Why is the Churchill ancestral home called Blenheim Palace?

So, here’s an anniversary we couldn’t really ignore: the 375th of the birth of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, on May 26, 1650. Sometimes a date is just too compelling to be passed over, so we’ve had a reshuffling of the pack to give you the general par excellence at the apposite time. Born in Devon he may have been, but without Churchill, soldier and statesman, we wouldn’t have had anyone better to defy the imperialist ambitions of Louis XIV, nor would we have had Blenheim Palace. Firstly, there is some debate about the man’s birthday, with some sources saying May 26, 1650, and others June 24 in the same year. We can say with certainty though that John Churchill (1650-1722) was the son of an illustrious name of a later generation, Sir Winston Churchill (1620-88), a broke Devonshire royalist MP, and Elizabeth née Drake (c.1625-56).

The young Churchill’s first position would be as page to the Duke of York (James, Duke of York, the future James II). Developing into a handsome fellow, Churchill attracted the favour of the Duchess of Cleveland (Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland) who enriched him with a gift of £5,000 and also managed to secure him the junior rank of Guards’ ensign in September 1667 when aged 17. That ‘gift’, by the way, equates to over £1 million in today’s loot, which really does make you wonder. Advancement did come from two sources: his undoubted ability which was first manifest in action in Tangier (1668-70) and then Holland (1672-73), but also a bit of ‘who you know’ as his cousin, Arabella Churchill, had ingratiated herself into the Duke of York’s bedsheets. He was rapidly promoted to colonel. He also did himself some good in 1677 by marrying 18-year-old Sarah Jennings (c.1660-1744), a woman who developed pushiness into an art form (Cotswold Great, June/July 2021) and would become Queen Anne’s lady-in-waiting and favourite ‘companion’ prior to her becoming queen in 1702. Sarah would wield considerable influence over her with all the patronage this entailed until their friendship was dissolved amidst recrimination.

Panorama of Blenheim Palace, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1705. Photo: Magnus Manske In 1678, however, Churchill himself was diplomacy personified as he embarked on a clandestine mission to William of Orange which would eventually lead to his ennoblement as Baron Churchill of Eyemouth (1682). The death of Charles II in February 1685 would see the troublesome Duke of York elevated to the ranks of the monarchy as James II and one of Churchill’s first acts of the new reign would be to play his part in putting down the Monmouth Rebellion of the same year. Incidentally, that phrase ‘the troublesome Duke of York’ seems to have modern currency. It had been the first challenge to the Catholic-leaning James, the Protestant pitchfork revolt led by James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, an illegitimate son of Charles II, with whom Churchill had served in Holland. Churchill was further rewarded with an English barony, Eyemouth being in Scotland. He was a good one for following the prevailing wind, however, and when William of Orange landed in Devon in November 1688, heading up a far more official and formidable Protestant challenge, Churchill went over to William (or ‘Dutch Billy’ as he was known) leaving James II to be deposed. Personal ambition trumped loyalty and switching sides paid further dividend as he was rewarded with the Earldom of Marlborough (1689). It’s fair to say that Churchill could be unscrupulous at times when it came to feathering his own nest, but then it was a bit of a dog-eat-dog time.

The new rulers, joint monarchs William III and Mary II, were as paranoid as any rulers about threats from within and without (Mary, incidentally – the daughter of James II – had excelled herself by ousting her own dad). That paranoia set eyes on Churchill who had served with distinction in William’s Irish campaign, when allies of James II were defeated, yet was suspected of still favouring the Jacobites (from ‘Jacobus’, the Latin for James) so he was temporarily sidelined and even briefly imprisoned on an unfounded charge of treason. His fortunes would take another sharp turn when Mary’s younger sister became Queen Anne on the death of William III in March 1702 with the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) dominating her reign, a war ostensibly fought for control of the Spanish Empire and seeing Britain and its allies ranged against France and hers. Supreme command of the British forces in the war would be conferred on Churchill by the queen with an annual salary of £10,000 (getting on for £2 million today). Initially hampered by his Dutch ally’s reluctance to engage, Churchill was afforded greater freedom as his own army gained in strength. In a startling and innovative campaign, he marched his men into Central Europe to the Danube, winning the decisive Battle of Blenheim in August 1704. Churchill’s dispatch to his wife of the same day summarised: ‘I have not time to say more, but to beg you will give my duty to the Queen, and let her know her army has had a glorious victory’.

Marlborough at the Battle of Ramillies, 1706. Photo: ifbt.co.uk He was made a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (one of Britain’s allies) with other accolades including the Garter, a dukedom, Master-General of the Ordnance, and most importantly for our story, the estate and palatial residence at Woodstock, which was named Blenheim Palace in honour of his spectacular triumph on the field of battle. It was a gift from a grateful monarch and nation although the Churchills did have to get the builders in and erect our only non-royal palace for themselves. Sarah meanwhile flaunted herself for all she was worth. For Churchill, otherwise engaged, the victories kept coming; at Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708) and Malplaquet (1709). He then forced the French lines and captured Bouchain in 1711, bringing the curtain down on a campaign of unmitigated success which was governed by his belief in mobile warfare and his skill in exploiting it.

Queen Anne had decided that Churchill’s reward should match his achievements, and she conferred the historic Royal Manor of Woodstock and Hundred of Wootton on the Duke and his heirs in perpetuity, plus a sum of £500,000 was voted by Parliament for the building of Blenheim Palace. Not only was Sarah Churchill behind her husband’s fortunes (she obtained his dukedom for him) but she was the real architect behind Blenheim, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1705. Having rejected Sir Christopher Wren’s plans, the commission fell to Sir John Vanbrugh, whose job it was to erect the immense edifice occupying three acres, which put it on a par with Europe’s largest palaces. The builders would be in with their cement mixers and JCBs until 1722. The park was first laid out by Queen Anne’s own gardener, Henry Wise, allegedly to a design based on the Blenheim campaign, his formal ‘stuff’ later naturalised by Capability Brown. The Glyme was dammed to achieve the huge lake which is spanned by a 390-foot bridge with the lofty Column of Victory looking down on it all, surmounted by the Duke himself in Roman garb. Inside, there are the magnificent tapestries which Queen Anne’s own ambassadors combed Europe for; it appears that Anne was as invested in Blenheim as the Churchills. There’s also a flamboyant ceiling by Sir James Thornhill (1716) which celebrates Churchill’s finest hour at the battle that gave the palace its name.

An atmospheric picture of the Column of Victory at Blenheim. Photo: Paul Trafford/Flickr Perhaps he had become too successful and too popular, though. Back home, Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, and other Tories, had been pushing for a compromise peace which actually conceded much that Churchill had fought for; soldiers and politicians are rarely on the same page. The devil-may-care Duke had also been undone by his own wife whose hectoring had finally become too much for Queen Anne, who’d calmly transferred her affections and loyalties to another, Abigail Masham. Shorn of influence, the Duke was charged with receiving illicit payments, and whilst these charges of embezzlement were certainly of the trumped-up persuasion, he was nevertheless summarily dismissed from public employment in December 1711. How the mighty are fallen. James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, was installed as Churchill’s successor as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces but was tellingly allowed to received the very payments that had done for Churchill. Despite the apparent injustice of it, Churchill was public enemy number one for a while so upped sticks and enjoyed a quiet ‘retirement’ abroad.

Everything changed again for the Duke with the death of Queen Anne in August 1714 – the end of the Stuart dynasty, and accession of the first of the Hanoverians, George I. He was immediately restored to his honours and his advice was eagerly sought at the time of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, when the Catholic Stuarts had a pop at recovering their throne. John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, who had previously suffered a stroke, died on June 16, 1722, his funeral rites in Westminster Abbey attended by many of the humble, yet loyal veterans of his campaigns. He was a calm, easy-going kind of person, a devoted husband and father whose concern for the welfare of his troops was real and unwavering, just like his love for his wife and children.

Resting place of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough in Blenheim Palace’s chapel. Photo: Magnus Manske CHRONOLOGY

1650 – Birth of John Churchill in Musbury, Devon (May 26).

1667 – Becomes a Guards’ ensign thanks to the patronage of Barbara Palmer.

1677 – Marries 18-year-old Sarah Jennings who becomes influential at Court.

1685 – One of commanders at the Battle of Sedgemoor as Monmouth’s rebellion is defeated.

1688 – Abandons James II for William and Mary at the time of the Glorious Revolution.

1692 – Falls from favour and is briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London.

1704 – John Churchill’s standout victory over the French at Blenheim.

1705 – Work starts on the construction of Blenheim Palace, a gift from Queen Anne.

1722 – Death of John Churchill in Windsor Great Park (June 27) aged 72.

References

Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1974)

The Shell Guide to England (Ed. J. Hadfield, 1973)

A Dictionary of British History (Ed. J.P. Kenyon, 1981)

Quotations in History (Ed. A. & V. Palmer, 1976)

Britannica website