Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is in South/central England. The landscapes are generally flat except for a branch of the Chiltern Hills in the South/East. The county is drained by the Thames River (or Isis as it is sometimes locally called) and its affluents, the Windrush, the Evenlode, the Cherwell, and the Thame. The main occupation here is farming, with some dairying and sheep raising. In the Middle Ages, Oxfordshire was a part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. During the English civil war it was a stronghold of royalist resistance. Woodstock falls within this county and is rich in historical associations. Particularly for the famous Blenheim Palace.

For the visitor, Blenheim Palace is a wonderful attraction. It is home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and one of Britain's greatest houses. The Palace is also the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and has many attractions for the whole family. The name Blenheim derives from a decisive battle that took place on the 13th August 1704 on the North bank of the river Danube, near a small village called Blindheim or Blenheim, where the French leader, Marshall Tallard, had fixed his lines. Here John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, won a great allied victory over the forces of Louis XIV, thus saving Europe from French domination. In reward for his services in defending Holland and Austria from invasion by the French,a grateful Queen Anne granted to Marlborough the Royal Manor of Woodstock and signified that she would build him, at her own expense, a house to be called Blenheim. It remains today one of our most prized treasures.