Shop Account

Palace State Rooms

Open Daily 10.30- 16.45

Priceless collections of tapestries, paintings and furniture.

Step beyond the courtyard and into Blenheim Palace's ornate State Rooms.

Within these walls, more than three centuries of family life have left their mark - in the soaring Great Hall that greets every visitor, in the procession of magnificent State Rooms, and in the great sweep of the Long Library beyond.

These are rooms still lived in as well as admired. Hung with tapestries, lined with portraits and filled with treasures gathered across generations of the Dukes of Marlborough, each holds its own chapter of our story.

We invite you to take your time among them - to look closely, and to discover the craftsmanship and the characters that bring every room to life

The Great Hall

Pause a moment to take in the granduar of The Great Hall. 67 feet (20 metres) above you, Sir James Thornhill's painted ceiling of 1716 shows the victorious 1st Duke of Marlborough, in Roman dress, presenting his plan of the Battle of Blenheim to Britannia. Around you, the stone carvings are the work of master carver Grinling Gibbons and his assistants.

The Drawing & Writing Rooms

The Green Drawing Room holds the first of Hawksmoor's ceilings and Romney's portrait of the 4th Duke. In the Red Drawing Room, family portraits by Reynolds and Sargent face each other to dramatic effect. The Green Writing Room centres on the Blenheim tapestry, beside Closterman's portrait of the 1st Duke - "That was once a man".

The Saloon

The Saloon was conceived as a grand reception room, to celebrate the 1st Duke's achievements and impress his guests. Its walls and ceiling are the work of French artist Louis Laguerre, who even painted himself into the crowds on the walls.

The State Rooms

On display in The First State Room is the hurried note announcing Marlborough's victory at Blenheim - famously written on the back of a tavern bill. The Second State Room displays a portrait of Louis XIV, the "Sun King", placed high by Marlborough simply because he had beaten him. The Third, once the state bedchamber, dazzles with opulent 'Boulle' furniture.

The Long Library

Thought to be the second longest room in any English house, the Long Library stretches 183 feet (56 metres) and contains around 10,000 books. Vanbrugh conceived this "noble room of parade" as a single gallery; he died in 1726, however, without ever seeing his masterpiece finished.