English residence near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, designed by John Vanbrugh and built (170524) by the British Parliament as a gift to John Churchill, duke of Marlborough.
It is regarded as the finest example of Baroque architecture in Britain. In the early 18th century Queen Anne's gardener, Henry Wise, designed its grounds in the formal style of the Palace of Versailles ; Capability Brown later redesigned them in his pastoral style, using natural-looking woods, lawns, and waterways.