Blenheim Palace - 7-6-2014

July 6th, 2014 we visited Blenheim Palace. Blenheim is in Woodstock, Oxfordshire and is the residence of the Dukes of Marlborough. It's probably best known as the "birthplace" of Winston Churchill. It was built between 1705 and 1722. Quite a bit of history here - the Duke of Marlborough have been quite the characters throughout history!!

Short story - the home was a gift to John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough from Queen Anne for his victory against the French at the battle of Blenheim. However, there ended up being a lot of infighting and that led to John and Sarah Churchill being exiled. They ended up returning and finishing the home on their own, but the original architect and mason never returned. They say his wife was quite the witch!

With that said - the palace is magnificent! The grounds are unbelievable. Many events are held here year round. We upgraded our tickets to a yearly pass. Hope to come back and see a Jousting Tournament!

Somebody made this out of 1000 matchsticks - not a very good copy but still, dang!

Entry Hall - highest point

The dining table is used one a year by the Duke and Dutchess at Christmas. When fully equipped, it can seat 40!!

The cradle that the 9th Duchess used. (She was an American. From the Vanderbilt family) She would have been Winston Churchill's grandmother...I think.

Organ at the end of the Long Library

Inscription above organ

Chapel

Chapel

Just a portion of the gardens

One of two Sphinx' that guard the gardens. The face is that of Consuela - the 9th Duchess.

Got to take in part of a Cricket Match.

It was rather slow. I told our lack of enjoyment was probably due to our limited knowledge. However, he said he's been coming over here for 20 years and has learned quite a bit about the game and still can't stay interested. (Of course we were watching a bunch of old men - probably our age - so it was slower than usual!)

I'm determined to learn more and see if I can like it a bit more!