Groups visiting Oxfordshire’s UNESCO World Heritage Site will be transported back to the 19th century in the new Victorian-Edwardian Library display, showcasing how the palace looked from the 1880s to the early 1900s.
The display will highlight significant moments during that time period, including day to day life and the first time that the telephone and central heating arrived at the palace.
Set within the Long Library, various parts of the room and display tables now feature historical items of interest, including old books that visitors can explore; original scrolls to unfurl; as well as archive photographs, albums, and original press cuttings with the gossip of the time.
All furniture is now arranged to replicate how it would have looked during this gilded age.
Alongside the artefacts, visitors will be able to discover more about the history of the palace during the time of the seventh, eighth, and ninth Duke and Duchess, such as what happened to the Sunderland Collection. Thanks to the albums on display, guests can travel back in time and learn how each room in the palace looked between 1880 and the 1900s.
Kate Ballenger, keeper of palace and collections, said: “One of the joys of my job is bringing the past to life, and being able to showcase the Victorian-Edwardian era in this specific exhibition is exciting because it will allow visitors a hands-on experience with artefacts to touch and history to feel.”
Group visits to Blenheim Palace
Situated to the left of Hensington Gate is the palace’s Groups Welcome office. Here the group organiser or driver will be able to check-in for the visit and collect wristbands for all visitors.
Special rates apply for groups of 15 or more people, and palace hosts are on-hand to offer guidance, answer all questions and impart snippets of gossip from the site’s 300-year history.
The Victorian-Edwardian Library display is included within the Blenheim Palace ticket. For more information about group visits to the palace, go to www.blenheimpalace.com.
