Blenheim Bridge
When the 1st Duke of Marlborough and his architect, John Vanbrugh, surveyed Queen Anne's gift of Woodstock Park, they saw an awkward valley of marshland. Vanbrugh reimagined this marsh as ornamental water - crossed by the “finest bridge in Europe”.
The Duke duly approved Vanbrugh’s design, and building of The Grand Bridge began in 1708.
The main arch was eventually keyed in 1710, measuring 31 metres (101ft) wide and containing more than 30 rooms. Yet the bridge never quite scaled the heights of Vanbrugh’s intentions, as the arcaded superstructure that was planned to crown the bridge was never completed.
Still, it proved a stunning addition to Blenheim Palace – particularly when Capability Brown built a dam and cascade near Bladon, allowing the River Glyme to flow through the lower parts of the bridge.
The resulting ‘natural’ lakes on either side gave purpose to Vanbrugh’s heroic structure, prompting Sir Sacheverell Sitwell to remark: “The lake at Blenheim is the one great argument of the landscape gardener. There is nothing finer in Europe”.
Blenheim Bridge
When the 1st Duke of Marlborough and his architect, John Vanbrugh, surveyed Queen Anne's gift of Woodstock Park, they saw an awkward valley of marshland. Vanbrugh reimagined this marsh as ornamental water - crossed by the “finest bridge in Europe”.
The Duke duly approved Vanbrugh’s design, and building of The Grand Bridge began in 1708.
The main arch was eventually keyed in 1710, measuring 31 metres (101ft) wide and containing more than 30 rooms. Yet the bridge never quite scaled the heights of Vanbrugh’s intentions, as the arcaded superstructure that was planned to crown the bridge was never completed.
Still, it proved a stunning addition to Blenheim Palace – particularly when Capability Brown built a dam and cascade near Bladon, allowing the River Glyme to flow through the lower parts of the bridge.
The resulting ‘natural’ lakes on either side gave purpose to Vanbrugh’s heroic structure, prompting Sir Sacheverell Sitwell to remark: “The lake at Blenheim is the one great argument of the landscape gardener. There is nothing finer in Europe”.