Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace: The Grand Bridge, Seven Arches Bridge and Boathouse

Blenheim Palace, one of England’s largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1722. It was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and is both listed Grade I and designated a World Heritage Site. The Grand Bridge, also listed Grade I and designed by Vanburgh, is situated on the principal approach to the palace and was needed to cross the small stream and marshy ground in front of the palace. It formed a key element when “Capability” Brown created the lake as part of his landscape designs 50 years later. A rather unique aspect of the bridge is the myriad of arched and vaulted rooms within it, many of which have been flooded by the creation of the lake.

As part of wider works to the landscaped grounds, we worked closely with Nick Cox Architects to review the condition of the bridge and produce a series of restoration and structural repair works that also extended to a second bridge (The 'Seven Arches Bridge') and the nearby boathouse. The first phase utilised a grant from Historic England’s Heritage Stimulus Fund.

This work sought to deal with ongoing water damage to the underlying structure of the bridge through the installation of new drainage, replacement and repair of the bridge deck and roadway and the installation of a new waterproofing membrane to prevent water percolating through the stonework. The repairs to the bridge itself will be carried out in further phases. The works were challenging and involved undertaking visual observations by boat and obtaining access into the 30 concealed chambers within the bridge, many of them flooded.

Client: Blenheim Palace
Top-right image: Courtesy of Blenheim Palace

EngineeringGuest UserFebruary 12, 2019Bridges, Memorials & Landscape