
Charleston | Blenheim: 300 Years of Life in a Palace with Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill
March 18 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Blenheim: 300 Years of Life in a Palace
Regarded as perhaps the greatest of the stately homes and the finest example of baroque architecture in Great Britain, Blenheim, in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, is a one of England’s treasure houses. Designed by John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor in the early 1700s for the Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim is filled with artistic treasures crafted by the best talents of the age. Fine furniture and magnificent tapestries highlight incredible paintings from notable artists such as Joshua Reynolds and John Singer Sargent. The lavish rooms provide a window into the history of collecting, changing styles of English interiors, and reflects on England’s own history—as well as the history of the Spencer-Churchill family. Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, the 12th generation of the family, will give us an illustrated private tour of the palace—with new photography by Hugo Rittson. In addition to the gilded staterooms full of priceless objet d’arts, Lady Henrietta will show the family’s private apartments and take us behind-the-scenes into secret corridors and the “downstairs” staff area (with its iconic bell system). She will also share her first-hand experience as one of the palace’s stewards and explain the importance of Blenheim’s restoration, bringing the estate into the 21st century. Join us as we see Blenheim as it’s never been seen before!
Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill is an interior designer, founder of Woodstock Designs, and author of multiple Rizzoli books on design and historic styles, including The Life of the House, Blenheim and the Churchill Family, and Classic English Interiors. She lectures widely on design and design history in the US and the UK. Hugo Rittson-Thomas is a portrait photographer of many high-profile subjects, including the British royal family. His work has been published in Romantics and Classics, Secret Gardens of the Cotswolds, and Great Gardens of London.
VENUE
Charleston Library Society
164 King Street
Charleston, SC 29401
In-Person: 6:00pm, Lecture is preceded by a reception
Tickets: $35 members*; $45 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged in to your Royal-Oak.org account