W
Entrance court.
hen New Yorker Consuelo Vanderbilt and
the Duke of Marlborough arrived at Blenheim following
their 1895 marriage in New York City, a large crowd
greeted them, unbridled the horses, and propelled
their carriage by hand across the entrance court to the
palace���s monumental porch.
A hundred and fifteen years later I arrived with other
guests in a Rolls-Royce accompanied by a luggage
van, appropriate given the huge scale of the palace���s
ceremonial forecourt. The crowds that day comprised
Blenheim devotees who visit the highly popular house
and grounds, many with annual passes.
HYLAND
