Blenheim Palace is the proud winner of the 25th Anniversary Historic Houses Association/Christie‟s Garden of the Year Award in 2008. The exquisite Formal Gardens at Blenheim Palace include the majestic Water Terraces, the ornate Italian Garden, the secluded Secret Garden with winding streams and water features, the fragrant Rose Garden, Arboretum and the Pleasure Gardens which includes Europe‟s largest symbolic hedge maze.
The gardens at Blenheim Palace are all-encompassing, and there is beauty to be found in all seasons. Beautifully restored, renovated and maintained by twelve permanent garden staff, led by Head Gardeners Trevor Wood and his wife Hilary who have worked at Blenheim Palace for over 25 years, it is a great credit to the Gardens Team to have received this prestigious award. A plaque, unveiled by His Grace the 11th Duke of Marlborough to mark the occasion, is on display for visitors to view near the Water Terraces at Blenheim Palace.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the award, HHA and Christie‟s of London commissioned a professional photography competition and exhibition to feature the winning gardens of the last 25 years, first displayed at Christie‟s in November. Blenheim Palace is delighted to host this fabulous photographic exhibition for six weeks from the opening of the new season in 2010.
In early summer 2009, a select group of professional photographers of the highest calibre were invited to take part in the competition, taking photographs of the past winners of the Garden of the Year Award, sponsored by Christie’s and the Historic Houses Association. The photographs were judged by a panel of experts for their originality and beauty, and measured by their success at capturing the essence of each garden in its historic setting.
Ricky Roundell, Vice Chairman, Christie’s said, “There is an exceptional degree of innovation and an extraordinary variety of approach illustrated in the photographs submitted for the 25th Anniversary Garden of the Year Award photographic competition and exhibition. The photographers have produced a wonderful array of concepts from wide views to close-ups, beautifully capturing the diversity displayed in these famous English gardens. The exhibition is a great testament to the dedication and enthusiasm of the gardeners and owners of each Garden of the Year Award winner from the last twenty-five years.”
The exhibition will be displayed in the Palace's magnificent Long Library - a grand setting for the impressive, large-scale photographs. Originally planned by Sir John Vanbrugh as a „noble room of parade‟ the Long Library measures 56 metres long and 10 metres high and is considered to be Nicholas Hawkesmoor‟s finest room at Blenheim Palace.
The exhibition will feature images of each of the 26 winning gardens of the past 25 years (there were two winners in 1998) including those by Chrystel Lebas, Winner of the Best Photographic Group featuring Cottesbrooke Hall, Northamptonshire, and Mike Perry for the Best Individual Photograph, featuring Parham Park in West Sussex. The incredible images created by landscape photographer Simon Norfolk will be of particular interest to visitors to Blenheim Palace. Norfolk captured Blenheim Palace's ancient trees back-lit at night to represent soldiers on the battlefield at the Battle of Blenheim 1704.
Simon Norfolk on his images: The Blenheim Oaks
“Blenheim Palace was a gift from a grateful nation to a General for his victories in battle. In a contemporary guidebook to the palace and its gardens - William Fordice Mavor's 'New Description of Blenheim' published in 1789 - the extraordinary suggestion is made that the original design for the planting of the oaks imitated the disposition of the troops at the beginning of the Battle of Blenheim on August 13th 1704. Just think - a battlefield laid out in the Home Counties in a massive, living, leafy reminder of a faraway military conquest!”
His Grace, The Duke of Marlborough said of the Garden of the Year Award: “We are extremely honoured to receive this prestigious award in recognition of the Formal Gardens here at Blenheim Palace. This award recognises the vision and enthusiasm of my illustrious ancestors as well as celebrating the excellent work undertaken here today by the gardens team. We look forward to welcoming visitors to see the gardens this year and we hope that everyone enjoys their visit to this important World Heritage site”
13th Feb – 28th March 2010
For further information about the HHA please contact: Peter Sinclair - Tel: 020 7259 5688 or India Melhuish - Tel: 020 7491 9991 Visit the HHA‟s website at http://www.hha.org.uk
For further information about Christie‟s contact Katy Richards 020 7389 2398 (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit http://www.christies.com
For more information about Simon Norfolk photography visit http://www.simonnorfolk.com or contact Neil Burgess, NB Pictures 0208 985 8765, (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Garden of the Year photography exhibition at Blenheim Palace is included within a Palace, Park and Gardens ticket