Blenheim Palace wedding map print

The land was a gift to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, after his victory over the French and Bavarians at Blenheim in 1704. Building began in 1705 to designs by John Vanbrugh, a dramatist with no formal training, and quarrels over money dragged it on until 1722, the year the Duke died. The palace was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Much of what the artwork shows was shaped by water. Capability Brown, brought in by the 4th Duke in 1764, dammed the little River Glyme to make the lake, and drowned the lower rooms of Vanbrugh's Grand Bridge so that it finally sat right in the view. Beyond the top of the map the Column of Victory closes the long avenue, and the first streets of Woodstock reach into the top right-hand corner.

There is a romantic footnote, too. In 1908 Winston Churchill proposed to his future wife at the Temple of Diana, a small summerhouse by the lake designed by William Chambers. He now lies in the churchyard at Bladon, the village just south of the park and beyond the edge of the map, but the temple sits on your map beside the spot you choose for your own day.