. The family seat is
Blenheim Palace in
Woodstock, Oxfordshire. After his leadership in the victory against the French in the Battle of Blenheim on 13 August 1704, the 1st Duke was honoured by Queen Anne granting him the royal manor of Woodstock, and building him a house at her expense to be called Blenheim. Construction started in 1705 and the house was completed in 1722, the year of the 1st Duke's death.
Blenheim Palace has since remained in the Churchill and Spencer-Churchill family. With the exception of the
10th Duke and his first wife, the dukes and duchesses of Marlborough are buried in Blenheim Palace's chapel. Most other members of the Spencer-Churchill family are interred in
St. Martin's parish churchyard at
Bladon, a short distance from the palace. In 1994, the 11th Duke took legal action to ensure that his son James would not inherit control of Blenheim.
London residences From 1711 to 1817 the London seat of the Dukes of Marlborough was
Marlborough House,
The Mall. Following the death of
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough in 1817, The Crown took ownership of Marlborough House, and it was intended to be used as a London home for the-then second-in-line to the throne,
Princess Charlotte of Wales. Princess Charlotte died in 1818 before preparations for her occupation of the house was complete, but her widower
Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later King Leopold I of the Belgians) occupied the house for several years. , now known as
Lombard House By the late 1900s financial pressures and dwindling income from the family estates resulted in the Dukes of Marlborough no longer maintaining a permanent London House. This changed when
Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough married the wealthy American heiress
Consuelo Vanderbilt in 1895; Consuelo's dowry included a Trust fund of $2,500,000 (£500,000) settled on her husband, as well as an income-for-life of $100,000 (£20,000) to be paid to Consuelo by her father, which more than doubled the income the 9th Duke received from his ancestral estates. During the early years of their marriage, the 9th Duke and Consuelo leased a series of London mansions, including
Spencer House, 27 St James's Square in 1897, and
Alington House, 8 South Audley Street in 1899. The need for a permanent London residence to support the Duke's political aspirations resulted in Duke's father-in-law
William Kissam Vanderbilt contributing an estimated $2,500,000 (£500,000) between 1901 and 1904 for the purchase of a freehold plot of land in Mayfair and construction of a London mansion for his daughter and son-in-law. The house was given the name
Sunderland House following its completion, and served as the residence of the Duke and Duchess until their separation in 1906, after which it continued to be occupied by Consuelo until 1918, when she vacated the house for Government use. Following the separation of the Duke and Duchess, by 1917
the 9th Duke had leased a new London residence at No. 15
Great College Street, which he and his second wife
Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough maintained as their London home until early 1926. Consuelo took a lease of a smaller London residence at No. 1 Portman Square in June 1919, which she gifted to her eldest son
John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford when he married the Hon. Alexandra Cadogan in 1920. from 1928 to 1936 Lord and Lady Blandford continued to reside at 1 Portman Square until May 1928, when they relocated their London household to No. 27
Hill Street, Mayfair. This large, 20-bedroom Georgian house leased from the Grosvenor Estate for a term of 50 years, with an annual ground rent payable of £275. In November 1926 the 9th Duke acquired a lease of a larger London house at No. 7
Carlton House Terrace, which remained as his London home until he died at the house in 1934. At the time of his death the lease had a remaining period of twelve years with an annual rent of £1,500. In the weeks following the Duke's death his executors sold the leasehold, with a new lease being granted by the German Government, who had already leased neighbouring properties at No. 8 and No. 9 Carlton House Terrace as part of the
German Embassy in London. In November of the same year, the 10th Duke purchased the Crown Lease of a large, standalone London mansion at No. 11
Kensington Palace Gardens from
Sir Malcolm Perks, 2nd Bt. 11 Kensington Palace Gardens continued to be used as the London residence of the 10th Duke and Duchess until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939; during the War the house was requisitioned by the British Army. The Duke later sold his lease of 11 Kensington Palace Gardens to the French Government in September 1946 for £25,000, and the house became the
Official Residence of the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom. ==Other titles of the Dukes==