The property in England ,which became known as Blenheim, and a huge sum of money(about 1/2 million dollars) to build a house were gifts from Queen Anne to the 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, for his great victory against the French at the Battle of Blindheim (the English called it Blenheim) in Bavaria in 1704.
Winston Churchill was born in the house, and he spent lots of time there during his childhood. The guide told us that the furnishings in the room where Winston was born were not the original furnishings. He said that, had the family realized how famous Winston would be, they would have kept the room intact! He said that unfortunately we don't know which babies will become famous!
Winston proposed to his wife at Blenheim and spent part of his honeymoon there. However, his father did not own the house. The property had been passed to Winston's uncle, who was the first born son. There is a family connection between the Churchills and the Spencers, Lady Diana's family.
Part of the house is still the residence of the 11th Duke of Marlborough. Can you imagine living in such a house!!
We could not take photos inside the house, but the following three are photos inside the chapel.
The next photos are of the grounds, which were designed by a man named Capability Brown. He was well-known for his garden designs for wealthy clients, and because of his ability to turn ordinary land into beautiful gardens, he was given the nickname "Capability".
The last photo is of the monument erected by the widow of the 1st Duke in his honor.
2 comments:
Wow. I can't imagine living in something that HUGE! It would be someone's full-time job just to mow the yard (not to mention keep the garden and clean the house)! Can you imagine how long it took to mow when they didn't have gas powered mowers!
Wow - I am not just copying other posts. That was my first thought when I saw the pictures.
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