In 1705, the foundation stone was laid for Blenheim Palace—named for the military victory that prompted its construction. Queen Anne bequeathed the property near Oxfordshire, England, to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, for his triumph over the French at the Battle of Blenheim in Bavaria, a decisive moment in the War of the Spanish Succession. The Duke was honored as a national hero, and his new home served as “a monument, a castle, and a private house—in that order.”
