Marlborough House

Marlborough House was built using a unique, pragmatic source of material. To construct the mansion, the builders utilized red Dutch bricks that arrived in London as ballast aboard military transport ships returning from the Duke of Marlborough’s campaigns in the Netherlands. The Duchess, Sarah Churchill, personally oversaw the construction after dismissing the architect Sir Christopher Wren, as she believed contractors were inflating costs and taking advantage of his oversight. She demanded the building remain strong, plain, and convenient, explicitly stating she did not want it to resemble the grandiosity of Blenheim Palace.