Blenheim Park
Glimpses of blue sky greeted us on the morning of day 2 of our research trip. On the agenda was a visit to the site of the lost palace of Woodstock, set within the grounds of Blenheim Palace and a tour of Chenies Manor in Buckinghamshire.
Each year, thousands of people visit Blenheim Palace, a world heritage site and the birthplace of Winston Churchill. The home was a gift from Queen Anne to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, following his victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. It is surrounded by 2000 acres of landscaped parkland, beautiful formal gardens and a great lake. Although impressive, this was neither the palace that we were here to see nor the Queen Anne that we were in search of.
Blenheim Palace
The palace we sought once stood across the valley from the grand Blenheim Palace, although sadly nothing remains of it today. Some people might question the purpose of visiting a site where there is nothing left to see but for me, walking the grounds of where a palace once stood – where important historical events unfolded – is a vital part of living history.
And there is certainly a lot of history on this site. Woodstock has been a royal retreat for almost 1,000 years; most English Kings have visited the site or lived here and Queen Anne Boleyn would have certainly known the palace well.
Looking across from the site of the old palace of Woodstock to Blenheim Palace
During Henry VIII’s reign, Woodstock was a place for sport and festivities but under the rule of his daughter Mary, it was used for a more somber purpose, as a prison for the teenaged Lady Elizabeth. She was held captive in a lodge on the grounds of the old palace for just under a year, as a result of being implicated in the failed Wyatt rebellion of 1554. It is said that during her captivity she used a diamond to scratch these words of protest on a window:
Much suspected by me,
nothing proved can be,
Quoth Elizabeth prisoner.
Might sound like an odd thing to do, but writing messages on walls, windows and shutters was not at all uncommon in sixteenth century England. You can read a second poem attributed to Elizabeth and said to have been written on a wall at Woodstock, here.
The palace was already in decay at the time of Elizabeth’s incarceration and was virtually destroyed during the English Civil War. All further traces were cleared when the current palace was erected.
A stone plinth marks the site of the old palace of Woodstock
Today a stone plinth marks the spot of the old palace but it is away from the public path and so, sadly, most passersby remain unaware of the significance of the site.
We left Woodstock and made our way to Buckinghamshire, stopping off at the Bedford Arms in Chenies for a hearty meal.
We arrived at Chenies a little early and after introducing ourselves to the owner, Mrs Elizabeth Macleod Mathews, explored the stunning award-winning grounds, before a throng of garden enthusiasts arrived.
Time for a bit of history … Chenies Manor is a grade I-listed building formally known as Chenies Palace. It was in the Cheyne family for over three hundred years before passing to John Russell, the future Earl of Bedford, through his marriage to Ann Sapcote in 1526.
The Sunken Gardens, Chenies Manor
Russell extended and altered the original medieval manor house to reflect his growing status at court and is almost certainly responsible for building the surviving west wing in c. 1538 and the south wing in c.1552. The oldest surviving part of the manor is a medieval undercroft, now incorporated into a modern structure.
The south wing Chenies Manor
Time Team investigated Chenies in 2005, hoping to discover what the house looked like during Henry VIII’s visit in 1534. What they found was a very complex layout, significantly altering the current understanding of the Tudor house. They concluded that the existing house probably post-dated Henry’s first visit but found evidence of a substantial north wing, overlooking formal gardens, much more suited to housing kings and queens and their retinues. Nothing remains today of this wing and the team was unable to conclusively date the archaeology. So whether or not this is where Henry stayed during his visit remains unknown.
Chenies is a fascinating architectural puzzle but there is another mystery that has me knee deep in contemporary sources.
I have read on a number of occasions that in 1534, Queen Anne Boleyn and the Princess Elizabeth accompanied Henry VIII on his visit to Chenies and I must admit to loving the thought of Henry, Anne and Elizabeth enjoying quality family time in the newly-built splendid north wing, overlooking the picturesque formal gardens but unfortunately, the contemporary sources paint a very different picture.
Henry was most certainly at Chenies on the 8th of July 1534, however, it is around this time that Anne Boleyn’s second pregnancy ended in disaster – she lost her baby 7-8 months into her pregnancy. And the Princess Elizabeth, by all accounts, was lodged at Eltham Palace.
I am yet to find any contemporary source that confirms the family visit of 1534 and believe me I would love to! There are other avenues that I am yet to explore that might shed further light on the matter, but for now, the jury is still out.
Regardless, Chenies Manor is a lovely place to visit. The nearby parish church, dating from the late fifteenth to early sixteenth centuries, houses a 12th century ‘Aylesbury’ style-font and medieval brasses. It is also home to the Bedford Chapel, although not open to the public, is visible through a glazed screen.
Although we are still investigating whether Anne Boleyn ever visited Chenies, we know for certain that Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and William Cecil enjoyed the Russell hospitality.
So we left Chenies Manor with perhaps more questions than answers but with a newfound determination to uncover the truth.
Keep an eye out for my recount of day 3 that included a private tour of Hever Castle in Kent and a visit to Pashley Manor House and Gardens.
Click here to see a drawing dated 1714 showing substantial ruins of the old palace of Woodstock.
All photographs are copyright of Natalie Grueninger and may not be copied without permission.
More Pictures from day 2
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It is such a shame the old palace no longer exists, and what a huge palace Blenheim looks on the photos. Though I must admit it isn’t ‘old’ enough for me, I find the decoration/furnishings a bit over the top for me, like Chatsworth etc. I prefer the ‘simpler’ style of earlier periods.
Now Chenies Manor looks wonderful, the age, the style and the gardens, beautiful. Along with my passion for the Tudor era, gardening is my other one….put the two together…heaven. To be able to live in the Manor is incredible, and although the part that Henry, Anne and Elizabeth may have visited seems to be no longer there, they could have walked around where the gardens are, how exceptional is that…..
When Anne lost her 2nd baby so late on, and how heartbroken she must have been, is there any record of what sex the stillborn child was, much is said about her last miscarriage being a boy, but nothing, from what I have read, about this one, I know it was kept quite, well as much as you could at Henry’s court. Is there any record of the sex?
Hi Dawn, I too prefer the ‘simpler’ style, hence we didn’t even look in the new palace! It must have been so traumatic for Anne to lose a child so far into her pregnancy. There is no record of Anne ever having ‘taken to her chambers’ and no record of the sex of the baby either. This period is glossed over in most biographies and the reason being I believe, is that the sources a quiet. Clearly, Henry didn’t want to advertise to the world that he’s just lost another child. Terribly sad!