Blenheim Palace, Then Friends and Family in Oxford

On Thursday morning (June 16), we got up, packed up, had breakfast and drove away from Rob and Susan's house at 9 a.m., ready for our first bit of real sightseeing on this trip.  Just over an hour later, we arrived at Blenheim Palace near Woodstock, just north of Oxford.  Living up to my reputation among my family for being highly organized, we parked and were set to go in the front doors of the palace entrance just when they were opening.

The palace, set in the midst of a huge, beautifully designed and maintained park, is now part of the National Trust but is also still the residence of the the Spencer-Churchill family, now headed by the 12th Duke.  Most famous today, perhaps, as the birthplace and home of the grandparents of Sir Winston Churchill, the palace and its sprawling grounds were a gift to the First Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, the military commander who led the Allied forces to a decisive victory against the Franco-Bavarian forces during the War of the Spanish Succession, on August 13, 1704, in the Battle of Blenheim.  The palace was constructed between 1705 and 1733.  Between 1764 and 1774, the renowned landscape architect Lancelot "Capability" Brown redesigned over 2000 acres of the parkland.

Blenheim Palace from the Italian Garden

We took a tour of part of the first floor of the palace containing the State rooms and learned a great deal of detail about the Dukes of Marlborough.  Over the 19th century, the palace fell into disrepair and the family fortune was squandered.  Charles "Sunny" Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke (and first cousin to Winston Churchill), is given credit for restoring the palace to its former glory and wealth to the family.  Prevented from working to earn money by the social protocols of the era, he gained access to cash by wooing a 19-year-old American heiress, Consuelo Vanderbilt, who objected but was forced into a loveless and unhappy marriage.

The rooms we saw, of course, are lavishly decorated, with 24-carat gold gilding the ceilings and impressive period furniture throughout.  In some of the drawing rooms hang the series of ten Belgian tapestries commissioned by the First Duke of Marlborough between 1706-1710 to celebrate his stunning victories in the War of Spanish Succession. The details and vibrancy of the colors in the wool and silk after 300 years is truly amazing.

Tapestry of the Battle of Blenheim

Although the Duke and his family have always lived in the east wing of the palace, they continue to entertain in the State rooms.  The dining room table was set for only a few people in preparation for a gathering, although it can be arranged to seat over 40.  Beside the table sat an enormous solid silver centerpiece depicting the First Duke on horseback.  During the 11 years that Consuelo Vanderbilt stayed with the 9th Duke, she always had it placed in the center of the long table so that she would not have to look at or converse with her hated husband.

State Dining Room with the silver statue on the right in the photo

Another interesting tidbit of information we gleaned from the tour guide's talk was that the Duke of Marlborough has been required from the beginning to pay rent in the form of a white silk flag decorated with a design of three hand-painted flour-de-lis, in representation of the flag the French presented when they surrendered at Blenheim in 1703.  Apparently, should the Duke fail to do this by August 13 each year, the property is forfeited to the Crown.  So far, the Dukes have not missed a payment date!

After the tour (which Peter missed because he had forgotten his raincoat--an absolute necessity here in England--at Rob's and had to rendezvous with Immie, who was driving that morning to Sheffield, to collect it), the four of us enjoyed lunch on the patio above the Water Terraces on the west side of the U-shaped palace.  

Water Terrace of Blenheim Palace

Afterwards, we strolled along the Great Lake to the Grand Cascade (a man-made waterfall which is part of the pumping system for the man-made lake), then to the elegant Rose Garden and across the South Lawn to the Roundel, a lovely little round pond with a beads of light-reflecting water arcing from the edges to form an umbrella over a statue of the childlike Three Graces.  

Roundel with the statue of the Three Graces

The whole place--palace and parkland--is so enormous that we could have spent days there, but we left around 2:30, just as rain was beginning to fall, in order to visit one of Peter's engineering professors, the man who hired him for his first position after graduating from St. John's, Oxford.  David Clarke and his wife Lynda were most hospitable and the six of us enjoyed lively political discussions about Brexit and the American Presidental race as well as sharing information about our lives over the past few years while enjoying tea and lovely homemade scones.  

David Clarke and Petee

We arrived at our hotel early in the evening with the intention of taking short naps before finding some dinner.  Peter had to eat alone as Matthew, Katya and I were much more tired than hungry and chose to continue to sleep through the night.  

Today (Friday, June 17) we ate entirely too much food.  The buffet breakfast at the hotel was generous and appealing, so we started out full.  We made a brief stop at Wolvercote Cemetery to pay homage to J.R.R. Tolkien by visiting his grave, where several people had left flowers, notes and tokens of respect.

Peter and Matthew at the grave of J.R.R. Tolkein

Our next stop was the home of Tim and Rosemary Bravington, Peter's uncle and aunt on his materal side.  After spending a bit of time at their home, where Tim shared some of his photos from the 50's and 60's of Peter and his family in East Africa, we went to one of Peter's old haunts from his days at Oxford, The Royal Oak, a centuries-old pub near the Engineering School.  Katya and Matthew had both looking forward to British pubs since Katya just recently passed the legal drinking age in the US and Matthew is below the age in the US but legal in the UK.  Katya tried a glass of bitter and Matthew had a local ale.  

After lunch and goodbyes to Tim and Rosemary, we drove through Oxford--illegally at times since Peter, without realizing it, turned into a street for buses and taxis only and we couldn't get off it for a few blocks--to find a parking place near the boathouses on the Thames.  We took a brief walk--not enough exercise after a big lunch--along the river, watching oarsmen and punters on the water--before heading to our next social engagement, tea with Pam Vandermann, an old friend of the Bravington family.  We were delighted to find her in fine form even though she is approaching her 92nd birthday, using a walker and living at home only because she has a live-in caretaker.  We asked her about Bletchley Park and her work there running the machines (which is where she met and became a lifelong dear friend of Peter's mother Anne).  She said it was hard work, particularly since they realized that if they didn't do it thoroughly they might be jeopardizing the lives of family or friends at sea, and it was difficult not being able to tell even her own mother what she was doing.  Regarding The Imitation Game, when asked, she commented that she found much of it inaccurate but modified her statement by stating that her work was in a small part of a large operation, and secrecy kept the staff from being cognizant of the whole picture.  Pam and Katya enjoyed a lively conversation in which Katya attempted to convince Pam to try to live to 100 and suggested that an animal companion would be a good addition to her life at the this point.  I am not sure Pam was convinced.

We went directly from Pam's to the home of Peter and Stella Wood, whom Peter has known since his earliest childhood days on Kilimanjaro, when they and their children lived nearby.  Even though Peter has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, neither he nor Stella seemed to be much different from when we last saw them four years ago.  We sat on their balcony for a while, enjoying the expansive view of open meadowland populated by cows and horses, before walking down the lanes to the center of the village of Wolvercote and a fine establishment, Jacob's Inn.  There we enjoyed great food and great conversation, while Katya had a large glass of red wine and Matthew consumed an entire pint of hard cider, not stopping even though he whispered to me part way through the glass that he was feeling a bit dizzy.  Peter also had a drink, leaving me the only one fully sober and alert.  Returning to the Wood's home, despite drowsiness, Peter and Matthew did not refuse South African brandy!  Katya was falling asleep on the couch, and Peter was sinking lower in his cushy armchair, and I had to insist at 9 p.m. that we depart.  All in all, they are handling their liquor well!

Peter Wood, Matthew, Peter, Katya and Stella Wood