Blemhein Palace

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February 21, 2008

We headed out last Saturday to Blemheim Palace, the only non-episcopal country house in England that’s been given the name “palace”.  We met our friends Steffen, Tracy and 7 month daughter Elise there for a cold, fine day in the Cotswolds and Blemheim Palace.  We enjoyed a hot lunch and afternoon tea in the estates café and ventured along the many walks offered around the grounds after visiting the state rooms.

When John Churchill (1650-1722), the 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeated the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, Queen Anne gave him the manor of Woodstock and had the palatial home of Blenheim Palace built for him in gratitude. Blenheim Palace is set amidst breathtaking parkland, in the heart of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, eight miles from Oxford.

Entrance to Blenheim Palace

Pleasure Gardens

Tracy and I by the Cascades, part of the landscaped parkland created by "Capability" Brown in the 1760's

Baby Elise snoozing by the Cascades

Steffen, Tracy and Elise eclipsing the Palace

Sculpture in the Secret Garden

Daffodils on the Bloom

Long, cold walk to the column of Victory

scene from the park with blooming snow drops

Column of Victory
The column was started five years after Marlborough's death and was completed in 1730