaller suites. Blenheim Palace was the birthplace of the 1st Duke's famous descendant, Winston Churchill , whose life and times are commemorated by a permanent exhibition in the suite of rooms in which he
968-670: A substantial sum of money towards its creation. The rent or petit serjeanty due to the Crown for the land was set at the peppercorn rent or quit-rent of one copy of the French royal flag to be tendered to the Monarch annually on the anniversary of the Battle of Blenheim. This flag is displayed by the Monarch on a 17th-century French writing table in Windsor Castle . Marlborough's wife was by all accounts
SECTION 10
#17328560317661056-453: A typically grandiose plan: through the park trickled the small River Glyme , and Vanbrugh envisaged this marshy brook traversed by the "finest bridge in Europe". Thus, ignoring the second opinion offered by Sir Christopher Wren, the marsh was channelled into three small canal -like streams and across it rose a bridge of huge proportions, so huge it was reported to contain some 30-odd rooms. While
1144-402: A vast anteroom to the saloon. The saloon was also to have been painted by Thornhill, but the Duchess suspected him of overcharging, so the commission was given to Louis Laguerre . This room is an example of three-dimensional painting, or trompe l'œil , "trick-the-eye", a fashionable painting technique at the time. The Peace Treaty of Utrecht was about to be signed, so all the elements in
1232-420: Is by Gibbons, the other three were copied indistinguishably by the Duchess's cheaper craftsmen. The third remarkable room is the long library designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor in 1722–1725, (H) , 183 ft (56 m) long, which was intended as a picture gallery. The ceiling has saucer domes , which were to have been painted by Thornhill, had the Duchess not upset him. The palace, and in particular this room,
1320-403: Is first mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book as Feniniwebold or Fenny Newbold: Bold is an anglo-saxon term for house so the name means a new house or building. "Fenny" - which denoted marshy land - distinguished the estate from the numerous other Warwickshire settlements called Newbold, notably the nearby Newbold on Avon. The name Newbold (juxta) Stretton occurs in the 13th and 14th centuries. From
1408-415: Is obtained to the raised colonnade which leads to the chapel (H) . The chapel is perfectly balanced on the eastern side of the palace by the vaulted kitchen. This symmetrical balancing and equal weight given to both spiritual and physical nourishment would no doubt have appealed to Vanbrugh's renowned sense of humour, if not the Duchess'. The distance of the kitchen from even the private dining room ("O" on
1496-453: Is regarded by many as the epitome of an English landscape. Brown also grassed over the great parterre and the Great Court. The latter was re-paved by Duchêne in the early 20th century. The 5th Duke was responsible for several other garden follies and novelties. Sir William Chambers , assisted by John Yenn , was responsible for the small summerhouse known as "The Temple of Diana" down by
1584-575: Is said to have commissioned Sir John Vanbrugh there and then. Vanbrugh, a popular dramatist, was an untrained architect, who usually worked in conjunction with the trained and practical Nicholas Hawksmoor . The duo had recently completed the first stages of the Baroque Castle Howard . This huge Yorkshire mansion was one of England's first houses in the flamboyant European Baroque style. The success of Castle Howard led Marlborough to commission something similar at Woodstock. Blenheim, however,
1672-498: Is the finest view in England Lady Randolph Churchill On the death of the 1st Duke in 1722, as both his sons were dead, he was succeeded by his daughter Henrietta . This was an unusual succession and required a special Act of Parliament, as only sons can usually succeed to an English dukedom. When Henrietta died, the title passed to Marlborough's grandson Charles Spencer, Earl of Sunderland , whose mother
1760-504: The King's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons . On the death of Charles II in 1685, his brother, the Duke of York, became King James II . James had been Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company (today North America's oldest company, established by royal charter in 1670), and with his succession to the throne, Churchill was appointed the company's third ever governor. He had also been affirmed Gentleman of
1848-563: The RNID . After Bonn's death, in 1929, the property was inherited by his only son, Major Walter Basil Louis Bonn. Major Walter Bonn sold Newbold Revel and its estate, in 1931, to the Seventh-day Adventists for use as a missionary training college but it was requisitioned in 1942 for use as an agent training establishment during World War II . It was an RAF Y-station Secret Intelligence Service and German telephony communications base. After
SECTION 20
#17328560317661936-517: The Royal Parks if owned by the royal family. The ownership of these estates for hunting was in practice strictly restricted until the 19th century when legal changes to game hunting meant the nobility, gentry and other wealthy families could purchase land for the purposes of hunting. At the administrative centre of these sporting estates is usually a sporting lodge . These are also often known as shooting or hunting estates. In modern British English ,
2024-563: The 19th century. One of England's largest houses, it was built between 1705 and 1722, and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The palace is named after the 1704 Battle of Blenheim . It was originally intended to be a reward to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough for his military triumphs against the French and Bavarians in the War of the Spanish Succession , culminating in
2112-474: The 1st Duke, another enemy of the Duchess, although she tolerated him in the household because he could play a good hand at cards. To the right of the doorway leading into the first stateroom, Laguerre included the French spies, said to have big ears and eyes because they may still be spying. Of the four marble door-cases in the room displaying the Duke's crest as a prince of the Holy Roman Empire , only one
2200-494: The Battle of Blenheim. The land was given as a gift, and construction began in 1705, with some financial support from Queen Anne . The project soon became the subject of political infighting, with the Crown cancelling further financial support in 1712, Marlborough's three-year voluntary exile to the Continent, the fall from influence of his duchess, and lasting damage to the reputation of the architect Sir John Vanbrugh . Designed in
2288-861: The Bedchamber in April, and admitted to the English peerage as Baron Churchill of Sandridge in the county of Hertfordshire in May. Following the Monmouth Rebellion , Churchill was promoted to Major General and awarded the lucrative colonelcy of the Third Troop of Life Guards . When William, Prince of Orange , invaded England in November 1688, Churchill, accompanied by some 400 officers and men, rode to join him in Axminster . When
2376-453: The Duchess. After their final argument in 1712, all state money ceased and work came to a halt. £220,000 had already been spent and £45,000 was owing to workmen. The Marlboroughs were forced into exile on the continent, and did not return until after the Queen's death in 1714. On their return the Duke and Duchess came back into favour at court. The 64-year-old Duke now decided to complete the project at his own expense. In 1716 work resumed, but
2464-401: The Duke of the time is said to have frequently sat at the organ bench and pretended to play the organ to his guests and they would applaud at the end. This practice is said to have been halted abruptly when the player started before the Duke had reached the organ. This famous instrument is regularly maintained and is played by visiting organists throughout the year, but its condition is declining:
2552-576: The King saw he could not even keep Churchill – for so long his loyal and intimate servant – he fled to France. As part of William III's coronation honours, Churchill was created Earl of Marlborough , sworn to the Privy Council , and made a Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber. During the War of the Spanish Succession Churchill gained a reputation as a capable military commander, and in 1702 he
2640-441: The bridge was indeed an amazing wonder, in this setting it appeared incongruous, causing Alexander Pope to comment: "the minnows, as under this vast arch they pass, murmur, 'how like whales we look, thanks to your Grace.'" Horace Walpole saw it in 1760, shortly before Capability Brown 's improvements: "the bridge, like the beggars at the old duchess's gate, begs for a drop of water and is refused." Another of Vanbrugh's schemes
2728-689: The central bay, with its back to the water terraces, the Norwich firm of Norman & Beard moved it to the northwestern end of the library in 1902 and made a few tonal additions and, the following year, cleaned it. No further changes were made until 1930, when the Willis firm lowered the pitch to modern concert pitch : a Welte automatic player was added in 1931, with 70 rolls cut by Marcel Dupré , Joseph Bonnet , Alfred Hollins , Edwin Lemare and Harry Goss-Custard also being supplied. This remained in use for some time:
Newbold Revel - Misplaced Pages Continue
2816-407: The central block, but none are designed on the same scale of magnificence as the palace. James Thornhill painted the ceiling of the hall in 1716. It depicts Marlborough kneeling to Britannia and proffering a map of the Battle of Blenheim. The hall is 67 ft (20 m) high, and remarkable chiefly for its size and for its stone carvings by Gibbons , yet in spite of its immense size it is merely
2904-409: The clock tower, through which one glimpses the Great Court. This view of the Duke as an omnipotent being is also reflected in the interior design of the palace, and indeed its axis to certain features in the park. It was planned that when the Duke dined in state in his place of honour in the great saloon, he would be the climax of a great procession of architectural mass aggrandising him rather like
2992-556: The cost of Queen Anne's statue placed in the library. In 1732 the Duchess wrote "The Chappel is finish'd and more than half the Tomb there ready to set up". Vanbrugh planned Blenheim in perspective ; that is, to be best viewed from a distance. As the site covers some seven acres (28,000 m ) this is also a necessity. The plan of the palace's principal block (or corps de logis ) is a rectangle ( see plan ) pierced by two courtyards; these serve as little more than light wells . Contained behind
3080-568: The country. That a grateful nation led by Queen Anne wished and intended to give their national hero a suitable home is beyond doubt, but the exact size and nature of that house is questionable. A warrant dated 1705, signed by the parliamentary treasurer the Earl of Godolphin , appointed Vanbrugh as architect and outlined his remit. Unfortunately for the Churchills, nowhere did this warrant mention Queen or Crown. The Duke of Marlborough contributed £60,000 to
3168-543: The design of great 18th-century houses comfort and convenience were subservient to magnificence, and this is certainly the case at Blenheim. This magnificence over creature comfort is heightened as the architect's brief was to create not only a home but also a national monument to reflect the power and civilisation of the nation. To create this monumental effect, Vanbrugh chose to design in a severe Baroque style, using great masses of stone to imitate strength and create shadow as decoration. The solid and huge entrance portico on
3256-536: The early 16th century the manor began to be known as Newnham Revell after the family that owned it (see below). The manor was acquired by the Revel family around 1235. It descended to Sir John Revel, MP and on his death with no son passed to his daughter Alice, who had married Esquire John Malory of Winwick, Northamptonshire. Their son was Sir Thomas Malory , probable author of Le Morte d'Arthur and MP for Warwickshire from 1443 to circa 1446. His great-grandson Nicholas sold
3344-418: The east court is the great East Gate, a monumental triumphal arch , more Egyptian in design than Roman . An optical illusion was created by tapering its walls to create an impression of even greater height. Confounding those who accuse Vanbrugh of impracticality, this gate is also the palace's water tower . Through the arch of the gate one views across the courtyard a second equally massive gate, that beneath
3432-405: The former royal manor, and the trysts of Henry II which had taken place there, causing the 1st Duchess to remark, "If there were obelisks to bee made of all what our Kings have done of that sort, the countrey would bee stuffed with very odd things" ( sic ). The obelisk was never realised. Following the 1st Duke's death, the Duchess concentrated most of her considerable energies on the completion of
3520-406: The great house was supplied with food from its own home farm (for meat and dairy) and a kitchen garden (for fruit and vegetables). A dower house may have been present on the estate to allow the widow of the former owner her own accommodation and household when moved out the primary house on the estate. The agricultural depression from the 1870s onwards and the decline of servants meant that
3608-418: The heroic pantheonesque atmosphere of the building. There are two approaches to the palace's grand entrance, one from the long straight drive through wrought iron gates directly into the Great Court; the other, equally if not more impressive, betrays Vanbrugh's true vision: the palace as a bastion or citadel , the true monument and home to a great warrior. Piercing the windowless, city-like curtain wall of
Newbold Revel - Misplaced Pages Continue
3696-447: The houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, tenanted buildings, and natural resources (such as woodland) that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house , mansion , palace or castle . It is the modern term for a manor , but lacks a manor's now-abolished jurisdiction. The "estate" formed an economic system where the profits from its produce and rents (of housing or agricultural land) sustained
3784-412: The initial cost when work commenced in 1705, which, supplemented by Parliament, should have built a monumental house. Parliament voted funds for the building of Blenheim, but no exact sum was mentioned nor provision for inflation or over-budget expenses. Almost from the outset, funds were spasmodic. Queen Anne paid some of them, but with growing reluctance and lapses, following her frequent altercations with
3872-430: The interior design of the library, the ceilings of many of the state rooms and other details in numerous other minor rooms, and various outbuildings. Cutting rates of pay to workmen, and using lower-quality materials in unobtrusive places, the widowed Duchess completed the great house as a tribute to her late husband. The final date of completion is not known, but as late as 1735 the Duchess was haggling with Rysbrack over
3960-514: The kitchens, laundry, and other domestic offices, the west court adjacent to the chapel the stables and indoor riding school. The three blocks together form the "Great Court" designed to overpower the visitor arriving at the palace. Pilasters and pillars abound, while from the roofs, themselves resembling those of a small town, great statues in the Renaissance manner of St Peter's in Rome gaze down on
4048-455: The lake, where in 1908 Winston Churchill proposed to his future wife. The extensive landscaped park, woodlands and formal gardens of Blenheim are Grades I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . Blenheim Park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest . ...as we passed through the entrance archway and the lovely scenery burst upon me, Randolph said with pardonable pride: This
4136-508: The large rural estates declined in social and economic significance, and many of the country houses were destroyed , or land was parcelled off to be sold. An urban example of the use of the term estate is presented by the "great estates" in Central London such as the Grosvenor and Portman , which continue to generate significant income through rent. Sometimes London streets are named after
4224-552: The late 1940s and early 1950s, many of these estates had been demolished and subdivided , in some cases resulting in suburban villages named for the former owners, as in Baxter Estates, New York . An important distinction between the United States and England is that "American country estates, unlike English ones, rarely, if ever, supported the house." American estates have always been about "the pleasures of land ownership and
4312-624: The main household, formerly known as the manor house . Thus, "the estate" may refer to all other cottages and villages in the same ownership as the mansion itself, covering more than one former manor. Examples of such great estates are Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire , England, and Blenheim Palace , in Oxfordshire , England, built to replace the former manor house of Woodstock. Before the 1870s, these estates often encompassed several thousand acres, generally consisting of several farms let to tenants ;
4400-410: The manor's origins. King Henry I enclosed the park to contain the deer. Henry II housed his mistress Rosamund Clifford (sometimes known as "Fair Rosamund") there in a "bower and labyrinth"; a spring in which she is said to have bathed remains, named after her. It seems the unostentatious hunting lodge was rebuilt many times, and had an uneventful history until Elizabeth I , before her succession,
4488-480: The money for the construction of Blenheim ceased. For political reasons the Marlboroughs went into exile on the Continent until they returned the day after the Queen's death on 1 August 1714. The estate given by the nation to Marlborough for the new house was the manor of Woodstock, sometimes called the Palace of Woodstock , which had been a royal demesne , in reality little more than a deer park . Legend has obscured
SECTION 50
#17328560317664576-466: The money for their improvement and maintenance usually comes from fortunes earned in other economic sectors besides agriculture. They are distinguished from ordinary middle-class American houses by sheer size, as well as their landscaping, gardens, outbuildings, and most importantly, recreational structures (e.g., tennis courts and swimming pools). This usage is the predominant connotation of "estate" in contemporary American English (when not preceded by
4664-468: The next 300 years, and various members of the family have wrought changes to the interiors, park and gardens. At the end of the 19th century, the palace was saved from ruin by funds gained from the 9th Duke of Marlborough 's marriage to American railroad heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt . John Churchill was born in Devon . Although his family had aristocratic relations, it belonged to the minor gentry rather than
4752-441: The north front resembles more the entrance to a pantheon than a family home. Vanbrugh also liked to employ what he called his "castle air", which he achieved by placing a low tower at each corner of the central block and crowning the towers with vast belvederes of massed stone, decorated with curious finials (disguising the chimneys). Coincidentally these towers, which hint at the pylons of an Egyptian temple , further add to
4840-416: The occupier of the suite, thus the most private. One of the small rooms between the bedroom and the internal courtyard was intended as a dressing room. This arrangement is reflected on the other side of the saloon. The state apartments were intended for use by only the most important guests such as a visiting sovereign. On the left (east) side of the plan on either side of the bow room (marked "O") can be seen
4928-457: The opportunity to enjoy active, outdoor pursuits ." Although some American estates included farms, they were always in support of the larger recreational purpose. Today, large houses on lots of at least several acres in size are often referred to as "estates", in a contemporary updating of the word's usage. Most contemporary American estates are not large enough to include significant amounts of self-supporting productive agricultural land, and
5016-399: The painting represent the coming of peace. The domed ceiling is an allegorical representation of Peace: John Churchill is in the chariot, he holds a zigzag thunderbolt of war, and the woman who holds back his arm represents Peace. The walls depict all the nations of the world who have come together peacefully. Laguerre also included a self-portrait placing himself next to Dean Jones, chaplain to
5104-482: The palace itself, and the park remained relatively unchanged until the arrival of Capability Brown in 1764. The 4th Duke employed Brown who immediately began an English landscape garden scheme to naturalise and enhance the landscape, with tree planting and man-made undulations. However, the feature with which he is forever associated is the lake, a huge stretch of water created by damming the River Glyme and ornamented by
5192-400: The palace of honouring the Duke did not reach its apotheosis until the dowager duchess's death in 1744. Then, the Duke's coffin was returned to Blenheim from its temporary resting place, Westminster Abbey , and husband and wife were interred together and the tomb erected and completed. Now Blenheim had indeed become a pantheon and mausoleum. Successive Dukes and their wives are also interred in
5280-487: The palace, but the entirety was not completed until after the Duke's death. The palace has been Grade I listed on the National Heritage List for England since August 1957. The palace chapel, as a consequence of the Duke's death, now obtained even greater importance. The design was altered by the Marlboroughs' friend the Earl of Godolphin , who placed the high altar in defiance of religious convention against
5368-409: The parish of Monks Kirby . Today the country house is in the modern parish of Stretton-under-Fosse , in the borough of Rugby . The current house was built in 1716 for Sir Fulwar Skipwith, 2nd Baronet and was constructed of brick in three stories to an H-shaped plan with an 11-bay frontage. In the late 19th century the ground floor was extended forwards. The estate dates from Anglo-Saxon times and
SECTION 60
#17328560317665456-431: The plan) was obviously of no consideration, hot food being of less importance than to avoid having to inhale the odour of cooking and proximity of servants. The Long Library organ was built in 1891 by the famous London firm of Henry Willis & Sons at a cost of £3,669. It replaced a previous organ built in 1888 by Isaac Abbott of Leeds , which was removed to St Swithun's church, Hither Green . Originally erected in
5544-407: The project relied completely upon the limited means of the Duke himself. Harmony on the building site was short-lived, as in 1717 the Duke suffered a severe stroke, and the thrifty Duchess took control. The Duchess blamed Vanbrugh entirely for the growing costs and extravagance of the house, the design of which she had never liked. Following a meeting with the Duchess, Vanbrugh left the building site in
5632-427: The property, after which it passed through a succession of private hands, including those of the builder of the present house, Sir Fulwar Skipwith. The estate was purchased in 1863 by Edward Wood and descended to his grandson before being acquired in 1898 by Colonel Heath, a Staffordshire brick manufacturer, and in 1911 by the banker and philanthropist, Leo Bernard William Bonn, who founded and endowed (1911) what became
5720-476: The rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style, architectural appreciation of the palace is as divided today as it was in the 1720s. It is unique in its combined use as a family home, mausoleum and national monument . The palace is notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill . Following the palace's completion, it became the home of the Churchill (later Spencer-Churchill ) family for
5808-510: The rural estates of aristocratic landowners, such as in the case of Wimpole Street . From the Norman era, hunting had always been a popular pastime with the British royalty and nobility, and dating from the medieval era, land was parcelled off and put aside for the leisurely pursuits of hunting. These originated as royal forests and chase land, eventually evolving into deer parks , or sometimes into
5896-539: The said John Duke of Marlborough and to all his issue male and female lineally descending." —Plaque above the East gate of Blenheim Palace Following the Duke's death in 1722, completion of the house and its park became the Duchess's driving ambition. Vanbrugh's assistant Hawksmoor was recalled and in 1723 designed the "Arch of Triumph", based on the Arch of Titus , at the entrance to the park from Woodstock. Hawksmoor also completed
5984-402: The south portico. Here the defeated King was humiliatingly forced to look down on the great parterre and spoils of his conqueror (rather in the same way as severed heads were displayed generations earlier). The Duke did not live long enough to see this majestic tribute realised, and sit enthroned in this architectural vision. The Duke and Duchess moved into their apartments on the eastern side of
6072-427: The southern facade are the principal state apartments ; on the east side are the suites of private apartments of the Duke and Duchess, and on the west along the entire length of the piano nobile is given a long gallery originally conceived as a picture gallery, but is now the library. The corps de logis is flanked by two further service blocks around square courtyards ( not shown in the plan ). The east court contains
6160-844: The term "estate" has been generalised to any large parcel of land under single ownership, such as a housing estate or industrial estate . Large country estates were traditionally found in New York's Long Island , and Westchester County , the Philadelphia Main Line , Maine's Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island , and other affluent East Coast enclaves; and the San Francisco Bay Area , early Beverly Hills, California , Montecito, California , Santa Barbara, California and other affluent West Coast enclaves. All these regions had strong traditions of large agricultural, grazing, and productive estates modeled on those in Europe. However, by
6248-456: The upper echelons of 17th-century society. In 1678, Churchill married Sarah Jennings , and in April that year, he was sent by Charles II to The Hague to negotiate a convention on the deployment of the English army in Flanders. The mission ultimately proved abortive. In May, Churchill was appointed to the temporary rank of Brigadier-General of Foot, but the possibility of a continental campaign
6336-567: The vault beneath the chapel. Other members of family are interred in St. Martin's parish churchyard at Bladon , a short distance from the palace. The internal layout of the rooms of the central block at Blenheim was defined by the court etiquette of the day. State apartments were designed as an axis of rooms of increasing importance and public use, leading to the chief room. The larger houses, like Blenheim, had two sets of state apartments each mirroring each other. The grandest and most public and important
6424-415: The visitor below, who is rendered inconsequential. Other assorted statuary in the guise of martial trophies decorate the roofs, most notably Britannia standing atop the entrance pediment in front of two reclining chained French captives sculpted in the style of Michelangelo , and the English lion devouring the French cock, on the lower roofs. Many of these are by such masters as Grinling Gibbons . In
6512-662: The war it was purchased by the Sisters of Charity of St. Paul as a Catholic teacher training college, and sold in 1978 to British Telecom. In 1985 it was taken over by the Prison Service for its current use as the Prison Service College. 52°25′24″N 1°19′55″W / 52.4234°N 1.3320°W / 52.4234; -1.3320 Estate (land) In the United Kingdom , historically an estate comprises
6600-417: The west wall, thus allowing the dominating feature to be the Duke's gargantuan tomb and sarcophagus . Commissioned by the Duchess in 1730, it was designed by William Kent , and statues of the Duke and Duchess depicted as Caesar and Caesarina adorn the great sarcophagus. In bas relief at the base of the tomb, the Duchess ordered to be depicted the surrender of Marshal Tallard . However, the theme throughout
6688-590: The word "real" ), which is why "industrial estate" sounds like an oxymoron to Americans, as few wealthy persons would deliberately choose to live next to factories. Traditional American estates include: Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace ( / ˈ b l ɛ n ɪ m / BLEN -im ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire , England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough . Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since
6776-463: The work in perfect imitation of the greater masters. "Under the auspices of a munificent sovereign this house was built for John Duke of Marlborough, and his Duchess Sarah, by Sir J Vanbrugh between the years 1705 and 1722, and the Royal Manor of Woodstock, together with a grant of £240,000 towards the building of Blenheim, was given by Her Majesty Queen Anne and confirmed by act of Parliament . . . to
6864-488: Was born (marked "K" on the plan) . Blenheim Palace was designed with all its principal and secondary rooms on the piano nobile , thus there is no great staircase of state: anyone worthy of such state would have no cause to leave the piano nobile . Insofar as Blenheim does have a grand staircase, it is the series of steps in the Great Court which lead to the North Portico. There are staircases of various sizes and grandeur in
6952-411: Was demanded of the architect. The nation (which was then assumed, by both architect and owners, to be paying the bills) wanted a monument, but the Duchess wanted not only a fitting tribute to her husband but also a comfortable home, two requirements that were not compatible in 18th-century architecture. Finally, in the early days of the building the Duke was frequently away on his military campaigns, and it
7040-481: Was elevated to the dukedom of Marlborough. During the war he won a series of victories, including the Battle of Blenheim (1704), the Battle of Ramillies (1706), the Battle of Oudenarde (1708), and the Battle of Malplaquet (1709). For his victory at Blenheim, the Crown bestowed upon Marlborough the tenancy of the royal manor of Hensington (situated on the site of Woodstock) to site the new palace, and Parliament voted
7128-582: Was eliminated with the Treaty of Nijmegen . When Churchill returned to England, the Popish Plot resulted in a temporary three-year banishment for James Stuart, Duke of York . The Duke obliged Churchill to attend him, first to The Hague, then in Brussels . For his services during the crisis, Churchill was made Lord Churchill of Eyemouth in the peerage of Scotland in 1682, and the following year appointed colonel of
7216-495: Was furnished with the many valuable artefacts the Duke had been given, or sequestered as the spoils of war , including a fine art collection. Here in the library, rewriting history in her own indomitable style, the Duchess set up a larger than life statue of Queen Anne, its base recording their friendship. From the northern end of the library—in which is housed the largest pipe organ in private ownership in Europe, built by England's great organ builder Henry Willis & Sons —access
7304-461: Was hailed as his masterpiece, he used a refined version of the Baroque employed at Blenheim. He died shortly before its completion. The precise responsibility for the funding of the new house has always been a debatable subject, unresolved to this day. The house as a reward was mooted within months of the Battle of Blenheim, at a time when Marlborough was still to gain many further victories on behalf of
7392-583: Was imprisoned there by her half-sister Mary I between 1554 and 1555. Elizabeth had been implicated in the Wyatt plot , but her imprisonment at Woodstock was short, and the manor remained in obscurity until bombarded and ruined by Oliver Cromwell 's troops during the Civil War . When the park was being re-landscaped as a setting for the house, the 1st Duchess wanted the historic ruins demolished, while Vanbrugh, an early conservationist, wanted them restored and made into
7480-423: Was left to the Duchess to negotiate with Vanbrugh. More aware than her husband of the precarious state of the financial aid they were receiving, she criticised Vanbrugh's grandiose ideas for their extravagance. Following their final altercation, Vanbrugh was banned from the site. In 1719, whilst the Duchess was away, Vanbrugh viewed the house in secret. However, when Vanbrugh's wife visited the completed Blenheim as
7568-490: Was not to provide Vanbrugh with the architectural plaudits he imagined it would. The fight over funding led to accusations of extravagance and impracticality of design, many of these charges levelled by the Whig factions in power. He found no defender in the Duchess of Marlborough. Having been foiled in her wish to employ Wren, she levelled criticism at Vanbrugh on every level, from design to taste. In part their problems arose from what
7656-399: Was the central saloon ("B" in the plan ) which served as the communal state dining room. To either side of the saloon are suites of state apartments, decreasing in importance but increasing in privacy: the first room ("C") would have been an audience chamber for receiving important guests, the next room ("L") a private withdrawing room, the next room ("M") would have been the bedroom of
7744-453: Was the great parterre , nearly half a mile long and as wide as the south front. Also in the park, completed after the 1st Duke's death, is the Column of Victory . It is 134 ft (41 m) high and terminates a great avenue of elms leading to the palace, which were planted in the positions of Marlborough's troops at the Battle of Blenheim. Vanbrugh had wanted an obelisk to mark the site of
#765234