where is Blenheim located and how did it became famous
Answers
Blenheim Palace was built in the early 18th century to celebrate the victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), a conflict between European powers – including a divided Spain – over who had the right to succeed Charles II as king of the country. The palace was a gift to John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, the military commander who led the Allied forces in the battle of Blenheim on 13 August 1704.
Blenheim Palace was built after Queen Anne granted John Churchill’s family the ruined royal manor and park at Woodstock in west Oxfordshire. She also dedicated funds – thought to be £240,000 – to build the country house to commemorate his achievements.
Blenheim Palace is the only non-royal, non-episcopal [not pertaining to the Episcopal church or system] country house in England to hold the title of palace.
It is an example of 18th-century Baroque architecture – that is, an exuberant and luxurious building style that originates in late 16th-century Italy.
Blenheim Palace opened to the general public for the first time in 1950.
It is today home to the 11th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough.
The original gardens by Henry Wise, Queen Anne’s gardener, are said to have been designed in the formal style of the famed gardens of Versailles in France.
In 1764, the landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716–83) was commissioned to create a new landscape for the 2,000-plus acres of parkland that surround the palace. “The visionary master landscaper constructed the Great Lake and planted thousands of trees in his ten-year tenure here, engineering a landscape that appears natural but is actually ‘contrived to pleasing effect'”, says Blenheim Palace.
Blenheim Palace (pronounced /ˈblɛnɪm/ BLEN-im[1]) is a monumental country house in Blenheim, Oxfordshire, England. It is the principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, and the only non-royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and 1722, and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.[2]
The palace is named for the 1704 Battle of Blenheim, and thus ultimately after Blindheim (also known as Blenheim) in Bavaria. 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 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 duchy and lasting damage to the reputation of the architect Sir John Vanbrugh.
Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style, architectural appreciation of the palace is as divided today as it was in the 1720s.[3] 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 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.