We're Offering Support to our Local Community

Over 1,700 bottles of Blenheim Palace mineral water have been sent to NHS staff working in the intensive care units across Oxford University Hospitals.

We have joined forces (alongside SOFEA, Oxford Food Bank, Cuckoo Lane Fruit and Veg and Searcys) with Oxford Together, Oxford Hub's volunteer programme to help those in need during Covid-19, to provide twice-weekly food parcels. The new scheme was launched with a total of 48 roast chicken and bean bake meals being delivered to volunteers from the Barton Community Association in Headington.

Residents of Long Hanborough and Church Hanborough are being invited to join a community-wide plant grow-athon during lockdown, which we have been supporting. Our Gardens Team have donated pots, compost and seeds to help get Long Hanborough growing their own plants at home.

A total of 15,000 chocolate Easter bunnies, originally intended for our visitors over the Easter holidays, have been donated to local foodbanks and the South Oxfordshire Food & Education Academy (SOFEA), who will be distributing them in food boxes throughout the Thames Valley region.

We have also provided free office space at our Witney Business & Innovation Centre to a local couple; one working with vulnerable children and the other providing IT support for the NHS. Both were unable to get to their places of work due to travel restrictions.

One of our electric vans, usually used for deliveries around the estate, has been loaned to the Hanborough Covid-19 Mutual Aid Group to help deliver food and provisions to people who are self-isolating.

Blenheim is also supporting The Help Hub, a local online clinic created to offer practical advice and guidance for anyone feeling isolated and lonely as a result of the coronavirus by connecting them wih nearby trained therapists and counsellors.

“We are in a position where we are able to provide at least some help and assistance to local people carrying out really important work,” said our CEO, Dominic Hare.

“These are extraordinarily testing times for absolutely everybody and it’s an opportunity for all of us to step up, work together and support each other.

“Blenheim, like many thousands of businesses across the country, is facing a crisis unlike anything it has ever had to deal with.

“However, this is also a chance for people to demonstrate just how resilient and vitally important our communities really are.

“By working together and offering each other help and comfort, we will be able to emerge from this terrible situation having forged stronger and more enduring links which will prove invaluable in the future,” he added.

As part of our #stayconnected initiative, we are offering regular content through our website and e-newsletters, from virtual tours and audio guides to education resources and plenty of good news on the estate, alongside other national and global activities and initiatives sure to keep you busy and entertained.