Segment: Blenheim Palace
Episode: Viking Ep – British Isles Explorer
Air Date: 8th December 2019
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane

On a Viking Extension to Oxfordshire you can visit the Blenheim Palace, recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

• The palace is unique: built in a rare Baroque style between 1705 and 1722, it’s regarded as the finest example of truly Baroque architecture in Great Britain. It is unique in its combined use as a family home, mausoleum and national monument.
• It was built as a gift from Queen Anne to the 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, as a thank you for his victory during the Battle of Blenheim against the Bavarians.
• The palace was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, known as an enigmatic architect, playwright and political and civil rights activist.
• Today, the palace is home to one of the most important and extensive collections in Europe, which includes portraits, furniture, sculpture and tapestries.
• Tour guide Norman White explains that there are two house tours available: an Upstairs Tour of the main rooms used by the Marlborough family, and the Downstairs Tour which offers a glimpse into the lives of the palace staff over the centuries.
• Wondering through the building, you learn so many things about the family history and the way aristocracy worked within the British system. By the time the 9th Duke inherited the building, funding had all dried up but there was a need for a big investment so he married an American heiress whose father paid the equivalent of $75M pounds as an endowment. This allowed to renovate the palace back to his glorious best.