George Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough
The 8th Duke continued to face the problem of lack of funds. He made use of his father breaking the entail to dispose of over 200 old master paintings. It must be said however that the funds were used very sensibly for Palace maintenance and improvements to the estate. He is sometimes known as the ‘Practical Duke’ being very much a scientist. He constructed his own laboratory where his startling experiments sometimes caused the more impressionable staff to view him as a magician. He introduced gas, electricity, central heating and a telephone system of his own design. The 8th Duke’s brother was Randolph. Randolph married Jennie Jerome and had two sons, one of whom was Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim and proposed to his wife Clementine at the Palace. Winston said “At Blenheim I made two decisions – to be born and to marry. I am happily content with both”.
