0:00:01 > 0:00:05At the heart of England lies a palace that's not the residence of a king or a bishop,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08but the reward to a man who freed Europe from domination.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10This is Blenheim.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15This is Climbing Great Buildings.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20Throughout this series, I'll be scaling our most iconic and best loved structures
0:00:20 > 0:00:23from the Normans to the present day.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27I'll be revealing the buildings' secrets and telling the story
0:00:27 > 0:00:31of how British architecture and construction developed over 1,000 years.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49Today's great building is the finest example of the English Baroque style,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52a style that lent itself to grandeur and ostentation.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56It's just to the north of Oxford and home to the Dukes of Marlborough.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58It is Blenheim Palace.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07Blenheim Palace, built from 1705, is one of our best-loved stately homes, famous as the birthplace
0:01:07 > 0:01:13of Winston Churchill, but its origins lie in the European wars of the 18th century.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16The French King Louis XIV was determined to create
0:01:16 > 0:01:19an empire to rival anything the world had ever seen.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22His armies were rampaging across Europe.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25However, one man stood in the way of total French domination.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough.
0:01:28 > 0:01:34In 1704 he won a bloody and decisive victory over the French at the Battle of Blindheim,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37destroying Louis XIV's ambitions to rule Europe.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Queen Anne, and by extension the joyful nation,
0:01:41 > 0:01:46was so grateful for the victory, they gave Marlborough the Manor of Woodstock in Oxfordshire.
0:01:46 > 0:01:53With it came a brand new palace, which would be paid for, it was understood, by the Royal purse.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58So the Duke of Marlborough commissioned maverick architect
0:01:58 > 0:02:02John Vanbrugh to commemorate his victorious battle in stone
0:02:02 > 0:02:09and what Vanbrugh created is the finest and most imaginative English Baroque palace in the country.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13I've been given unprecedented access to Blenheim so I can reveal
0:02:13 > 0:02:18the secrets behind its construction and get a perspective of the palace never seen before.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23Helping decipher this building is one of Britain's top climbers, Lucy Creamer.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25No, you're going to break your leg if you do that.
0:02:25 > 0:02:33I'm not. And a trusty team of riggers, along with all-action cameraman Ian Burton.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38I'll climb 100 feet to reveal the meaning behind the many sculptural symbols that adorn Blenheim.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42This is the French cockerel, it's being savaged by the English lion.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46I'll reveal the secrets behind the construction of this wonder in stone.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Everything's stuck on using iron.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52And I'll test the limits of my courage by shooting across a zipwire
0:02:52 > 0:02:56to gain a unique perspective of this audacious Baroque masterpiece.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Blenheim is a monument to courage so I've got to exercise some.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03Woohoo!
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Wherever you look at Blenheim Palace, the architecture tells
0:03:10 > 0:03:13the story of the Duke of Marlborough's epic victory.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16I'm starting my climb at the western entrance to see how the tale
0:03:16 > 0:03:21of the Duke's heroism was translated into stone through flamboyant sculpture.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25- How high do you reckon this is? - Oh...30ft?
0:03:25 > 0:03:27- 30ft?- Yeah?
0:03:27 > 0:03:30You know that Vanbrugh measured these in column inches.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37- Let's do it, lady.- Let's just climb.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43John Vanbrugh had a varied and chequered career,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46including stints as a merchant, a soldier and reportedly a spy.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Vanbrugh turned his hand to architecture when he was commissioned to design
0:03:50 > 0:03:56Castle Howard in Yorkshire in 1699 but he was best known as the writer of bawdy and satirical plays.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03I'm intrigued by the way Vanbrugh combined theatre and architecture.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07He was the child of the swinging sixties - the 1660s -
0:04:07 > 0:04:11and brought up in Chester, a city with lots of medieval architecture.
0:04:11 > 0:04:17That must have influenced him. Then he became a soldier and was incarcerated in France.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20That made his health suffer, and so the guy had seen some life
0:04:20 > 0:04:25before he became a playwright and he used that experience to win over audiences.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29He knows how to manipulate, to capture people.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31And architecture's no different.
0:04:31 > 0:04:37This is just a great play in form and space rather than words. It certainly captures me.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Vanbrugh's wonderful play in stone
0:04:42 > 0:04:46is set within over 2,000 acres of rolling Oxfordshire countryside.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Everything about this palace is intended to be dramatic.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53One of the first things that strikes you about Blenheim is the incredibly rich colour
0:04:53 > 0:04:58of its Jurassic limestones, with hues ranging from pale pinks to deep burnt orange.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03Don't you feel like we've climbed through the warm half of the spectrum?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05The warm half of the spectrum?
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Red and orange and yellow, the stone is all kinds of colours.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Yes, it's baffling.
0:05:11 > 0:05:17One of the reasons for the vast array of colours was that shortly after construction began, it became
0:05:17 > 0:05:20obvious that local quarries couldn't supply enough stone
0:05:20 > 0:05:25to complete Vanbrugh's vision, so limestone had to be brought in from around the Cotswolds.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30But limestone quarried from different sources contains varying levels of iron,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34which leaches out, causing different levels of discoloration.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38I have seldom seen a house so orange.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41It's been on the sunbed too long!
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Hasn't it! Like a gently toasted palace.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52It's not just the ostentatious golden hues of Blenheim that give it its majesty.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57It's the sense of proportion as inspired by the buildings of ancient Greece and Rome,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59as translated by Renaissance architects.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05With its sweeping symmetry, spreading forecourts and distinct classical accents,
0:06:05 > 0:06:10Vanbrugh gave Blenheim the ancestry of great ancient civilisations.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18The last great house I climbed was Burghley, dating to the late 16th century,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21and it was delightfully different on each of its sides.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26Through the 17th century, especially into the 18th, symmetry became the order of the day.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31And Blenheim is a straitjacket of classical symmetry!
0:06:31 > 0:06:37The kitchen court and the stable court are identical on both sides, despite their different functions.
0:06:37 > 0:06:43But symmetry is only one of the motifs that Vanbrugh had to conform to.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47The other was really the use of massiveness, the play of light
0:06:47 > 0:06:54and shade and form and the way in which the portico slides out and creates a greater sense of scale.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57It was all part of the game of designing in the Baroque age.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06As a reward for England's epic victory over the French, Vanbrugh,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09who was often criticised for the lack of subtlety in his plays,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11was never going to let his audience forget
0:07:11 > 0:07:15the achievements of his central character, the Duke of Marlborough,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19so Blenheim is littered with flamboyant reminders of the Duke's finest hour.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21That's fantastic, look at that!
0:07:21 > 0:07:23You've got a good view there.
0:07:23 > 0:07:24I love it!
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Look at his big cartoon whiskers!
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Little whisker holes!
0:07:29 > 0:07:33This is the French cockerel that's being savaged by the English lion.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35The lion looks really happy with himself.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39And at a scale that makes that clear to you down on the floor, if you can
0:07:39 > 0:07:45see him, but only by climbing can you see the fabulous details, the cockerel's bulging eyeballs.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Marvellous. And for an early 18th century audience,
0:07:48 > 0:07:53flush with the success of having beaten the troops of Louis XIV,
0:07:53 > 0:08:00this is a triumphal piece of theatre on Vanbrugh's part on a big stage.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10From 40ft up, I can see how Vanbrugh manipulates classical architecture by mixing shorter,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14plainer Doric columns with taller Corinthian columns
0:08:14 > 0:08:20with more intricate capitals, he gives the building a real sense of both strength and grandeur.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24The thing is it's got that character of the military.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28- Mmm. Very sturdy, strong.- Blokeish.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Quite macho.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36All the way around, it's all Doric and there's a fat, squat proportion, muscular-looking things,
0:08:36 > 0:08:42and yet you get to the central section and there's this more feminine, Corinthian order
0:08:42 > 0:08:47but that was a bit of an afterthought, that whole pediment being brought forward.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52There's a whole section of Doric columns there
0:08:52 > 0:08:56but he pulled them down, changed his mind halfway through.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Funny he could afford to do that.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00It shows he's making it up as he goes along.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05And, I think, as a designer, he's got a magpie brain because bits and bobs are all over the place.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10It's not just one influence, it's all kinds of things being brought together.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18From the outside, Blenheim is a vision in stone.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22But its exquisite features wouldn't have been possible without iron.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27By using iron to join the stonework together, it enabled more flamboyant masonry to be crafted,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31as mortar alone would not have been strong enough to hold the stone together.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35The ironwork, however, has been cleverly hidden from view.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Wow! Look! It's an elephant!
0:09:40 > 0:09:46So it is! The rest of these are all flowers, I can't see any other elephants.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50It must be where a mason's come along and repaired it and thought, "Do you know what?
0:09:50 > 0:09:52"No-one will notice"!
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Unless they've got a film crew and climbing gear.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59I want to have a look at this.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02We're at the buttock section of a warrior.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04We've got the best side.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07But the backside of sculptures is where you see the tricks
0:10:07 > 0:10:11of how it's all assembled, because a complex thing, imagine cutting
0:10:11 > 0:10:18this whole thing and lifting it into place, it's not going to happen, so everything is stuck on using iron.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20There, look, iron pins.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Used to stick on the various parts.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25That's typical, you see that?
0:10:25 > 0:10:28- It's called a cramp.- Right!
0:10:28 > 0:10:33They usually have lead around them to try to stop the iron corroding but it doesn't last forever.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37So you get bits like that. It should've been somewhere like that.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41And now it's come off. And you can see the socket where the iron was.
0:10:41 > 0:10:48The iron rusts and of course it expands, forces the stone apart and then you're left with a liability
0:10:48 > 0:10:51and there'll be other bits and bobs sticking out.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Just fragments of stone there.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56It's not just the fine sculpture that's held together with iron.
0:10:56 > 0:11:03Much of the masonry of Blenheim is fixed together with thousands of hand-made U-shaped iron cramps.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08These cramps would lock the stones into place, giving greater structural strength, allowing for
0:11:08 > 0:11:13quicker construction as the masons didn't have to wait for the mortar to set before continuing to build.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15OK, John, show me how you shape it.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17That's at the temperature now to start working.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19You can't hang around at it.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Basically...
0:11:25 > 0:11:29If you work it well, you can genuinely generally do one side
0:11:29 > 0:11:30straight away.
0:11:33 > 0:11:39- Because of course they will have cut stones to slot that into so the size has got to be accurate.- Absolutely.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44How long does it take you to take a bar, heat it and shape it?
0:11:47 > 0:11:53To make one of these, I keep feeding those with bars readily available,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55and you'd make 100 in a hour.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57100 in an hour?
0:11:57 > 0:11:59- Yeah.- Just one person?
0:11:59 > 0:12:01You would probably have a feeder,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05someone to look after the forge for you, and then you swap over. Work as a team.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10And before mechanical fans came into being, you'd presumably have an assistant with bellows?
0:12:10 > 0:12:13You'd have an assistant or if you were based near a water mill,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15you'd have a water mill driving the bellows.
0:12:15 > 0:12:21So if you had six competent blacksmiths, you could knock out 500 or so of these an hour?
0:12:21 > 0:12:23- Yes. - That should keep the place going.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26But they'd soon use those quickly as well.
0:12:26 > 0:12:33When restoring Blenheim Palace, masons now use stainless-steel as it doesn't rust or distort.
0:12:33 > 0:12:40Having negotiated my way around to the north-west tower, I'm now ready for my next climb.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Look at that swan up there, taking it easy.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45Lovely, very tranquil.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Just flies when it wants,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51swims when it likes. But you're making the climb, lady.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54- Sorry.- That's more like hard work.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57You're fine. You're a professional now.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02Well, what I want to see is, you see that tower over there?
0:13:02 > 0:13:07There are four and Vanbrugh wanted to give his buildings something of a castle air,
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- so I want to get up there, have a look and see how he did it. - Excellent.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19I've found, in the course of this, I'm a pretty good dangler.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Yeah, you do a good impression of a dangler.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25I'll get a T-shirt with, "born to dangle" on it.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Blenheim Palace may appear to be the epitome of the grand English stately home,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35but having been built in the short-lived English Baroque style,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38it's actually a rare gem in Britain's architectural landscape.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43Jonathan, you keep mentioning this word Baroque architecture.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46I've got no idea what it means.
0:13:46 > 0:13:52Baroque comes from 16th century, early 17th century Rome.
0:13:52 > 0:13:59It's basically architecture as theatre, which convinces people of authority.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02So whether it's powerful church architecture,
0:14:02 > 0:14:09or if it's grand palace architecture, it's all about persuading people.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- I see.- To make them awestruck.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17And Blenheim Palace is truly awe-inspiring.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22The beauty of its dramatic Baroque architecture is that it arrests the viewer and demands a response.
0:14:22 > 0:14:28With its scale, rhythm and dizzying array of rich and gilded statuary,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32one is constantly reminded of Marlborough's power and military accomplishments.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than at the top of the building's four towers.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44- Well, how about that for a view, Luce?- It's pretty good.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48- It's the first time I've ever seen Blenheim, the whole lot, from one place.- Fantastic.
0:14:48 > 0:14:55Incredible, isn't it, when you take it in, and you realise that this giant pavilion we've just climbed,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59to have three others like it for the sake of symmetry.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04But you know, the person that's got to carve the ducal coronet gets an order for 16 of them.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07One won't do here, will it?
0:15:07 > 0:15:09By Monday, please.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12These globes, they're on every roof.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Those two golden ones on the top.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20But there is his coronet, on a big globe. Looks for anything like it's the world, you know?
0:15:20 > 0:15:23This man, in English eyes, has conquered the world.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25He's put himself on top of the world.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Yeah, 16 times!
0:15:27 > 0:15:30But what a fantastic spot, though.
0:15:30 > 0:15:31You can see to the horizon from here.
0:15:31 > 0:15:37I wonder if they ever walked up on the lids and have a look and really enjoyed the place?
0:15:37 > 0:15:41I wonder if it was a giant building site that was just a burden for their entire lives?
0:15:41 > 0:15:44They've missed out if they didn't come up here.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Vanbrugh designed Blenheim to be a monument to Marlborough's epic victory,
0:15:48 > 0:15:53but it was also supposed to be a home for the Duke and his wife, Sarah the Duchess of Marlborough.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Sarah was against Vanbrugh's appointment from the start,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59wanting the much more experienced Christopher Wren.
0:15:59 > 0:16:05She felt Vanbrugh had no concern for the family's comfort. Instead, he just wanted a show of ostentation.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Now, Jeri, what was it that Sarah and Vanbrugh disagreed on so much?
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Just about everything. Sarah hated the whole project.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16She hated the scale of Blenheim and what Vanbrugh had proposed,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19even though the original building was much smaller
0:16:19 > 0:16:22than what he finally ended up building.
0:16:22 > 0:16:28She wanted everything to be neat and plain and useful. These were her watchwords.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32So how did relations between Vanbrugh and Sarah play out?
0:16:32 > 0:16:38Badly. She had her eye on the bigger picture and how much money was being spent.
0:16:38 > 0:16:46This project cost £240,000 of Treasury funds and it wasn't even half-completed.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Now, if you compare that again with Castle Howard,
0:16:48 > 0:16:55which cost £70,000 to complete, at roughly the same time, you can see the scale of the extravagance.
0:16:55 > 0:17:01And had Vanbrugh not decided to leave of his own accord, he certainly would have been sacked.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04So you have a building that's half completed, it's going to cost
0:17:04 > 0:17:10a fortune, the client doesn't really want to live in it, how was this thing ever finished?
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Well, in 1712 the building work was stopped and after Queen Anne's death
0:17:14 > 0:17:18in 1714, a decision had to be made of what was going to happen.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22The Duchess and the Duke, the Duchess really,
0:17:22 > 0:17:27decided that they should complete the building because her husband had set his heart on it.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30And so they spend their own money
0:17:30 > 0:17:37and, to their great credit, within five years from 1716, the building was largely finished.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42But obviously when people now look at this building, it is Vanbrugh's building.
0:17:42 > 0:17:48And the difference, really, between a good building and a great building is the architect's vision.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Blenheim Palace is undoubtedly Vanbrugh's vision.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Despite he and the Duchess acrimoniously parting ways,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01construction of the palace was completed the way he intended.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07For my next climb, I need to nip down one story, but as I start my descent
0:18:07 > 0:18:11I'm given a sharp reminder by Lucy that I still have a lot to learn.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Mate, no, you're going to break your leg if you do that.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19- I'm not?- No, you won't break it, but it's going to get trapped underneath at the moment.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- Just go down a little bit more. - If you could clarify!
0:18:24 > 0:18:27- When I said break your leg, I just meant...- "No, I meant break your spine!"
0:18:27 > 0:18:31I just meant a gentle sprain.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Putting fears of my imminent death aside, one of the great
0:18:34 > 0:18:38joys of climbing these buildings is that they reveal unexpected details.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40What are these doo-dahs called?
0:18:40 > 0:18:43- They're dentils. - Dentils? That's a good name!
0:18:43 > 0:18:47- Yeah, cos they're like teeth, aren't they?- I like that.- Goofy.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Definitely need to watch the old dentils.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57I'm descending back down the side of the tower
0:18:57 > 0:19:00to enable me to investigate the magnificent north entrance,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03the main focus of Vanbrugh's epic design.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08Its scale and style more resemble the entrance to the Pantheon than a family home.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11In order to get up close, I have to cross a zipwire.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Ian the cameraman goes first and shows me how it's done.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22It's time again to throw caution to the wind.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Ready, Dr Foyle?
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Well, Blenheim's a monument to courage, isn't it, so I've got to exercise some.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- Ready?- Yeah. One, two, three... Woo-hoo!
0:19:38 > 0:19:43Fabulous. Well, that's an improved view.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48- That was great.- That's great to see the pediment sculpture from here.
0:19:48 > 0:19:49Can you see the cannon
0:19:49 > 0:19:51at the bottom of that?
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.- It's only from here that you see it,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56because from the ground floor, there's that sill in the way.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01You have to stand back several hundred feet, to be able to start to take the full thing in.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03and then in the middle is the coat-of-arms.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07But around the coat-of-arms is the, "Honi soit qui mal y pense,"
0:20:07 > 0:20:12of the Garter Knights. "Evil to him who evil thinks." It's a 14th century thing.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Edward III created the Garter Knights.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17They're typical fighters of good against evil.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21- Right.- And he is one and it makes it pretty clear he was.- Yeah.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23You know, people still want to be knights,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26even though it's the 18th century and the Age of Enlightenment.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28You know, people are looking back
0:20:28 > 0:20:30and respecting that kind of tradition.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33One thing I hadn't really noticed, Luce, are those figures.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37They're beautifully cut, aren't they, those characters on the parapet?
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Slightly dandyish, really, for warriors.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44- They've got a little tilt of the hips there!- They're beautifully cut.
0:20:44 > 0:20:50The female figure, it looks like the wind's just caught that drape of hers, doesn't it?
0:20:50 > 0:20:53- Yeah.- Just enough to show off her shapely legs.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01- That was great. - It was really fun, wasn't it?
0:21:01 > 0:21:03- I really enjoyed that, yeah.- Good.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07As if the pediment wasn't enough to underline Marlborough's achievements,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12Vanbrugh really rams home England's pleasure at her victory over the old enemy, France.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15- They were met by a couple slaves, it looks.- Oh yeah.
0:21:15 > 0:21:16Not looking so good these days.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Pretty unhappy characters, aren't they,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21with their arms bound behind their back in some tortuous position.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Yeah, so this was a sign of wealth, or...?
0:21:25 > 0:21:31Yeah, and do you know, I'm thinking, I think I recognise the pose of the one on the side,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34because there's a famous Roman sculpture of The Dying Gaul.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37The Gauls were the Roman French.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41- Yeah.- And Georgian England loved copies of The Dying Gaul,
0:21:41 > 0:21:43just to remind themselves of how much they didn't like France.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48Over the top, there's that big golden globe.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51I wonder if that's the sun? And if Louis's the Sun King,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54then that's what he's done for his people, the sun rising up over
0:21:54 > 0:21:57a really miserable bunch of enslaved people.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00If that's right... I don't know if it's is right or not,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02to what extent do you read into the stuff?
0:22:02 > 0:22:05But that character then with her trident, if that is a take
0:22:05 > 0:22:12on Britannia, and from the north front, she's seen in the foreground in front of that vanquished lot,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16then here is in England's triumphant, France overthrown.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Bit of theatre, isn't it? And that would be Vanbrugh, architecture as theatre.
0:22:20 > 0:22:26- It's just that we are, you know, we're in the scenery here, we're on the stage.- We are behind the scenes.
0:22:26 > 0:22:27Yeah, you can see how he's doing it.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- Just to peek down there into that Great Hall.- Wow.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44Through beautiful glass, it looks original. It's really rippled and bubbly.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46- Yes, it is.- Gorgeous stuff.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Let's have a look at the interior, shall we?
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Yeah, let's get in there. It's massive.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53How do we do that? No, not through that window?
0:22:53 > 0:22:56- Do you have to get in there?- You've got to climb through this small hole.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59From the sublime to the ridiculous.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04This tiny access hole will lead me to Blenheim's interiors,
0:23:04 > 0:23:09which house the glorious library and two grand state apartments.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Although these apartments incorporated a state bedroom, their design meant they
0:23:13 > 0:23:16were so opulent and formal that they weren't for daily living.
0:23:16 > 0:23:24They were simply expressions of status and social hierarchy meant to impress guests.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28By the turn of the 18th century, any Palace worth its salt in Europe
0:23:28 > 0:23:33had to have a suite of state apartments linked by doors set enfilade,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37that means like this, all in a row for ease of communication.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41In this room, the green writing room, there's a tapestry, commissioned by Marlborough
0:23:41 > 0:23:45himself, to show the submission of the French and his victory.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49But the greatest set-pieces remain in the central block.
0:23:49 > 0:23:55By this time, the medieval Great Hall had split into two reception rooms.
0:23:55 > 0:24:01This one is the saloon, beautifully painted and now used as a dining space, but still,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04the grandest of them all remains the Great Hall.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10The epic Great Hall is the centrepiece of Vanbrugh's design.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Standing 67ft high, it was intended to inspire visiting guests
0:24:13 > 0:24:16and give an almost religious feeling upon entering.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26That's got to be the most complex climbing rig.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30I'm trussed up like a Christmas turkey, just to get about 25ft off the ground.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33But it will be worth it, because I want to get a closer look at the
0:24:33 > 0:24:38central, the most impressive space at Blenheim Palace, the Great Hall. First look,
0:24:38 > 0:24:45architecturally, with one row of round arches above another one, and then a clerestory,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48it's like some take on a Romanesque cathedral.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50And it has something of a religious aura about it.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Temple, cathedral, call it what you will,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57I want to get to know it better, so up I go.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01I'm just going to use the shunt rope, just to hold you
0:25:01 > 0:25:05away from these lights, basically, Jonathan.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08- Do you know how much these cost?- No.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13It's over £100. £250,000 each.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17- Are they really?- Yeah, so we need to be really careful.
0:25:17 > 0:25:23With my eyes firmly fixed on those horrendously expensive lamps, I gingerly make my way up.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25Well done.
0:25:28 > 0:25:29- OK, Luce?- Yep?
0:25:29 > 0:25:33- You need to get into the middle of the room, please. - Middle? OK. Nice and slow.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Like some Baroque astronaut.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43- How's that?- Brilliant, thank you.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47It's good because I've now got a view of
0:25:47 > 0:25:51the extraordinary south wall of the Great Hall.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53And it's more than just a wall, it's a great niche
0:25:53 > 0:25:58carved out of space, like the proscenium arch of a theatre, the kind of thing that Vanbrugh
0:25:58 > 0:26:02might well have used. And it has great columns adding weight and drama to it.
0:26:02 > 0:26:08There's a balcony, more or less level with me, where Mr Burton the cameraman sits.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11And you expect an audience.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13The portraits behind it give you a sense of that,
0:26:13 > 0:26:18and there's a bust underneath so you meet Marlborough face to face when you come in the door.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23Now this whole thing, the theatre, the temple-like atmosphere, is Vanbrugh
0:26:23 > 0:26:27at his best. I mean, a playwright turned architect.
0:26:27 > 0:26:33This entire glorious space is a fusion of things past and present.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35It's unbelievably clever.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41This whole magnificent room is looked down upon by one of Britain's
0:26:41 > 0:26:44most exquisite examples of a Baroque ceiling.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47It was painted by the same man responsible for creating
0:26:47 > 0:26:51the wonderful artwork inside the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.
0:26:53 > 0:27:0067ft up, the eye is drawn to the swirling painting, painted in 1716 by James Thornhill.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05It shows the Duke of Marlborough, dressed in blue in the middle, as a warrior, kneeling to Britannia
0:27:05 > 0:27:12and showing her of the battle plan of Blenheim, of which even Mars and Hercules are surprised and admiring.
0:27:12 > 0:27:19He's surrounded by a host of gods, but there at the top is the muse of history, Cleo, and she writes in her
0:27:19 > 0:27:25annals on his great victory at Blenheim as they usher him through to the temple of fame.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Ultimately, the Baroque was a short-lived era
0:27:33 > 0:27:37in English architecture, spanning only around 40 years.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Soon after Blenheim, its grand ostentation proved too much
0:27:40 > 0:27:45for more reserved British tastes, but its legacy is some of the finest architecture in the world.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Blenheim claims to be Britain's greatest palace,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53but it was built of course not for a ruler, but for a family.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58And to that extent, you might say it's the culmination of great house building in England.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02But it's more even than that. It's a national monument, a statement
0:28:02 > 0:28:07of pride after a major victory when England was in the ascendancy.
0:28:07 > 0:28:13The only natural response to Marlborough's great victory was a fanfare in stone.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Next time, we move on to the 19th century to witness
0:28:26 > 0:28:31industrial Britain's triumph over nature at Clifton Suspension Bridge.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:46 > 0:28:49E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk