With the rise of the Tories to power, Marlborough
was accused of embezzling money to finish his estate
home at Blenheim. In fact, Marlborough had gone into
debt building the house and was forced to finish it with-
out his general’s salary; it is estimated that he spent some
£45,000 overall. In 1712, to avoid the harassment of the
allegations against him, he and his wife left England for
Holland. Three years later, George I assumed the throne,
and the monarch restored Marlborough’s military rank
and pay. However, due to declining health, Marlborough
could not return to service, but he did return to En-
gland, where he remained until his death. After a series
of strokes, John Churchill, first duke of Marlborough,
died at Blenheim on 16 June 1722, eight days shy of his
72nd birthday.
Blenheim is now a major tourist attraction. The
home was also the birthplace of the duke’s descendant,
Sir Winston Churchill, prime minister of Great Britain,
on 30 November 1874.
Historian Michael Lee Lanning writes: “John
Churchill established himself as one of the premier lead-
ers of the eighteenth century by exhibiting superior tacti-
cal and strategic abilities while coordinating a vast allied
army from divergent nations. Justifiably criticized for
ambition and opportunism, Churchill mastered an ever-
changing political arena and loyally represented whoever
was in power during internal strife over the crown of
England. In doing so, he not only secured his own mili-
tary career but also elevated Britain from a minor island
nation to a great European power.”
References: Stephen, Leslie, “Churchill, John, First Duke
of Marlborough,” in The Dictionary of National Biogra-
phy, 22 vols., 8 supps., edited by Sir Leslie Stephen and
Sir Sidney Lee, et al. (London: Oxford University Press,
1921–22), IV:315–341; Coxe, William, Memoirs of John
Duke of Marlborough... , 3 vols. (London: Printed for
Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1818–19);
Bradlaugh, Charles, John Churchill, Duke of Marlbor-
ough (London: Freethought Publishing Company, 1884);
Chandler, David G., Marlborough as Military Commander
(London: Batsford, 1973); Taylor, Frank, The Wars of
Marlborough, 1702–1709 (Oxford, U.K.: B. Blackwell,
1921); La Colonie, Jean-Martin de Chronicles of an Old
Campaigner, 1692–1717. Translated by Walter C. Horsley
(London: John Murray, 1904), 182–192; Bruce, George,
“Blenheim,” “Oudenarde,” and “Ramillies,” in Collins
Dictionary of Wars (Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins
Publishers, 1995), 37–38, 186, 206; Lanning, Michael
Lee, “John Churchill (Duke of Marlborough),” in The
Military 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Military
Leaders of All Time (New York: Barnes and Noble Books,
1996), 119–122.Clare, Richard FitzGilbert de, second earl of
Pembroke (Strongbow, Richard Strongbow) (ca.
1130/1135–1176) Anglo-Norman military leader
Born sometime around 1130–35, Richard FitzGilbert
de Clare was the son of Gilbert FitzGilbert de Clare,
later first earl of Pembroke and lord of Orbec. His
mother was Isabel de Beaumont, sister of Robert, earl
of Leicester. At the time Richard de Clare (known as
Strongbow) was born, England was ruled by the fourth
and youngest son of William i (the Conqueror), Henry
I, who reigned from 1100 to 1135. Henry had a son and
daughter by his marriage to Edith-Matilda, daughter of
the king of Scotland, but the death of his son William
Aetheling meant his direct heir was his daughter Matilda,
who had married the German emperor Henry V. After
the emperor died, Matilda married Geoffrey, count of
Anjou, in 1131, and Henry twice brought her to Lon-
don, where she was acknowledged by the assembled bar-
ons as his heir. Despite this formal acceptance of her,
though, many nobles were reluctant to have a woman
ruling the kingdom and favored Matilda’s cousin, Ste-
phen, who was also a grandson of William I through the
Conqueror’s daughter Adela.
When Henry I died in 1135 and Stephen was
crowned king, many barons supported Matilda and took
up arms on her behalf. The ensuing conflict throughout
Stephen’s reign (1135–54) and the continual changes of
support among the barons meant that Stephen’s reign
has become known as “the Anarchy.” Richard de Clare’s
father supported Stephen and was rewarded for his loy-
alty in 1138 with the earldom of Pembroke and lands
on the Welsh border. He continued to support Stephen
until 1146, when Stephen took a Clare relative hostage
as security for the good behavior of the hostage’s uncle,
upon which Gilbert de Clare and his son changed sides
and supported Matilda.
In 1148, after Gilbert de Clare died, Richard in-
herited his father’s lands in England and Normandy in
France and took the title earl of Pembroke. In 1153,
however, Stephen named as his heir Matilda’s son Henry,
who, on Stephen’s death in 1154, succeeded as HenryclARe, RichARD FitzgilbeRt De, SeconD eARl oF pembRoke