1.
Anne, Queen of Great Britain
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Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a sovereign state known as Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death, Anne was born in the reign of her uncle Charles II, who had no legitimate children. Her father, James, was first in line to the throne and his suspected Roman Catholicism was unpopular in England, and on Charless instructions Anne was raised as an Anglican. Three years after he succeeded Charles, James was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Annes Dutch Protestant brother-in-law and cousin William III became joint monarch with his wife, Annes elder sister Mary II. Although the sisters had been close, disagreements over Annes finances, status and choice of acquaintances arose shortly after Marys accession, William and Mary had no children. After Marys death in 1694, William continued as sole monarch until he was succeeded by Anne upon his death in 1702, as queen, Anne favoured moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her Anglican religious views than their opponents, the Whigs. The Whigs grew more powerful during the course of the War of the Spanish Succession and her close friendship with Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, turned sour as the result of political differences. Anne was plagued by ill health throughout her life, from her thirties onwards, she grew increasingly lame and obese. Despite seventeen pregnancies by her husband, Prince George of Denmark, she died without any surviving children and was the last monarch of the House of Stuart. Anne was born at 11,39 p. m. on 6 February 1665 at St Jamess Palace, London, the child and second daughter of James, Duke of York. At her Anglican baptism in the Chapel Royal at St Jamess, her sister, Mary, was one of her godparents, along with the Duchess of Monmouth. The Duke and Duchess of York had eight children, but Anne, as a child, Anne suffered from an eye condition, which manifested as excessive watering known as defluxion. For medical treatment, she was sent to France, where she lived with her grandmother, Queen Henrietta Maria. Following her grandmothers death in 1669, Anne lived with an aunt, Henrietta Anne, on the sudden death of her aunt in 1670, Anne returned to England. Her mother died the following year, as was traditional in the royal family, Anne and her sister were brought up separated from their father in their own establishment at Richmond, London. On the instructions of Charles II, they were raised as Protestants, placed in the care of Colonel Edward and Lady Frances Villiers, their education was focused on the teachings of the Anglican church. Henry Compton, Bishop of London, was appointed as Annes preceptor, around 1671, Anne first made the acquaintance of Sarah Jennings, who later became her close friend and one of her most influential advisors
2.
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
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General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC, was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs. It was not until the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 that Marlborough reached the zenith of his powers and secured his fame and fortune. His marriage to the hot-tempered Sarah Jennings – Annes intimate friend – ensured Marlboroughs rise, first to the Captain-Generalcy of British forces, but his wifes stormy relationship with the Queen, and her subsequent dismissal from court, was central to his own fall. Incurring Annes disfavour, and caught between Tory and Whig factions, Marlborough, who had brought glory and success to Annes reign, was forced from office and went into self-imposed exile. He returned to England and to influence under the House of Hanover with the accession of George I to the British throne in 1714, Marlboroughs insatiable ambition made him the richest of all Annes subjects. His family connections wove him into the fabric of European politics and his leadership of the allied armies consolidated Britains emergence as a front-rank power. He successfully maintained unity among the allies, thereby demonstrating his diplomatic skills, Churchill was the son of Sir Winston Churchill of Glanvilles Wootton in Dorset, by his wife Elizabeth Drake, fourth daughter of Sir John Drake of Ash in the parish of Musbury in Devon. The Churchill family are stated by the Devon historian William George Hoskins to have originated at the estate of Churchill, in the parish of Broadclyst in Devon, although Winston had paid off the fine by 1651, it had impoverished him. From this episode may derive the Churchill family motto, Fiel Pero Desdichado, Winston Churchill and his wife Elizabeth Drake had at least nine children, only five of whom survived infancy. The eldest daughter, Arabella Churchill, was born on 28 February 1649, John Churchill, the two younger sons were George Churchill, an admiral in the Royal Navy, and Charles Churchill, a general who served on campaign in Europe with his eldest brother John. His descendant and biographer the Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, asserted that the conditions at Ashe might well have aroused in his mind two prevailing impressions, first a hatred of poverty. And secondly the need of hiding thoughts and feelings from those to whom their expression would be repugnant, after the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 his fathers fortunes took a turn for the better, although he remained far from prosperous. The Kings own penury meant the old Cavaliers received scant financial reward, thus in 1665, Johns sister Arabella became Maid of Honour to Anne Hyde, the Duchess of York. Some months later John,15, joined her at court serving as page to Annes husband, James, Duke of York, the Duke of Yorks passion for all things naval and military rubbed off on young Churchill. Often accompanying the Duke inspecting the troops in the royal parks, on 14 September 1667, he obtained a commission as Ensign in the Kings Own Company in the 1st Guards, later to become the Grenadier Guards. That is unlikely, and even Sir Winston S. Churchill says There is, indeed, the known facts are that he was commissioned Ensign in September 1667, as above. By February 1671, John Churchill was back in London and duelling with Sir John Fenwick, but his liaisons with the insatiable temptress were indeed dangerous. You are a rascal, said Charles, but I forgive you because you do it to get your bread
3.
Jamie Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough
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Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough, styled the Marquess of Blandford until 2014 and known as Jamie Blandford, is a British aristocrat, peer, and the Duke of Marlborough. Marlborough is the eldest surviving son of the late 11th Duke of Marlborough, as a member of the Spencer family, he is a distant relative of the war-time Conservative Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. He is also a stepbrother of Christina Onassis by the marriage of his father with Athina Livanos. Born in Oxford, Marlborough was educated at Harrow School and the Royal Agricultural College, in 1995, the then-Marquess spent a month in prison for forging prescriptions. In September 2007, he was sentenced to six months in jail on two counts of driving and one of criminal damage following a road rage attack on another motorists car. At the same time he was banned from driving for three and a half years, the Oxford Mail further stated that Palace will remain under the control of trustees as the late Duke of Marlboroughs heir – Jamie Spencer-Churchill – inherited his fathers title. He claimed that on the first night he slept in the car park of a hotel, though his sleeping bag was discovered unopened. He refused to participate further despite giving an assurance that he would sleep rough on the third night, another participant, Hardeep Singh Kohli, said that Blandfords behaviour was disrespectful to all the people out there. Marlboroughs first wife was Rebecca Mary Few Brown and they were married from 1990 until 1998, when their marriage ended in divorce. By Rebecca, the then Marchioness of Blandford, he had one son, lord Blandford went by the courtesy title Earl of Sunderland until his fathers accession to the title in 2014. His second wife is Edla Griffiths, whom he married at Woodstock Register Office on 1 March 2002
4.
Salic law
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Salic law, or Salian Law, was the ancient Salian Frankish civil law code compiled around AD500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The best known tenet of the old law is the principle of exclusion of women from inheritance of thrones, fiefs, the Salic laws were arbitrated by a committee appointed and empowered by the King of the Franks. Dozens of manuscripts dating from the 6th to 8th centuries and three emendations as late as the 9th century have survived, Salic law provided written codification of both civil law, such as the statutes governing inheritance, and criminal law, such as the punishment for murder. The original edition of the code was commissioned by the first king of all the Franks, Clovis I, Salic Law therefore reflects ancient usages and practices. In order to more effectively, it was desirable that monarchs. The name of the code comes from the circumstance that Clovis was a Merovingian king ruling only the Salian Franks before his unification of Francia. The law must have applied to the Ripuarian Franks as well, however, containing only 65 titles, it may not have included any special Ripuarian laws. For the next 300 years the code was copied by hand and was amended as required to add newly enacted laws, revise laws that had been amended, and delete laws that had been repealed. More so than printing, hand copying is an act by an individual copyist with ideas. Each of the several dozen surviving manuscripts features a set of errors, corrections, content. The laws are called titles as each one has its own name, generally preceded by de, of, different sections of titles acquired individual names revealing something about their provenances. Some of these dozens of names have adopted for specific reference, often given the same designation as the overall work. The recension of Hendrik Kern organizes all of the manuscripts into five families according to similarity and relative chronological sequence, judged by content and dateable material in the text. Family I is the oldest, containing four manuscripts dated to the 8th and 9th centuries, in addition they feature the Malbergse Glossen, Malberg Glosses, marginal glosses stating the native court word for some Latin words. These are named from native malbergo, language of the court, kerns Family II, represented by two manuscripts, is the same as Family I, except it contains interpolations or numerous additions which point to a later period. Family III is split into two divisions, the first, comprising three manuscripts, dated to the 8th–9th centuries, presents an expanded text of 99 or 100 titles. The second, four manuscripts, not only drops the glosses, a statement gives the provenance, in the 13th year of the reign of our most glorious king of the Franks, Pipin. Some of the documents were composed after the reign of Pepin the Short, but it is considered to be an emendation initiated by Pepin
5.
Earl of Sunderland
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Earl of Sunderland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1627 in favour of Emanuel Scrope, the earldom became extinct on his death in 1630 while the barony became either extinct or dormant. The second creation came in 1643 in favour of the Royalist soldier Henry Spencer, the Spencer family descended from Sir John Spencer who acquired the Wormleighton estate in Warwickshire and the Althorp estate in Northamptonshire. His grandson Sir John Spencer was a Knight of the Shire for Northamptonshire, the latters grandson Sir Robert Spencer represented Brackley in Parliament in the late 16th century. In 1603 Sir Robert was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Spencer of Wormleighton and he was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, William, the second Baron. He had previously represented Northamptonshire in Parliament and his eldest son was the aforementioned third Baron. In July 1643 he was created Earl of Sunderland in the Peerage of England, Lord Sunderland was killed at the Battle of Newbury in September of the same year. He was succeeded by his only son, Robert, the second Earl. He later gained distinction as a statesman and notably served four times as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. His eldest surviving son, Charles, the third Earl, also gained prominence as a statesman and he was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Privy Seal, Secretary of State for both the Northern and Southern Departments, Lord President of the Council and First Lord of the Treasury. However, his career was ruined by the South Sea Bubble of 1720. Lord Sunderland married as his second wife Lady Anne Churchill, second daughter of the distinguished soldier John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, the dukedom of Marlborough was allowed to descend to the Dukes daughters and their sons after a special Act of Parliament was passed in 1716. Sunderland was succeeded by his eldest surviving son by his wife, Robert. He died unmarried in 1729 at the age of 27 and was succeeded by his brother, Charles. In 1733 he succeeded his maternal aunt Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough as third Duke of Marlborough, the barony of Spencer of Wormleighton and earldom of Sunderland have remained subsidiary titles of the dukedom ever since. Earl of Sunderland has been used as the title by the Dukes grandson. His son John was created Earl Spencer in 1765, the Honourable Robert Spencer, second son of the second Baron, was created Viscount Teviot in 1685
6.
Earl of Marlborough
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Earl of Marlborough is a title that has been created twice, both times in the Peerage of England. The first time in 1626 in favour of James Ley, 1st Baron Ley, the first creation came on 5 February 1626 in favour of James Ley, 1st Baron Ley, Lord Chief Justice and Lord High Treasurer. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl and he served as Custos Rotulorum of Somerset. In 1628, one year before he succeeded his father in the earldom and he was succeeded by his only son, the third Earl. He was a commander and was killed at the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665. He was unmarried and was succeeded by his uncle, William Ley, William married Miss Hewet, daughter of Sir William Hewet, but dying without issue, in 1679, the Baronetcy of Ley, and Earldom of Marlborough, became extinct. The second creation came on 9 April 1689, when John Churchill, 1st Baron Churchill, was created Earl of Marlborough, in the County of Wiltshire and he was subsequently created Duke of Marlborough, and the earldom has since descended with the dukedom. Barons Ley, of Ley in the county of Devon, Earls of Marlborough, a general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance. London, H. Colburn and R. Bentley, chisholm, Hugh, ed. Marlborough, Earls and Dukes of
7.
Blenheim Palace
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Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the residence of the Dukes of Marlborough. The palace, one of Englands largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1722, Blenheim Palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style and it is unique in its combined use as a family home, mausoleum and national monument. The palace is notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill. At the end of the 19th century, the palace was saved from ruin by funds gained from the 9th Duke of Marlboroughs marriage to American railroad heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, the exterior of the palace remains in good repair. John Churchill was born in Devon, although his family had aristocratic relations, it belonged to the minor gentry rather than the upper echelons of 17th-century society. In 1678, Churchill married Sarah Jennings, and in April that year, in May, Churchill was appointed the temporary rank of Brigadier-General of Foot, but the possibility of a continental campaign was eliminated with the Treaty of Nijmegen. When Churchill returned to England, the Popish Plot resulted in a temporary three-year banishment for James Stuart, the Duke obliged Churchill to attend him, first to The Hague, then in Brussels. On the death of Charles II in 1685, his brother, on Jamess succession Churchill was appointed governor of the Hudsons Bay Company. He had also been affirmed Gentleman of the Bedchamber in April, following the Monmouth Rebellion, Churchill was promoted to Major General and awarded the lucrative colonelcy of the Third Troop of Life Guards. When William, Prince of Orange, invaded England in November 1688, Churchill, accompanied by some 400 officers and men, when the King saw he could not even keep Churchill—for so long his loyal and intimate servant—he fled to France. As part of William IIIs coronation honours Churchill was created Earl of Marlborough, sworn to the Privy Council, during the War of the Spanish Succession Churchill gained a reputation as a capable military commander, and in 1702 he was elevated to the dukedom of Marlborough. During the war he won series of victories, including the Battle of Blenheim, the Battle of Ramillies, the Battle of Oudenarde, and this flag is displayed by the Monarch on a 17th-century French writing table in Windsor Castle. Marlboroughs wife was by all accounts a cantankerous woman, though capable of great charm, the relationship between Queen and Duchess later became strained and fraught, and following their final quarrel in 1711, the money for the construction of Blenheim ceased. For political reasons the Marlboroughs went into exile on the Continent until they returned the day after the Queens death on 1 August 1714, legend has obscured the manors origins. King Henry I enclosed the park to contain the deer, Henry II housed his mistress Rosamund Clifford there in a bower and labyrinth, a spring in which she is said to have bathed remains, named after her. The Duchess, as so often in her disputes with her architect, won the day, the architect selected for the ambitious project was a controversial one
8.
Marlborough, Wiltshire
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Marlborough is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. It boasts the second widest high street in Britain, after Stockton-on-Tees, the town is on the River Kennet. The earliest sign of habitation is a 62 feet high prehistoric tumulus in the grounds of Marlborough College. Recent radiocarbon dating has found it to date from about 2400 BC and it is of similar age to the larger Silbury Hill about 5 miles west of the town. Legend has it that the Mound is the site of Merlin. On John Speeds map of Wiltshire, the name is recorded as Marlinges boroe. The towns motto is Ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini - Where now are the bones of wise Merlin, more plausibly, the towns name probably derives from the medieval term for chalky ground marl – thus town on chalk. Roman remains and the large Mildenhall Hoard of coins have found two miles to the east of Marlborough, at Mildenhall. A later Saxon settlement grew up around The Green and two river crossings were made at Isbury Lane and Stonebridge Lane. In 1067 William the Conqueror assumed control of the Marlborough area and set about building a motte and bailey castle. This was completed in around 1100, stone was used to strengthen the castle in around 1175. The first written record of Marlborough dates from the Domesday Book in 1087, William also established a mint in Marlborough, which coined the William I and the early William II silver pennies. The coins display the name of the town as Maerlebi or Maerleber and he also established the neighbouring Savernake Forest as a favourite Royal hunting ground and Marlborough castle became a Royal residence. Henry I observed Easter here in 1110, Henry II stayed at Marlborough castle in talks with the King of Scotland. His son, Richard I gave the castle to his brother John, King John was married here and spent time in Marlborough. He also established that weekly markets may be held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, later Henry III was also married here. Henry III held Parliament here, in 1267, when the Statute of Marlborough was passed and this seven-hundred-year-old law states that no-one shall seize his neighbours goods for alleged wrong without permission of the Court. Apart from Charters, it is the oldest statute in English law which has not yet been repealed, the castle fell into disrepair by the end of the 14th century but remained Crown property
9.
Wiltshire
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Wiltshire is a county in South West England with an area of 3,485 km2. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, the county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the new county town of Trowbridge. Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys, Salisbury Plain is noted for being the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its mediaeval cathedral, important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trusts Stourhead, near Mere. The county, in the 9th century written as Wiltunscir, later Wiltonshire, is named after the county town of Wilton. Wiltshire is notable for its pre-Roman archaeology, the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age people that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire. Stonehenge and Avebury are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK, in the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire was at the western edge of Saxon Britain, as Cranborne Chase and the Somerset Levels prevented the advance to the west. The Battle of Bedwyn was fought in 675 between Escuin, a West Saxon nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga, in 878 the Danes invaded the county. Following the Norman Conquest, large areas of the country came into the possession of the crown, at the time of the Domesday Survey the industry of Wiltshire was largely agricultural,390 mills are mentioned, and vineyards at Tollard and Lacock. In the 17th century English Civil War Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian, the Battle of Roundway Down, a Royalist victory, was fought near Devizes. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry currently lives on as Y Squadron, based in Swindon, around 1800 the Kennet and Avon Canal was built through Wiltshire, providing a route for transporting cargoes from Bristol to London until the development of the Great Western Railway. Information on the 261 civil parishes of Wiltshire is available on the Wiltshire Community History website, run by the Libraries and this site includes maps, demographic data, historic and modern pictures and short histories. The local nickname for Wiltshire natives is moonrakers and this originated from a story of smugglers who managed to foil the local Excise men by hiding their alcohol, possibly French brandy in barrels or kegs, in a village pond. The officials took them for simple yokels or mad and left them alone, many villages claim the tale for their own village pond, but the story is most commonly linked with The Crammer in Devizes. Two-thirds of Wiltshire, a rural county, lies on chalk. This chalk is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group, the largest area of chalk in Wiltshire is Salisbury Plain, which is used mainly for arable agriculture and by the British Army as training ranges. The highest point in the county is the Tan Hill–Milk Hill ridge in the Pewsey Vale, just to the north of Salisbury Plain, the chalk uplands run northeast into West Berkshire in the Marlborough Downs ridge, and southwest into Dorset as Cranborne Chase. Cranborne Chase, which straddles the border, has, like Salisbury Plain, yielded much Stone Age, the Marlborough Downs are part of the North Wessex Downs AONB, a 1,730 km2 conservation area
10.
Eyemouth
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Eyemouth is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is 2 miles east of the main north-south A1 road and it has a population of about 3,420 people. Eyemouth is very nearly due east of Glasgow, in fact Eyemouths latitude is 55. 8691°N, whilst Glasgows is 55. 8642°N, so Eyemouth is about 600 yards further north. The towns name comes from its location at the mouth of the Eye Water, the Berwickshire coastline consists of high cliffs over deep clear water with sandy coves and picturesque harbours. A fishing port, Eyemouth holds a yearly Herring Queen Festival, notable buildings in the town include Gunsgreen House and a cemetery watch-house built to stand guard against the Resurrectionists. Many of the features of a fishing village are preserved in the narrow streets and vennels, giving shelter from the sea. Eyemouth is not far from the villages of Ayton, Reston, St. Abbs, Coldingham. The coast offers opportunities for birdwatching, walking, fishing and diving, accommodation includes several hotels, B&Bs and a holiday park. The geology of the area evidence of folding that led James Hutton to announce that the surface of the earth had changed dramatically over the ages. Fort Point, Eyemouth, was the site of the first Trace Italienne style fortification in Britain, building commenced in 1547 by Sir Richard Lee and it cost £1,906. It was demolished under the Treaty of Boulogne in 1550, rebuilt again six years later by dOisel it held some 500 French troops. It was demolished again under the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559, traces of the ramparts are still to be seen. All landowners within the barony held their properties either by hereditary feu or by a term-renewable, occasionally hereditary, at the beginning of the 17th century Gunsgreen estate was possessed by Alexander Lauder of Gunsgreen, a great-great-grandson of Sir Robert Lauder of The Bass. Netherbyres was for at least 250 years held by the Craw family, george Craw of Netherbyre was deceased by July 1614 when his son William came into possession of that property and Reidhall, with the walk mill extending to 12 husbandlands. A later William Craw, who had a passion for mathematics, built the first modern harbour at Eyemouth and, in 1715, the walled garden. The Netherbyres House we see today was commenced about 1835 for Captain Sir Samuel Brown, R. N. who had the patent and monopoly for the supply of anchor chain to the Royal Navy. He later went on to design and patent chain suspension piers and bridges, including the Union Bridge over the River Tweed, including victims from other coastal towns, a total of 189 men lost their lives. This is commemorated in the Tapestry housed in the Museum, the population of Eyemouth is in keeping with the outward appearance of the place
11.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
12.
Sandridge
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Sandridge is a village and civil parish between St Albans and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England. The original name was Saundruage meaning a place of sandy soil serviced by bond tenants, the earliest recorded mention of Sandridge is in the year 796 the parish being part of the revenue of the Mercian Kings. It was given by Egfrith son of Offa in the first year of his reign to abbot Eadric second abbot of St Albans Monastery, part of the parish of Sandridge was added to the Municipal Borough of St Albans in 1887. The remainder of the parish was renamed Sandridge Rural in 1894 when Sandridge Rural Parish Council was formed, in 1913 a further 241 acres were transferred to St Albans. The parish name reverted to Sandridge in 1957, in February 1461 the final skirmishes of the Second Battle of St Albans took place in and around Sandridge as the Earl of Warwick, for the Yorkists, retreated towards Nomansland. The population of Sandridge ward at the time of the 2001 census was 4,808 and this includes some people living in the Jersey Farm area of St Albans. The village has three pubs, The Green Man, The Rose and Crown and The Queens Head, the village church is St Leonards and dates back to 1114. It also supports Sandridge Rovers F. C. who play in the Hertfordshire Senior County League, Sandridge was one of the earlier homes of the great English general, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his infamous wife, Sarah, a favourite of Queen Anne. The title Baron Sandridge was given to Churchill by James II in 1685, in 1939 the first WW2 secret Wireless Intercept Station was constructed by the GPO at the top of Woodcock Hill. Messages intercepted at Sandridge were sent to Bletchley Park for decryption, the results were vital to Winston Churchill who used the information to make important decisions about the course of the war. After WW2 it became part of the Diplomatic Wireless Service under GCHQ, in 2008 the Woodland Trust announced plans to create a new forest north of Sandridge. The 347 hectares of woodland are to be called Heartwood Forest. A
13.
Blandford Forum
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Blandford Forum, commonly Blandford, is a market town in the North Dorset district of Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about 24 km northwest of Poole. It is the headquarters of North Dorset District Council. Blandford is notable for its Georgian architecture, the result of rebuilding after the majority of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1731, Blandford Camp, a military base, is sited on the hills two miles to the north east of the town. It is the base of the Royal Corps of Signals, the wing of the British Army. Dorset County Council estimates that in 2013 the towns parish had a population of 10,610. The towns economy is based on a mix of the sector and light industry. Blandford has been a point since Anglo-Saxon times, when it was recorded as Blaen-y-ford. The name Blandford derives from the Old English blǣge, and probably means ford where gudgeon or blay are found, by the 13th century it had become a market town with a livestock market serving the nearby Blackmore Vale with its many dairy farms. At the start of the 14th century it returned two members of parliament and was known as Cheping Blandford. The Latin word Forum, meaning market, was recorded in 1540, in Survey of Dorsetshire, written by Thomas Gerard of Trent in the early 1630s, Blandford was described as a faire Markett Towne, pleasantlie seated upon the River. Well inhabitted and of good Traffique, in the 17th-century English Civil War Blandford was a Royalist centre, most inhabitants supported the king. In the 18th century Blandford was one of several lace-making centres in the county, I think I never saw better in Flanders, France or Italy. In the 17th and 18th centuries Blandford was also a malting and brewing centre of some significance. Almost all of Blandfords buildings were destroyed on 4 June 1731 by the great fire, the fire began in a tallow chandlers workshop on a site that is now The Kings Arms public house. Within a few hours almost 90% of the fabric had gone, all fire-fighting equipment had been lost to the fire. An Act of Parliament was introduced that stated that work must be in brick and tile. With assistance from the rest of the country—including £1,000 given by George II—the town was rebuilt over the ten years to the designs of local architects John. Bottlenecks were removed and streets realigned in the new town plan, as well as residential and commercial property, new buildings included a new town hall, school and church
14.
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
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Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women of her time through her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain. Sarahs friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, as a result, by the time Anne became queen, Sarah’s knowledge of government, and intimacy with the Queen, had made her a powerful friend and a dangerous enemy. Sarah enjoyed a long and devoted relationship with her husband of more than 40 years, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. She acted as Annes agent after Annes father, James II, was deposed during the Glorious Revolution, Sarah tirelessly campaigned on behalf of the Whigs, while also devoting much of her time to building projects such as Blenheim Palace. She died in 1744 at the age of eighty-four, a strong-willed woman who liked to get her own way, Sarah tried the Queens patience whenever she disagreed with her on political, court or church appointments. After her final break with Anne in 1711, Sarah and her husband were dismissed from the court, the money she inherited from the Marlborough trust left her one of the richest women in Europe. Sarah Jennings was born on 5 June 1660, probably at Holywell House, St Albans and her uncle was a prominent naturalist. Richard Jennings came into contact with James, Duke of York, in 1663, during negotiations for the recovery of an estate in Kent that had been the property of his mother-in-law, Susan Lister. Jamess first impressions were favourable, and in 1664 Sarah’s sister, Frances, was appointed maid of honour to the Duchess of York, although James forced Frances to give up the post because of her marriage to a Catholic, James did not forget the family. In 1673, Sarah entered court as maid of honour to James’s second wife, Sarah became close to the young Princess Anne in about 1675, and the friendship grew stronger as the two grew older. In late 1675, when she was only fifteen, she met John Churchill,10 years her senior. Churchill, who had previously been a lover of Charles II’s mistress, Barbara Palmer, Duchess of Cleveland, had little to offer financially, as his estates were deeply in debt. Sarah had a rival for Churchill in Catherine Sedley, a mistress of James II and the choice of Churchills father, Sir Winston Churchill. In 1677, Sarahs brother Ralph died, and she and her sister, Frances, became co-heirs of the Jennings estates in Hertfordshire and Kent. John chose Sarah over Catherine Sedley, but both Johns and Sarahs families disapproved of the match, therefore they married secretly in the winter of 1677–78, John and Sarah were both Protestants in a predominantly Catholic court, a circumstance that would influence their political allegiances. Although no date was recorded, the marriage was announced only to the Duchess of York, when Sarah became pregnant, her marriage was announced publicly, and she retired from the court to give birth to her first child, Harriet, who died in infancy. The Duke of York returned to England after the tension had eased. The early reign of James II was relatively successful, it was not expected that a Catholic king could control in a fiercely Protestant
15.
Great Britain
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Great Britain, also known as Britain, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2, Great Britain is the largest European island, in 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the worlds third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, the island is dominated by a maritime climate with quite narrow temperature differences between seasons. Politically, the island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island. The term Great Britain often extends to surrounding islands that form part of England, Scotland, and Wales. A single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the union of the Kingdom of England, the archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years, the term British Isles derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a name for the British Isles. However, with the Roman conquest of Britain the Latin term Britannia was used for the island of Great Britain, the oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by Aristotle, or possibly by Pseudo-Aristotle, in his text On the Universe, Vol. III. To quote his works, There are two large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne. The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The French form replaced the Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten, Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the writings of the Pytheas around 320 BC. Marcian of Heraclea, in his Periplus maris exteri, described the group as αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι. The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοί, Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain, Britain, which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans, the Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain and to Ireland as little Britain in his work Almagest. The name Albion appears to have out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain. After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a term only. It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I styled himself King of Great Brittaine, France, Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination
16.
John Churchill, Marquess of Blandford
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John Churchill, Marquess of Blandford was a British nobleman. Blandford died childless in 1703, and upon his fathers death in 1722, while Churchill was a Protestant, Jennings was born into a Catholic home. Virtually nothing is known of his childhood, as his parents were not very prominent at the time, the Countess of Marlborough had only given birth to one other son, Charles, and by 1702, the younger Churchill was the couples only surviving son. After his fathers creation, the younger Churchill, as heir apparent to the Dukedom of Marlborough, was awarded the title Marquess of Blandford, in 1696, 10-year-old Churchill was sent to Eton College, where he remained and studied until 1700, his fourteenth year. He was sent to Kings College, Cambridge in 1700, Blandford was especially close to his godfather the Earl of Godolphin, whom he often visited, travelling from Cambridge to Newmarket. Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, described Blandford as the finest young man that could be seen, in early 1703, seventeen-year-old Blandford contracted smallpox, then a deadly disease. The Duchess rushed to her sons bedside, while Queen Anne dispatched her own doctors to attend Blandford. On Saturday morning,20 February, Blandford died at Kings College, the Marlboroughs left Cambridge and settled in their country home in St Albans, in order to mourn the passing of their son and heir. After Blandfords death, Marlborough made frequent references to his grief
17.
Act of Parliament
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Acts of Parliament, also called primary legislation, are statutes passed by a parliament. Act of the Oireachtas is an equivalent term used in the Republic of Ireland where the legislature is known by its Irish name. It is also comparable to an Act of Congress in the United States, a draft Act of Parliament is known as a bill. In territories with a Westminster system, most bills that have any possibility of becoming law are introduced into parliament by the government. This will usually happen following the publication of a paper, setting out the issues. A bill may also be introduced into parliament without formal government backing, in territories with a multicameral parliament, most bills may be first introduced in any chamber. However, certain types of legislation are required, either by convention or by law. For example, bills imposing a tax, or involving public expenditure, are introduced into the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Canadas House of Commons, conversely, bills proposed by the Law Commission and consolidation bills traditionally start in the House of Lords. Once introduced, a bill must go through a number of stages before it can become law, in theory, this allows the bills provisions to be debated in detail, and for amendments to the original bill to also be introduced, debated, and agreed to. In bicameral parliaments, a bill that has been approved by the chamber into which it was introduced then sends the bill to the other chamber, broadly speaking, each chamber must separately agree to the same version of the bill. Finally, the bill receives assent, in most territories this is merely a formality. In some countries, such as in Spain and Portugal, the term for a bill differs depending on whether it is initiated by the government, again, the second reading of a Government bill is usually approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this reading signifies a major loss, if the bill is read a second time, it is then considered in detail Consideration in detail, This usually takes place on the floor of the House. Generally, committees sit on the floor of the House and consider the bill in detail, third reading, A debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. Very rarely do debates occur during this stage, passage, The bill is then sent to the other House, which may amend it. If the other House amends the bill, the bill and amendments are posted back to the original House for a further stage, the State of Queenslands Parliament is unicameral and skips this and the rest of the stages. Consideration of Senate/Representatives amendments, The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House and it may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu, or reject them. However, the Senate may not amend money bills, though it can request the House to make amendments, a bill may pass backwards and forwards several times at this stage, as each House amends or rejects changes proposed by the other
18.
Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough
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She was born Henrietta Churchill, and became The Hon. Henrietta Churchill when her father was made a Scottish Lord of Parliament in 1682 and Lady Henrietta Churchill in 1689 and she married The Hon. Francis Godolphin in 1698, becoming Lady Henrietta Godolphin. She became Viscountess Rialton in 1706 when her father-in-law was created Earl of Godolphin, an act of English parliament in 1706 allowed the 1st Dukes daughters to inherit his English titles. Following his death in 1722, Lady Godolphin became suo jure Duchess of Marlborough, the Duchess died in 1733, aged 52, in Harrow, Middlesex, and she was buried on 9 November 1733 in Westminster Abbey. Her titles passed to her nephew, the 5th Earl of Sunderland, however, she was a princess of the Holy Roman Empire and a Princess of Mindelheim, and subsequently a Princess of Mellenburg after her fathers lands in the empire were exchanged for one another. Godolphin, Henrietta, suo jure duchess of Marlborough
19.
Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin
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Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin, PC was a British nobleman and politician, styled Viscount Rialton between 1706 and 1712. Godolphin was the child of Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin. He was born in Whitehall, London, on 3 September 1678 and his mother, Margaret Godolphin, died six days later on 9 September. Francis Godolphin was educated at Eton College, and at Kings College, Cambridge, where he took his M. A. degree in 1705. He was chosen a member of parliament for East Looe in Cornwall on 1 December 1701, but on 4 February 1701–2 elected to serve for Helston and he was known under the courtesy title of Viscount Rialton from 29 December 1706 till 1712. To George II he was groom of the stole, and first lord of the bedchamber 1727–35 and he was named high steward of Woodstock 18 March 1728 and, on 18 April 1733, appointed Governor of the Scilly Islands. During the kings absence from Great Britain in 1723,1725, finally, as lord privy seal, he was in office from 14 May 1735 to 25 April 1740. The pocket borough of Helston, not far from his home, Godolphin House, was under his patronage for many years. In return for this complaisance, he rebuilt Helston Church in 1763, at an expense of £6,000 and it is said that he only read two works, Burnets History of my own Time and Colley Cibbers Apology. When he had perused them throughout, he began them again and he married, in March 1698, Lady Henrietta Churchill, eldest daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Sarah Jennings. She was born 20 July, and baptised at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, on the death of her father,16 June 1722, she became Duchess of Marlborough, and dying 24 October 1733, was buried in Westminster Abbey on 9 November. She acquired much notoriety by her attachment to William Congreve, the dramatist, Godolphin was one of the founding Governors of the charity called the Foundling Hospital, created in 1739. The charity aimed to tackle the problem of child abandonment in London by providing an orphanage where parents could leave babies they considered themselves incapable of raising and he also had the distinction of owning one of the founding thoroughbred sires, the Godolphin Arabian. Among his protegés was the physician and humourist Messenger Monsey, for whom he obtained the position of physician to Royal Chelsea Hospital and he died at his house in the Stable Yard, St Jamess on 17 January 1766, whereupon the earldom of Godolphin became extinct. William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford, married Maria Catherina de Jong, lord Henry Godolphin Lady Margaret Godolphin Lady Henrietta Godolphin, married the 1st Duke of Newcastle. Lady Mary Godolphin, married the 4th Duke of Leeds, nichols and, R. H. Wray, F. A. The History of the Foundling Hospital, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Boase, George Clement. London, Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 39–40
20.
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough
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He briefly served as Lord Privy Seal in 1755. He led British forces during the Raid on St Malo in 1758, charles inherited the Sunderland title from his older brother in 1729, becoming 5th Earl of Sunderland, and then the Marlborough title from his aunt, Henrietta, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough in 1733. He was one of the governors of Londons Foundling Hospital. He is best known for his service in the part of the Seven Years War. He led the Raid on St Malo, a naval descent against the French coastal port and he married The Hon. Elizabeth Trevor, daughter of Thomas Trevor, 2nd Baron Trevor. They had five children, Lady Diana Spencer, married first Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke and secondly Topham Beauclerk. Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery, married Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke. George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
21.
Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
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Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, KG, PC, known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was an English statesman and nobleman from the Spencer family. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Privy Seal, Lord President of the Council and he was the second son of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland and Anne Digby, daughter of George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol. On the death of his elder brother Robert in Paris in September 1688, called by John Evelyn a youth of extraordinary hopes, he completed his education at Utrecht, and in 1695 entered the House of Commons as member for Tiverton. This was an important alliance for Sunderland and for his descendants, through it he was introduced to political life, Charles, alerted by his servants, had Clancarty arrested while he was actually in bed with Elizabeth. The result was an uproar which gravely embarrassed their parents. William III treated the matter as a trifle, wondering why everyone teased him about that little spark Clancarty, Elizabeth, who died in Hamburg in 1704, never saw her parents or brother again. His fathers biographer comments that the affair did not show Charles in a good light either as man or brother. Having succeeded to the peerage in 1702, Sunderland was one of the commissioners for the union between England and Scotland, and in 1705, he was sent to Vienna as envoy extraordinary. From 1708 to 1710, he was one of the five Whigs collectively called the Junto, who dominated the government, but he had enemies, the Queen still disliked him. Anne offered him a pension of £3000 a year, but this he refused, when Marlborough protested about the dismissal, the Queen inquired sarcastically whether the Peace of Europe must depend on it. She added that Sunderland was universally unpopular, which was indeed the case, Sunderland continued to take part in public life, and was active in communicating with the court of Hanover about the steps to be taken in view of the approaching death of the queen. He made the acquaintance of George I in 1706, but when the elector became king, in August 1715, he joined the cabinet as Lord Privy Seal. After a visit to George I in Hanover, he secured in April 1717 the position of Secretary of State for the Northern Department and this he retained until March 1718, when he became First Lord of the Treasury, holding also the post of Lord President of the Council. He was now effectively the prime minister, in 1719 he was one of the main subscribers in the Royal Academy of Music, a corporation that produced baroque opera on stage. The bursting of the South Sea Bubble led to his political ruin, in April 1721, he resigned his offices, but he retained his influence with George I until his death on 19 April 1722. Sunderland inherited his fathers passion for intrigue, while his manners were repelling, from his early years he had a great love of books, and he spent his leisure and his wealth in forming the library at Althorp, which in 1703 was described as the finest in Europe. In 1749 part of it was removed to Blenheim Palace, sunderlands second wife died in April 1716, after a career of considerable influence on the political life of her time. In 1717, he married an Irish lady of fortune, Judith Tichborne, daughter of Sir Benjamin Tichborne and she later married Sir Robert Sutton
22.
Spencer family
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The Spencer family is one of Britains preeminent aristocratic families. Over time, several members have been made knights, baronets. Hereditary titles held by the Spencers include the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Sunderland and Spencer, two prominent members of the family during the 20th century were Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales. The family is descended in the line from Henry Spencer. In the 16th century they claimed that Henry was a descendant of the branch of the ancient House Le Despencer. The descent of the family from the Medieval Despencers has been debunked, the Spencers were granted a coat of arms in 1504, Azure a fess Ermine between 6 sea-mews’ heads erased Argent which bears no resemblance to that used by the family after c. 1595, which was derived from the Despencer arms, Quarterly Argent and Gules in the second, Round argued that the Despencer descent was fabricated by Richard Lee, a corrupt Clarencieux King of Arms. Citing Round, The Complete Peerage dismissed the alleged Despencer descent as an elaborate imposture which is now incapable of deceiving the most credulous, of course, the heirs to the Prince of Wales, Princes William and Harry are half Spencers. A close relative of Henry Spencer was John Spencer, who in 1469 had become feoffee of Wormleighton in Warwickshire and a tenant at Althorp in Northamptonshire in 1486. His nephew, Sir John Spencer, first made a living by trading in livestock and other commodities, Wormleighton was bought in 1506, the manor house was completed in 1512. In 1508, Spencer also purchased the estate of Althorp with its moated house and he had grazed sheep here from the 1480s. Impressed by the quality of the land, he bought it. At that time, his estate and mansion in Warwickshire were considerably larger, in 1511 he made further purchases to acquire the villages of Little Brington and Great Brington as well their parish church of St Mary the Virgin, from Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset. By putting down roots at Althorp, Spencer provided what was to become a home for the next 19 generations, in 1519 he was knighted by King Henry VIII, died three years later and was buried in the new family chapel at Great Brington. The Spencers rose to opulent prominence during the 16th century, Sir John Spencers grandson Sir John Spencer was a Knight of the Shire for Northamptonshire. The Spencers’ administration of their Northamptonshire and Warwickshire estates was admired, sheep from their pastures were purchased for breeding and it is probable that the family’s success as farmers was rarely equalled in the century. In the late 16th century, the latter Sir John Spencers grandson Sir Robert Spencer represented Brackley in Parliament, in 1601, he was made a Knight of the Garter, and created Baron Spencer, of Wormleighton, in the Peerage of England in 1603. During the reign of King James I he was reputed to be the richest man in England, Lord Spencer then instantly replied, When my ancestors as you say were keeping sheep, your ancestors were plotting treason
23.
Wormleighton Manor
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Wormleighton Manor is a manor house in the civil parish of Wormleighton in the historic county of Warwickshire, England. It belonged to the wealthy Spencer family during the 16th and 17th century, Wormleighton manor is a fine example of the Tudor architecture that appeared during the reign of Henry VIII. John Spencers nephew, John, traded in livestock and other commodities, Wormleighton was bought in 1506, the manor house was completed in 1512. As the family wealth grew dramatically, John Spencer purchased the land at Althorp between 1509 and 1511 and constructed another residence there, the Spencer library accumulated at the manor to form a substantial collection which is now housed in London. In 1645, Royalist forces from nearby Banbury set fire to Wormleighton Manor to prevent it becoming a parliamentary stronghold, oak paneling in Althorps tapestry dining room was brought from Wormleighton and reinstalled. Stained glass was brought from Wormleighton Manor to Althorp in the 19th century. The eastern wing of Virginia House, completed in 1929, is said to be based on the design of Wormleighton Manor, Wormleighton manor is made from brick with regular coursed rubble ironstone and ashlar. The tiled roof has stone coped gable parapets in the Tudor style, today the manor is far cry from its former glory, with only the north wing remaining. The original manor in its prime extended farther west and also southwards, the remaining wing seems to have consisted of two great chambers one above the other, one about 40 feet long, and two others west of them, at least 27 feet in length. The upper great chamber was known as the Star Chamber because of its adornments, adjoining the west end are lower small wing fragments of the original 16th-century brickwork. The three bays of the side are the best preserved. The wall is also the original brickwork with stone dressings to the windows. The southern part of the wall has more than half of a steeply pitched gable-head which rises above the parapet-level, there are two ranges of tall square-headed windows with four-centred lights which remain, although the second is blocked to make way for a modern loft-doorway. Three windows served the Star Chamber and the window provides light to the chamber west of it. It has been converted into an entrance lobby doorway to the 17th-century corridor. To the west of this were two windows but have been blocked up, but replaced with windows beneath it in the 18th or 19th century to light the kitchen. The east end of the block is made of red brickwork and is about 36 feet wide with a large three-sided bay window. The south side of the building was constructed in the 17th century and consists of a variety of materials that meet with vertical seams
24.
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
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George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, KG, PC, FRS, styled Marquess of Blandford until 1758, was a British courtier, nobleman, and politician from the Spencer family. He served as Lord Chamberlain between 1762 and 1763 and as Lord Privy Seal between 1763 and 1765 and he was the brother of Lord Charles Spencer, Lady Diana Spencer and Lady Elizabeth Spencer. He was educated at Eton College, according to George III, who mentioned it to Fanny Burney, the Duke suffered from severe red-green colourblindness. As he was unable to tell scarlet from green, Fanny therefore remarked that this was unlucky for someone in possession of so sumptuous a home as Blenheim Palace. Marlborough entered the Coldstream Guards in 1755 as an Ensign, becoming a Captain with the 20th Regiment of Foot the following year, after inheriting the dukedom in 1758, Marlborough took his seat in the House of Lords in 1760, becoming Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire in that same year. The following year, he bore the sceptre with the cross at the coronation of George III. In 1762, he was made Lord Chamberlain as well as a Privy Counsellor, and after a year resigned this appointment to become Lord Privy Seal, an amateur astronomer, he built a private observatory at his residence, Blenheim Palace. He kept up a scientific correspondence with Hans Count von Brühl. The Duke was made a Knight of the Garter in 1768, Lady Elizabeth Spencer, married her cousin John Spencer and had issue. George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough Lady Charlotte Spencer, married Rev. Edward Nares and had issue, Lord Henry John Spencer Lady Anne Spencer, married Cropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of Shaftesbury and had issue. Lady Amelia Spencer, married Henry Pytches Boyce, Lord Francis Almeric Spencer, created Baron Churchill in 1815. The Duchess of Marlborough died at Blenheim Palace in November 1811, the Duke of Marlborough died at Blenheim Palace in January 1817, aged 78, and was buried there. The Collected Correspondence of Baron Franz von Zach, Volume 3,2008
25.
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough
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George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough FSA, styled Marquess of Blandford until 1817, was a British nobleman, politician, peer, and collector of antiquities and books. Spencer-Churchill was the eldest son of George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, francis Spencer, 1st Baron Churchill, was his younger brother. He was later given the degree of Doctor of Laws from the University on 20 June 1792. Lord Blandford represented Oxfordshire in parliament as a Whig between 1790 and 1796 and Tregony as a Tory between 1802 and 1806, from 1804 to 1806 he served under William Pitt the Younger as a Lord of the Treasury. The latter year he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his fathers barony of Spencer of Wormleighton, during this time, he lived in Berkshire, at Remenham and Hurst. From 1798, he resided at Whiteknights Park at Earley, near Reading and he was invested as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 8 December 1803. Although the Marquess was born and baptised with the name of George Spencer, soon after succeeding to the Dukedom of Marlborough and this illustrious name did not, however, save him from his mounting debts and his estates were seized and his collections sold. He retired to Blenheim Palace where he lived the remainder of his life off a small annuity granted to the first Duke by Queen Anne, the present Duke is overloaded with debt, is very little better than a common swindler and lets everything about Blenheim. People may shoot and fish at so much per hour and it has required all the authority of a Court of Chancery to prevent his cutting down all the trees in the park. Marlborough married Lady Susan Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway and they had four children, George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill, married Ethelred Catherine Benett and had issue. Reverend Lord George Henry Spencer-Churchill, married Elizabeth Martha Nares, died and buried in Macao 2 June 1840, whilst as Captain of HBM Ship Druid. Winston Churchill was the dukes great-great-grandson and his eldest son George, Marquess of Blandford, succeeded in the title. The Duchess of Marlborough died at Park Lane, Mayfair, London, in April 1841, aged 73
26.
Victor Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill
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Major Victor Albert Francis Charles Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill GCVO JP, known as Victor Albert Spencer until 1886 and as The Lord Churchill between 1886 and 1902, was a British peer and courtier. Spencer was born at 32, Albemarle Street, London, the son of Francis Spencer, 2nd Baron Churchill and he was a Page of Honour to Queen Victoria from 1876 to 1881, and in 1886 he succeeded to his fathers title of Baron Churchill. Educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Spencer was a Lord in Waiting from 1889 to 1892 and 1895 to 1905 in both of Salisburys governments and was created Viscount Churchill, of Rolleston, in the County of Leicester, on 15 July 1902. Lord Churchill married Lady Verena Maud Lowther, daughter of Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale, at Cottesmore, Rutland, the couple were divorced in 1927. Churchill married as his second wife Christine McRae Sinclair and he died of pneumonia on 3 January 1934. Hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Churchill
27.
Coat of arms
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A coat of arms is an heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state. The ancient Romans used similar insignia on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals, the first evidence of medieval coats of arms has been attributed to the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry in which some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. However, that heraldic interpretation remains controversial, coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century. By the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the social classes of Europe. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, in the German-speaking regions both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology, the coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo. Despite no widespread regulation, heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day. In England, for example, the granting of arms is and has controlled by the College of Arms. Unlike seals and other emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms, in the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland, an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son, wives, undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference. One such charge is the label, which in British usage is now always the mark of an apparent or an heir presumptive. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents and this has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called heraldry. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, the author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo
28.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The Prime Minister also acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, custom, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
29.
Winston Churchill
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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG OM CH TD PC DL FRS RA was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, in 1963, he was the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill was born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young officer, he saw action in British India, the Anglo–Sudan War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns, at the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. Before the First World War, he served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, during the war, he continued as First Lord of the Admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign caused his departure from government. He then briefly resumed active service on the Western Front as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He returned to government under Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, at the outbreak of the Second World War, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister and he led Britain as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured. After the Conservative Party suffered a defeat in the 1945 general election. He publicly warned of an Iron Curtain of Soviet influence in Europe, after winning the 1951 election, Churchill again became Prime Minister. His second term was preoccupied by foreign affairs, including the Malayan Emergency, Mau Mau Uprising, Korean War, domestically his government laid great emphasis on house-building. Churchill suffered a stroke in 1953 and retired as Prime Minister in 1955. Upon his death aged ninety in 1965, Elizabeth II granted him the honour of a state funeral and his highly complex legacy continues to stimulate intense debate amongst writers and historians. Born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough, a branch of the noble Spencer family, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, like his father. His ancestor George Spencer had changed his surname to Spencer-Churchill in 1817 when he became Duke of Marlborough, to highlight his descent from John Churchill, Churchill was born on 30 November 1874, two months prematurely, in a bedroom in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire. From age two to six, he lived in Dublin, where his grandfather had been appointed Viceroy, Churchills brother, John Strange Spencer-Churchill, was born during this time in Ireland
30.
John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough
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John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, JP, DL was a British peer. He was the son of John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough and he was a relative of the Duke of Devonshire and a generational cousin of the war-time Conservative Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. He was also a distant relative of Diana, Princess of Wales, as both belonged to the Spencer family, and of the Vanderbilt family through his paternal grandmother and his principal seat was Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. He was ranked 224th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2004 and his death was announced on 16 October 2014 by Blenheim Palace. He was educated at Eton College and served seven years in the Life Guards, in 1972, on inheriting the Dukedom of Marlborough, he took over the management of Blenheim Palace and the Blenheim estate. In order to fund the maintenance of the house, he opened it to visitors and as a set, and established a number of businesses, including a garden furniture company. He was also active in a range of organisations, including the Thames and he served as Vice President of Witney Conservatives, the local party of David Cameron. Marlborough was married four times and had a total of six children, firstly, he married Susan Mary Hornby, daughter of Michael Charles St John Hornby and Nicolette Joan Ward, on 19 October 1951. They were divorced in 1971 and had no children, thirdly, on 20 May 1972, he married Countess Rosita Douglas-Stjernorp, daughter of ambassador Count Carl Douglas-Stjernorp and Ottora Haas-Heye. She was formerly the wife of Ratan Mahtani, a wealthy Indian expatriate businessman, there were no children from this marriage. How a Persian beauty reunited the grumpy Duke with black sheep son he disinherited Daily Mail 17 August 2008, the article online also includes photographs of Jamie Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, his second wife Edla, and his elder son George. Magnificent Obsession Vanity Fair June 2011
31.
Woodstock, Oxfordshire
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Woodstock is a market town and civil parish 8 miles northwest of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the population as 3,100. Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is at Woodstock, winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace in 1874 and is buried in the nearby village of Bladon. Edward, elder son of King Edward III and heir apparent, prince of Aquitaine and Wales, Duke of Cornwall, during his lifetime, he was commonly called Edward of Woodstock. In the reign of Queen Mary I, her half-sister Elizabeth was imprisoned in the gatehouse of Woodstock Manor, the name Woodstock is Old English in origin, meaning a clearing in the woods. The Domesday Book of 1086 describes Woodstock as a royal forest, Æthelred the Unready, king of England, is said to have held an assembly at Woodstock at which he issued a legal code now known as IX Æthelred. King Henry I may have kept a menagerie in the park, Woodstock was the scene of King Henry IIs courtship of Rosamund Clifford. The market of the town was established when King Henry II gave Woodstock a Royal charter in 1179, the Bear Hotel in Park Street opposite The Oxfordshire Museum dates from the 13th century. Near the village was Woodstock Palace, a residence that was popular with several English kings throughout the medieval period, the building was destroyed in the English Civil War. 60 years later the remains were cleared for the building of Blenheim Palace. From the 16th century the town prospered by making gloves, today it is largely dependent on tourists, many of whom visit Blenheim Palace. In the 17th century the town was altered greatly, when the 1st Duke of Marlborough became a permanent resident, the town has a successful fine steelwork industry by 1720 and by 1742 its products were of high enough quality to be considered viable diplomatic gifts. By the end of the 18th century this had developed into Cut steel jewellery, by 1626 James Keene, who had a bell-foundry in Bedford, had started one in Woodstock. Until 1640 another member of the family, Humphrey Keene, was a bell-founder with him, James died in 1654 and was succeeded by his son Richard. Richard Keene apparently closed the Woodstock foundry in the 1680s but continued casting bells at Royston, the Palace was designed by John Vanbrugh, in a heavy Italo-Corinthian style. It was designated to John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, most of the palace was paid for by the nation. Churchill was given this palace in honour for his victories over the French, the magnificent park contains Fair Rosamunds Well, near which stood her bower. On the summit of a hill stands a column commemorating the duke, Blenheim Park forms a separate parish
32.
Oxfordshire
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Oxfordshire is a county in South East England bordering on Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The county has major education and tourist industries and is noted for the concentration of performance companies and facilities. Oxford University Press is the largest firm among a concentration of print and publishing firms, the main centre of population is the city of Oxford. The highest point is White Horse Hill, in the Vale of White Horse, oxfordshires county flower is the Snakes-head Fritillary. Historically the area has always had some importance, since it contains valuable agricultural land in the centre of the county, largely ignored by the Romans, it was not until the formation of a settlement at Oxford in the eighth century that the area grew in importance. Alfred the Great was born across the Thames in Wantage, Vale of White Horse, the University of Oxford was founded in 1096, though its collegiate structure did not develop until later on. The university in the county town of Oxford grew in importance during the Middle Ages, the area was part of the Cotswolds wool trade from the 13th century, generating much wealth, particularly in the western portions of the county in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. Morris Motors was founded in Oxford in 1912, bringing industry to an otherwise agricultural county. The importance of agriculture as an employer has declined rapidly in the 20th century though, nonetheless, Oxfordshire remains a very agricultural county by land use, with a lower population than neighbouring Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which are both smaller. The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the army unit in the area, was based at Cowley Barracks on Bullingdon Green. Conversely, the Caversham area of Reading, now administratively in Berkshire, was part of Oxfordshire as was the parish of Stokenchurch. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Oxfordshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Oxfordshire has a comprehensive education system with 23 independent schools and 35 state secondary schools. Only eight schools do not have a form, these are mostly in South Oxfordshire. The county has two universities, the ancient University of Oxford and the modern Oxford Brookes University, both located in Oxford, in addition, Wroxton College, located in Banbury, is affiliated with Fairleigh Dickinson University of New Jersey. The dreaming spires of the buildings of the University of Oxford are among the reasons for Oxford being the sixth most visited city in the United Kingdom for international visitors. Among many notable University buildings are the Sheldonian Theatre, built 1664–68 to the design of Sir Christopher Wren, Blenheim Palace close to Woodstock was built by the great architect John Vanbrugh for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, after he had won the battle of Blenheim. The gardens, which can be visited, were designed by the landscape gardener Capability Brown, in the palace, which can also be visited by the public, Sir Winston Churchill was born in 1874
33.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
34.
Battle of Blenheim
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The Battle of Blenheim, fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement. Vienna was also pressure from Rákóczis Hungarian revolt from its eastern approaches. Realising the danger, the Duke of Marlborough resolved to alleviate the peril to Vienna by marching his forces south from Bedburg, after securing Donauwörth on the Danube, Marlborough sought to engage the Electors and Marsins army before Marshal Tallard could bring reinforcements through the Black Forest. However, with the Franco-Bavarian commanders reluctant to fight until their numbers were deemed sufficient, the battle has gone down in history as one of the turning points of the War of the Spanish Succession. Bavaria was knocked out of the war, and Louis hopes for a victory came to an end. France suffered over 30,000 casualties including the commander-in-chief, Marshal Tallard, before the 1704 campaign ended, the Allies had taken Landau, and the towns of Trier and Trarbach on the Moselle in preparation for the following years campaign into France itself. By 1704, the War of the Spanish Succession was in its fourth year, Vienna had been saved by dissension between the two commanders, leading to the brilliant Villars being replaced by the less dynamic Marshal Marsin. In the courts of Versailles and Madrid, Viennas fall was confidently anticipated, a scarlet caterpillar, upon which all eyes were at once fixed, began to crawl steadfastly day by day across the map of Europe, dragging the whole war with it. Marlboroughs march started on 19 May from Bedburg,20 miles north-west of Cologne, the army consisted of 66 squadrons,31 battalions and 38 guns and mortars totalling 21,000 men. This force was to be augmented en route such that by the time Marlborough reached the Danube, whilst Marlborough led his army, General Overkirk would maintain a defensive position in the Dutch Republic in case Villeroi mounted an attack. In this assumption Marlborough proved correct, Villeroi shadowed the Duke with 30,000 men in 60 squadrons and 42 battalions, such a long march would almost certainly involve a high wastage of men and horses through exhaustion and disease. However, Marlborough was convinced of the urgency – I am very sensible that I take a deal upon me, he had earlier written to Godolphin, but should I act otherwise. Whilst Allied preparations had progressed, the French were striving to maintain, Tallard then returned with his own force to the Rhine, once again side-stepping Thüngens efforts to intercept him. The whole operation was a military achievement. On 26 May, Marlborough reached Coblenz, where the Moselle meets the Rhine, If he intended an attack along the Moselle the Duke must now turn west, but, instead, the following day the army crossed to the right bank of the Rhine. There will be no campaign on the Moselle, wrote Villeroi who had taken up a position on the river. A second possible objective now occurred to the French – an Allied incursion into Alsace, with Villeroi shadowing Marlboroughs every move, Marlboroughs gamble that the French would not move against the weakened Dutch position in the Netherlands paid off
35.
John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough
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John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough, DL, styled Marquess of Blandford until 1934, was a British military officer and peer. He was born in London as the first of two born to Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough and his first wife, the former Consuelo Vanderbilt. Prior to inheriting the dukedom in 1934, he was a lieutenant-colonel in the Life Guards and he was Mayor of Woodstock from 1937 to 1942. He married his first wife, the Hon. Alexandra Mary Cadogan and she was a daughter of Henry Cadogan, Viscount Chelsea, the son and heir of George Henry Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan. Lady Rosemary was one of Queen Elizabeth II’s Maids of Honour at the 1953 Coronation and her son Alexander is a god-son of Princess Margaret. Six weeks before his death, on 26 January 1972, the Duke married his wife, Laura Canfield née Charteris. Laura Canfield was the daughter of the Hon. Guy Lawrence Charteris, second son of Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss. Lauras older sister, Ann Geraldine Mary Charteris, married the novelist Ian Fleming, Laura herself was previously married to and divorced from Walter Long, 2nd Viscount Long and William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley. The Duke was succeeded by his son John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford and he and his first wife are buried in the churchyard of St Martins Church, Bladon. Hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough, thepeerage. com
36.
St Martin's Church, Bladon
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St Martins Church in Bladon near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, is the Church of England parish church of Bladon-with-Woodstock. It is also the church of St Mary Magdalene at Woodstock. It is best known for the graves of the Spencer-Churchill family, including Sir Winston Churchill, the first church on the current site was probably built in the 11th or 12th century. The earliest references to the state that John de London, Henry IIIs chaplain, obtained from the King a grant of the Manor of Bladon. A print hung in the present St Martins shows the old church before its demolition in 1802 and this print shows an ornate Norman doorway to the south porch, which suggests a 12th or late 11th century date for the building. It also shows a clerestory that would have increased the amount of light in the nave. The parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials date from 1545 and are kept at the Bodleian library in Oxford. There is no record of the building itself until 1802. Permission was granted, the church was demolished, the 4th Duke of Marlborough paid for building materials. Blomfield rebuilt the chancel, restored the nave, added new windows, unlike the medieval church, the new building has no clerestory and despite the windows that Blomfield added the interior remains relatively dark. The work was carried out largely at the expense of the rector, Arthur Majendie, because of these efforts, three windows in the chancel are dedicated to his memory by his widow and children. Other feature windows in the include a copy of Sir Joshua Reynolds Choir of the Cherubs. In 1893, Majendie gave a lych gate in memory of his mother, in 1937, a statue of Saint Martin was placed in a niche over the porch. The parish of St Martins includes Blenheim Palace, the seat of the dukes of Marlborough. Most lesser members of the Spencer-Churchill family are interred in St. Martins parish churchyard at Bladon, with the exception of the 10th Duke and his first wife, the Dukes and Duchesses of Marlborough are buried in the Blenheim Palace chapel. Sir Winston Churchill had expressed a wish to be buried at Bladon, so, on 30 January 1965, after his state funeral service at St Pauls Cathedral, London, his body was taken by train to nearby Hanborough railway station and thence to Bladon. There, the burial took place, conducted by the rector. By contrast with the service, only relatives and close friends were present
37.
Bladon
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Bladon is a village and civil parish on the River Glyme about 6 1⁄2 miles northwest of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, notable as the burial place of Sir Winston Churchill. The 2011 Census recorded the population as 898. The Church of England parish church of Saint Martin was originally 11th or 12th century, however, the old church was demolished in 1802 and a new building completed in its place in 1804. This in turn was rebuilt in 1891 to designs by the Gothic Revival architect A. W. The parish of St Martins includes Blenheim Palace, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough. Most members of the Spencer-Churchill family are interred in St. Martins parish churchyard at Bladon, Blenheim Palace is also the birthplace of Winston Churchill, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1940–45 and again 1951–55. Like his parents, he too was buried in St. Martins parish churchyard after his death in 1965, a Methodist congregation was established in Bladon by 1820 and built its first chapel in 1843. In 1877 a new chapel was built copying the Early English style of the 13th century and it is now Bladon Methodist Church and belongs to the Oxford Methodist Circuit. In 1858 the Duchess of Marlborough, wife of the 7th Duke, the building was enlarged in 1890. It was known as the Duchess of Marlboroughs school, but in 1937 its ownership was transferred from the Duchy of Marlborough to Bladon parochial church council, in 1940 it was reorganised as a junior school, with most senior pupils from Bladon thereafter going to secondary school in Woodstock. Since 1954 the school has been a Church of England primary school, Bladon has one public house, the White House, controlled by Greene King Brewery. Crossley, Alan, Elrington, C. R. Baggs, A. P. Blair, W. J. Chance, Eleanor, Colvin, Christina, Cooper, Janet, Day, C. J. Selwyn, Nesta, Townley, Simon C. A History of the County of Oxford, london, Oxford University Press for the Institute of Historical Research. Media related to Bladon at Wikimedia Commons
38.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
39.
Hereditary peer
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Hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over eight hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, Peers are called to the House of Lords with a writ of summons. A hereditary title is not necessarily a title of the peerage, for instance, baronets and baronetesses may pass on their titles, but they are not peers. Conversely, the holder of a title may belong to the peerage. Peerages may be created by means of letters patent, but the granting of new hereditary peerages has dwindled, with six having been created since 1965. The hereditary peerage, as it now exists, combines several different English institutions with analogous ones from Scotland and Ireland, English Earls are an Anglo-Saxon institution. Around 1014, England was divided into shires or counties, largely to defend against the Danes, each shire was led by a great man, called an earl. When the Normans conquered England, they continued to appoint earls, but not for all counties, Earldoms began as offices, with a perquisite of a share of the legal fees in the county, they gradually became honours, with a stipend of £20 a year. Like most feudal offices, earldoms were inherited, but the kings frequently asked earls to resign or exchange earldoms, William the Conqueror and Henry II did not make Dukes, they were themselves only Dukes of Normandy or Aquitaine. But when Edward III of England declared himself King of France, he made his sons Dukes, to them from other noblemen. Later Kings created Marquesses and Viscounts to make finer gradations of honour, which men were ordered to Council varied from Council to Council, a man might be so ordered once and never again, or all his life, but his son and heir might never go. Under Henry VI of England, in the 15th century, just before the Wars of the Roses, the first claim of hereditary right to a writ comes from this reign, so does the first patent, or charter declaring a man to be a Baron. The five orders began to be called Peers, holders of older peerages also began receive greater honour than Peers of the same rank just created. If a man held a peerage, his son would succeed to it, if he had no children, if he had a single daughter, his son-in-law would inherit the family lands, and usually the same Peerage, more complex cases were decided depending on circumstances. Customs changed with time, Earldoms were the first to be hereditary, after Henry II became the Lord of Ireland, he and his successors began to imitate the English system as it was in their time. A writ does not create a peerage in Ireland, all Irish peerages are by patent or charter, in the 18th century, Irish peerages became rewards for English politicians, limited only by the concern that they might go to Dublin and interfere with the Irish Government. Scotland evolved a system, differing in points of detail
40.
Primogeniture
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The son of a deceased elder brother inherits before a living younger brother by right of substitution for the deceased heir. In the absence of any children, brothers succeed, individually, among siblings, sons inherit before daughters. The principle has applied in history to inheritance of property as well as inherited titles and offices, most notably monarchies. Variations on primogeniture modify the right of the son to the entirety of a familys inheritance or, in the West since World War II. Most monarchies in Europe have eliminated male preference in succession, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, absolute, equal, or lineal primogeniture is a form of primogeniture in which gender does not matter for inheritance. This form of primogeniture was not practiced by any modern monarchy before 1980, however, according to Poumarede, the Basques of the Kingdom of Navarre transmitted title and property to the firstborn, whatever the gender. This inheritance practice was adhered to by the nobility and free families alike in the early. The Navarrese monarchy, however, was inherited by dynasties from outside of Navarre which followed different succession laws, eventually only the Basque lower nobility and free families of the Basque country and other regions continued to follow this practice, which persisted as late as the 19th century. The most notable of these are the Egyptian cases of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, as well as the Ptolemaic Dynastys kings, Zapateros proposal was supported by the leader of the main opposition party, the conservative Partido Popular, making its passage likely. However, Zapateros administration ended before any amendment was drafted, Felipe succeeded to the throne as Felipe VI, upon his fathers abdication in 2014, by which time he had two daughters. Felipe VI has no son that would, absent the constitutional change, in July 2006, the Nepalese government proposed adopting absolute primogeniture, but the monarchy was abolished in 2008 before the change could be put into effect. In 2011, the governments of the 16 Commonwealth realms who share the person as their respective monarch announced the Perth Agreement. This was implemented when the legislation came into effect on 26 March 2015. In Japan, debates have occurred over whether to adopt absolute primogeniture, however, the birth of Prince Hisahito, a son of Prince Akishino has sidelined the debate. In 2006, King Juan Carlos I of Spain issued a decree reforming the succession to noble titles from male-preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. The order of succession for all noble dignities is determined in accordance with the title of concession and, if there is none, with that traditionally applied in these cases. Men and women have a right of succession to grandeeship and to titles of nobility in Spain. Male-preference primogeniture accords succession to the throne to a member of a dynasty if she has no living brothers
listen) MORL-bər-ə) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill, 1st Earl of Marlborough (1650–1722), the noted military leader. In historical texts, it he is often referred to as a man of unqualified use of the title, the name of the dukedom refers to Marlborough in Wiltshire. It is one of the few titles in the peerage which allows for suo jure female inheritance, and is the only current dukedom to do so.
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marlborough, Earls and Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 737.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the 
