The Covid Diaries 4: Blenheim Palace

A review of an outing to Blenheim Palace Summer 2020. In which I enjoy seeing how the other half live, and manage not to shock myself climbing over an electric fence.

Review of Blenheim Palace, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Blenheim Palace is both home to the Dukes of Marlborough and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The latter status is due to British baroque-ness, fancy landscaping, a dry stone wall, and various other things that make for slightly tedious reading on the UNESCO website. It is located within easy reach of Oxford just outside the village of Woodstock. Blenheim Palace has been on my To Do list for a number of years (but those pesky foreign travels always beckoned). Semi-lockdown seemed like a good chance to visit! So I promptly took some time off work, procured a pass for Blenheim Palace and grounds plus a timed entry slot, and based myself in Oxford for the week.

Don’t get me wrong – Blenheim Palace is not a ground-breaking experience if you’ve been to other major stately homes and/or palaces. It is pretty fancy though, and made for a good day out. There are easy transport connections from central Oxford. The process of getting through the various ticket checks etc. was quite straightforward. Then there was a bit of a queue to get into the house itself, but I’ve had worse. A Soviet-style queue for the Kremlin comes to mind, where the only progress came as people realised it was closed for the day and left the queue, making those in the back feel like it was moving. But anyway, I digress…).

Wonderful Art, But Not Too Much Reflection

I liked the breadth of the art collection. Each generation of Dukes and Duchesses seems to have had their favourite artists. There are thus a lot of solid names represented: Kneller, Reynolds, Sargent, etc. Plus of course a number of paintings by Winston Churchill himself. I had read about the Blenheim Art Foundation’s contemporary collection so was a little disappointed not to see anything more modern in dialogue with the historic works. But the latter as well as the furniture and works of art were all interesting and displayed nicely.

Perhaps one drawback of a stately home still being in the family is that it doesn’t allow space for reflection; there was a bit of tongue in cheek commentary about husbands and wives arranging large centrepieces on the dinner table so as not to have to look at each other, but otherwise not a lot of evidence of critical thought about wealth and status, the family ‘heroes’, and so on.

I’m not really informed enough to know what those critical thoughts might be, but in my opinion inviting dialogue helps a stately home to stand out, connect with visitors, and stick in the memory as more than just a fleeting half hour of nice china, art and tapestries. Maybe I’m being too critical though if I review Blenheim Palace on this basis – they were certainly busy enough across the estate and drawing in the visitor numbers without that.

That Capability Brown Got Everywhere, Didn’t He?

As well as the house itself, the grounds are a big draw. Originally landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown (where wasn’t?), there are lots of lovely old trees, a lake, a water terrace, and a monument to the first Duke’s victories in battle in a sheep meadow facing the palace. There’s a lot of fencing going on which can get confusing. This is how I ended up climbing over an electric fence and praying it didn’t zap me… But it certainly makes it tempting to return within the time allotted by the 12 month pass.

And if the house and the grounds aren’t enough, there also seems to be a packed calendar of events throughout the year. A lot has had to be cancelled this year of course, but when we visited there was still a picnic and bar area with music, and a drive-in cinema.

Final Thoughts on Blenheim Palace

So overall it didn’t feel as if my day lacked much due to the current Covid-19 restrictions. It’s always more or less a one-way system through those kind of houses anyway. The staff were friendly and welcoming, and once you’ve finished with the house there are acres and acres in which to stay 2 metres away from other visitors. Plus the pubs in Woodstock are open again for a socially-distanced beverage at the end of the day, which is always an important detail. A positive review of Blenheim Palace from me!

On its own merits: 4/5
Implementing Covid rules: 4.5/5