Blenheim Palace is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and 1722, and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Blenheim Palace north facade
Blenheim Palace south facade
c. 1705 John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough by Sir Godfrey Kneller.
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough 1700 by Sir Godfrey Kneller
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry who dominated rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832. Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses, having functional antecedents in manor houses.
Belton House is an English country house in Lincolnshire
In the 20th century Longleat House was the first country house to open to the paying public, and also claims the first safari park outside Africa.
Blenheim Palace
Forde Abbey in Dorset. Many country houses have evolved and been extended over several centuries. Here, the architecture runs from Medieval ecclesiastical to Palladian and on to Strawberry Hill Gothic, while at sometime an attempt at unity has been made by the use of crenelation.
