Blenheim Palace
Were you aware this renowned palace in England was given its name following a significant battle fought in the 18th century? In this blog post, you'll learn the 20 top fascinating facts about Blenheim Palace and discover why it's one of the world's most intriguing palaces that continues to draw numerous tourists each year. Let's get started.
20 Top Intriguing Facts about Blenheim Palace
1. Can you say, "Movie Central?" Several exciting movies and even TV series have been filmed here. Popular favorites range from Spectre 007, The Avengers, The Legend of Tarzan, Black Beauty, The Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter to Cinderella.
2. The inner roof that's situated at the entry, displays paintings of the eyes of the 9th Dukes' wife. Although it's broadly known the painted blue eyes belong to the duke's wife, the brown eyes' owner still remains a mystery.
3. The 12th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough as well as their family reside currently at Blenheim Palace.
4. It's the only structure in England besides official royal buildings to be fortunate enough to have the distinctive title of "palace."
5. Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace in 1874. However, it is rumored that he lived elsewhere and not here.
6. It was at one point converted into a hospital to nurse injured soldiers during WWll.
7. It has an enormous amount of space, including 200 rooms and 1000 windows. As the palace was erected, the actual size of each window was determined in respect to the status of the individual who would occupy that room. For example, servants had relatively smaller windows as compared to the duke's large windows.
8. A mountain of books! Its Long Library hosts over 10,000 books and a boy's school that was relocated in WWll.
9. You wouldn't be free to roam about the palace as today. It opened its doors to the general public in 1950.
10. Blenheim Palace received a UNESCO World Heritage Site badge in 1987.
11. The palace hosts an exciting jousting tournament each summer. Come and watch knights charge, stampede and battle one another while providing a thrilling show.
12. It was really rather affordable to construct considering its size and grandeur. Its total cost was just $395,950.50 in the eighteenth century.
13. Although the queen currently owns the land that the palace is built on and thus should receive rent money, the only payment required is the flying of a Blenheim Flag; a great deal indeed!
14. Initially, the palace was a present given to John Churchill to celebrate the triumph won over France in the lengthy Spanish Succession.
15. The palace was obligated from the 1600s to the 1800s to pay an odd window tax regarding the amount of light which shone into the residence per window.
16. One of its sundials mysteriously disappeared for a long period after being sent off to be repaired. However, it recently reappeared inside a box together with the invoice that describes the repair work that was done.
17. The flag flies whenever the duke takes up residence and goes down when he leaves.
18. When its clock tower was initially erected, servants would scramble up the unusually narrow spiral stairs in order to change and correct the time. Fortunately, it's today done mechanically.
19. The servant wages during the time period of the first Duchess, for instance, was only $7.90 per year for a laundry maid.
20. The Churchill family motto, which is inscribed within the crest means "faithful but unlucky."
Tourist Information
Highlights to see while visiting:
- The State Room that hosts one of Europe's finest collections
- The Untold Story (The Blenheim Palace tour)
- The Churchill Exhibition
- The Formal Park & Gardens
- The Pleasure Gardens
- Private Apartments
- Indoor Cinema
