A castle and palace conjoined

One of the outstanding palaces of Baroque Europe was planned as both a residence and national monument. John Goodall revisits this extraordinary building

- John Goodall

Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire

The seat of the Duke of Marlborough

TOWARDS the end of the day on August 13, 1704, John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, exhausted by an intense day of fighting near Blindheim, a village on the Danube, famously scrawled a note to his wife on the back of a tavern bill: 'I have not time to say more but to beg you will give my duty to the Queen and let her know her army has had a glorious victory. The battle of Blenheim-as the name has been anglicised—was, in fact, a confrontation between a Franco-Bavarian army and the forces of a grand alliance of European powers, including the Dutch republic, Austria and Britain, over control of Spain and its empire. It was the first major defeat inflicted on a French army in the field for 50 years and was crowned by the capture of Louis XIV's commander-in-chief, Marshal Talleyrand, who waited in the Duke's coach as he scribbled his hasty message.

News of the victory spread across Europe (the note took eight days to reach England), bringing many rewards for the Duke, joint commander-in-chief of the allied forces. One of the first honours came from Emperor Leopold I, who created him a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire just over two weeks later. The Duke was sufficiently confident to request in return that the dignity should be attached to lands, revenue, and a vote in the Imperial Diet (the following November, he was awarded the Swabian lordship of Mindelheim, which he subsequently visited once in 1713 for four days and described as a place I liked much better then expected but not so as to think of living there'). Rewards also awaited him in Britain at the end of the campaigning year.