The Bellcote, which is located in the Walled Kitchen Garden, houses a bell originally used to notify workers when to start and finish work, and dates back to the early 1700s, when the Walled Kitchen Garden was built to feed workers during construction of the Palace itself.
The restoration work involved the lower section of the Bellcote being totally rebuilt in locally-sourced oak; the bell and brackets cleaned to their original condition; and the creation of new steels, corbels, sole plates and cladding.
Led by Chris Monaghan, Blenheim Palace’s Clerk of Works, the three-month project involved Blenheim Palace carpenters Jeff Lambourne and Mick Eddington; members of the Gardens team; and a number of subcontractors including Rowood Joinery, OG Stonemasons, and John Naismith at Oxford Iron Company. All work was carried out under the guidance of Amy Knight-Archer and Nick Cox at NCA Architects.
Chris Monaghan commented: “Being able to help restore and reintroduce the Bellcote into the Walled Garden has been a fantastic project to work on for all involved; having personally worked on the Estate for 30 years, it’s lovely to see how this would have been used in the past and gives me a great sense of pride and achievement, knowing that this will be here for future generations to see.”
In Blenheim Palace’s Rose Garden, the centrepiece statue has now been put back in place after an absence of almost 12 months.
The figure of a young lady sitting on the shoulders of a centaur holding a conch shell, observed by a winged young child, dates back to the 1920s. It was removed for restoration in late 2023, and has now been thoroughly cleaned; the young lady's arm has been re- attached, her nose has been repaired and the and the fountain jets have been replaced.
The statue’s restoration is part of Phase 2 of the Rose Garden renovation, which has included the painting of the perimeter rose arches, the installation of new Victorian stone rope top edging along the central paths, a new lining to the pond, and the installation of four new benches which were constructed on site from Blenheim Oak.
The first batch of new roses are to be delivered in the next few weeks, to continue the Rose Garden’s transformation back into the ‘Rosarium’ that the 7th Duke of Marlborough, John Winston Spencer-Churchill, would have enjoyed with his guests in the 19th century.
Blenheim Palace’s Head Gardener Andy Mills said: "The group of figures at the centre of the Rose Garden adds height, opulence, grandeur and drama to the centre of the garden; whilst removed, the Rose Garden seemed flat and quite dull - as soon as ‘She’ returned, the focal point was restored."