Sadly, we departed the Luckman Park Hotel and Spa. There are photos below. But, we were off to wonderful new adventures and our first stop was Bleinham Castle-- ancestral home of Winston Churchill. The first Duke of Marlborough was John Churchill who fought for the Crown in the Battle of Bleinham against the French. His army carried the day and he sent word back to Queen Ann that they had won with a written message on a tavern bill he had in his pocket! As a reward, the Queen gave him a great deal of land on which construction was begun for Bleinham Castle.. The wife of John Churchill, Sarah Jennings, was very good friends with Queen Ann. Unfortunately, Sarah was quite headstrong and she had a falling out with the Queen after construction had begun on the castle. This resulted in a loss of funding from the Crown. Sadly, the first Duke had to pay for the continuing construction of the palace land he had received as a reward for the battle he fought.. The First Duke died in 1722. His wife, Sarah, lived for another 20 years and continued the construction of this magnificent Castle. The current Duke is the 11th Duke of Marlborough and at age 86, he continues to live in the Castle today. He has opened part of the Castle to visitors, weddings, corporate affairs, etc. in order to maintain the largest non royal castle in the country.
Winston Churchill was born at the Castlle in 1874. He arrived a bit early (6 weeks) and was born on the night of a dance in the cloakroom! There is a wonderful exhibit of Churchill artifacts as well as countless other treasures. The photos below show what a beautiful place it is.. The gardens are magnificent!! Churchill proposed to his wife on the grounds of the Castle. In the 1920's, Consuelo Vanderbilt was forced into an arranged marriage with the 9th Duke of Marlborough.. After bearing him two male heirs, she left leaving the Duke a note, "I've given you an heir and a spare"! And she left for America. She divorced the Duke and remarried an adventurer she met in America. Because she was a contemporary of Winston Churchill, they remained friends, even after the divorce from the Duke.
After Bleinham, we head for the university town of Oxford! Another amazing tale... Oxford was begun in 1249 and consisted originally of three colleges.. By the 1300's, more colleges were added, including Exeter. In all, there are 38 colleges today that comprise Oxford University..How you do on your "A" level exams, determines which college you will get into at the University.. When you apply, you list your top five college choices, and your entrance to your first choice depends on your exams.
One of the more interesting Professors who taught mathematics at the College of Christ Church was Charles Dodgson. you know him better by his pen name, Lewis Carol, author of Alice in Wonderland. The College of Christ Church has become even more famous in recent times because their dining hall was the inspiration for the dining room for Hogwart's School,in the Harry Potter Movies. Those of you who have seen the movie will recognize the room. The college was used for several of the Hogwort's movie scenes! Our walking tour of this historic educational city was phenomenal! There is such an incredible amount of history here!
We left Oxford for our two hour drive (by our wonderful driver, John) back to the Stafford Hotel,in London. We then took a leisurely stroll to Fortnum and Mason department store for a bit of shopping (think amazing teas, confections, wines, candies, etc. all beautifully packaged) and a wonderful dinner in the department store! Delicious!!!
I believe some of the younger generation in our group are taking a walk through Hyde Park to take advantage of a free concert with some quite notable performers.
Tomorrow is a picnic boat trip down the Thames and a visit to the London Shard- the tallest building in Europe. More tomorrow!!!
Today you took me to school. I learned so much.
ReplyDeleteThank you for retaining and sharing the information.
the pictures are amazing and finally a great shot of all of you! The gang will be missed in the UK - only 2 more days and then watch out
Washington DC.