Editing Blenheim Palace (section)

==Origins and construction==
=== Churchills ===
[[File:Marlborough-first-duke.JPG|thumb|upright|{{Circa|1705}} [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough]] by [[Sir Godfrey Kneller]].|alt=A man in robes of the Order of the Garter. The man is wearing white and red clothing, with a mantle adorned with a large badge]]

John Churchill was born in [[Devon]]. Although his family had [[aristocracy|aristocratic]] relations, it belonged to the minor [[gentry]] rather than the upper echelons of 17th-century society. In 1678, Churchill married [[Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough|Sarah Jennings]],<ref>Churchill: ''Marlborough: His Life and Times, Bk. 1'', 129</ref> and in April that year, he was sent by [[Charles II of England|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 was eliminated with the [[Treaties of Nijmegen|Treaty of Nijmegen]].<ref>Chandler: ''Marlborough as Military Commander'', 10</ref>

When Churchill returned to England, the [[Popish Plot]] resulted in a temporary three-year banishment for [[James II of England|James Stuart, Duke of York]]. The Duke obliged Churchill to attend him, first to The Hague, then in [[Brussels]].<ref>Holmes: ''Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius'', 92.</ref> 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 the [[1st The Royal Dragoons|King's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons]].<ref>Churchill: ''Marlborough: His Life and Times, Bk. 1'', 164</ref>

[[File:Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough]] 1700 by Sir Godfrey Kneller]]

On the death of Charles II in 1685, his brother, the Duke of York, became [[James II of England|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 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 (British Army)|Life Guards]].<ref>Holmes: ''Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius'', 126</ref>

When [[William III of England|William, Prince of Orange]], invaded England in November 1688, Churchill, accompanied by some 400 officers and men, rode to join him in [[Axminster]].<ref>Churchill: ''Marlborough: His Life and Times, Bk. 1'', 240</ref> When the King saw he could not even keep Churchill – for so long his loyal and intimate servant – he fled to France.<ref>Holmes: ''Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius'', 194</ref> As part of William III's coronation honours, Churchill was created [[Earl of Marlborough]], sworn to the [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Privy Council]], and made a Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber.<ref name=stephen>{{cite DNB |last=Stephen |first=Leslie |wstitle=Churchill, John (1650-1722) |display=Churchill, John (1650–1722) |volume=10 |pages=315–341 |short=x |noicon=x}}</ref>

During the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] Churchill gained a reputation as a capable military commander, and in 1702 he 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 [[Manorialism|manor]] of Hensington (situated on the site of Woodstock) to site the new palace, and [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]] voted 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]].<ref name="RCT">{{cite web | url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/egallery/object.asp?category=279&object=35489&row=9&detail=about | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829204252/https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/egallery/object.asp?category=279&object=35489&row=9&detail=about| archive-date= 29 August 2017|title=Writing table | publisher=The Royal Collection Trust | work=The Royal Collection | access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref>

Marlborough's wife was by all accounts a cantankerous woman, though capable of great charm. She had befriended the young [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|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, the money for the construction of Blenheim ceased.<ref>Field, p. 229, 251–5, 265, 344</ref> 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.<ref name=stephen/>

=== Site ===
[[File:Blenheim PalaceDE.jpg|thumb|An engraving of Blenheim Palace]]

The estate given by the nation to Marlborough for the new house was the [[Manorialism|manor]] of Woodstock, sometimes called the [[Woodstock Palace|Palace of Woodstock]], which had been a royal [[demesne]], in reality little more than a [[medieval deer park|deer park]].<ref name=woodstockpalace>{{cite web |title= Woodstock's lost royal palace |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2007/10/17/glyme_feature.shtml |publisher=BBC Oxford |access-date=29 November 2010 |first=Simon |last=Pipe |date=23 October 2007}}</ref> Legend has obscured the manor's origins. King [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] enclosed the park to contain the deer. [[Henry II of England|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.<ref name=woodstockpalace/>

It seems the unostentatious hunting lodge was rebuilt many times, and had an uneventful history until [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]], before her succession, was imprisoned there by her half-sister [[Mary I of England|Mary I]] between 1554 and 1555.<ref name=woodstockpalace/> Elizabeth had been implicated in the [[Thomas Wyatt the younger|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 [[English Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name=woodstockpalace/>

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 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.<ref name=woodstockpalace/>

=== Architect ===
[[File:John Vanbrugh.jpg|thumb|upright|The architect Sir John Vanbrugh c.1705, in a painting by [[Godfrey Kneller]]]]
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, 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.discoverbritainmag.com/the_imaginative_genius_of_sir_john_vanbrugh/|title=The imaginative genius of Sir John Vanbrugh, architect of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard|newspaper=Discover Britain|first=Claire |last=Masset|date=2 February 2015 |access-date=29 July 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Blenheim Palace from the Water Terraces October 2016.jpg|thumb|left|Blenheim Palace ("[[John Vanbrugh]]'s castle air"): west facade showing the unique severe towering stone [[belvedere (structure)|belvederes]] ornamenting the skyline]]
Blenheim, however, 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,<ref>When the Duchess came to build [[Marlborough House]], her London home, in 1706, she employed Sir Christopher Wren. She later dismissed him too, because she felt that the contractors took advantage of him. She personally supervised the completion of the house. See [http://www.georgianindex.net/Prn_Charlotte/MarlboroughHse.html Marlborough House] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226090033/http://www.georgianindex.net/Prn_Charlotte/MarlboroughHse.html |date=26 February 2017 }}.</ref> she levelled criticism at Vanbrugh on every level, from design to taste. In part their problems arose from what 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 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.<ref>Colvin, p. 850</ref>

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 a member of the viewing public in 1725, the Duchess refused to allow her even to enter the park.<ref name=dnbv>{{Cite DNB|wstitle=Vanbrugh, John| first=Thomas |last=Seccombe |author-link=Thomas Seccombe|volume=58  |short=x |noicon=x}}</ref>

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 was hailed as his masterpiece, he used a refined version of the Baroque employed at Blenheim. He died shortly before its completion.<ref name=dnbv/>

=== Funding the construction ===
[[File:Blenheim Palace Grand Bridge.jpg|thumb|right|The Grand Bridge in Blenheim Park 1722–1724 by Vanbrugh]]
[[File:Entrance to Blenheim Palace Park - geograph.org.uk - 1481987.jpg|thumb|right|The Hensington Gates the main entrance to Blenheim Park 1709 by Hawksmoor]]
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 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 [[Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin|Earl of Godolphin]], appointed Vanbrugh as architect and outlined his remit. Unfortunately for the Churchills, nowhere did this warrant mention Queen or Crown.<ref name=bhol>{{cite book |last1=Baggs |first1=A. P.|author-link1= |last2=Blair |first2=W. J. |author-link2= |last3=Chance |first3=Eleanor |author-link3= |last4=Colvin |first4=Christina |author-link4= |last5=Cooper |first5=Janet |author-link5=|last6=Day|first6=C. J.|last7=Selwyn|first7=Nesta|last8=Townley|first8=S. C. |editor-last1=Crossley |editor-first1=Alan|editor-last2=Elrington|editor-first2=C. R. |year=1990 |chapter=Blenheim: Blenheim Palace |chapter-url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol12/pp448-460|title=A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12, Wootton Hundred (South) Including Woodstock |location=London |publisher=[[British History Online]] |pages=448–460 |isbn=978-0-19-722774-9 |access-date=22 September 2022}}</ref>

The Duke of Marlborough contributed £60,000 to 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 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.<ref name=stephen/>

[[File:Blenheim engraving.jpg|thumb|left|An 18th-century [[engraving]] showing The Great Court]]

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 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 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 (furniture designer)|James Moore]], and Vanbrugh's assistant architect Hawksmoor, completed the work in perfect imitation of the greater masters.<ref name=bhol/>
{{Quote box
| quote  = "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 the said John Duke of Marlborough and to all his issue male and female lineally descending."
| source = —Plaque above the East gate of Blenheim Palace
| width  = 35%
| align  = right
}}

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 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.<ref name="Green, p. 39">Green, p. 39</ref>

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 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".<ref name="Green, p. 39"/>