Holiday, Living with Style, Seasonal, The Newport Diary, Winter


Christmas at Marble House

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One of the reasons I chose to go to England in early December was to visit Blenheim Palace, home at the turn of the twentieth century to Consuelo Vanderbilt of Newport. It seemed only fitting (but does one really need an excuse to go to London?) that I should do this bit of “research” as Marble House, her former Vanderbilt residence, was to be a Christmas post enlightened by excerpts of the families place in American commerce and society.

Consuelo was the great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who established the  family’s fortune in steamships and the New York Central Railroad. And her uncle was Cornelius II, who built The Breakers. Both of her brothers William K. Jr., a prominent figure in pioneering the sport of auto racing in America, and Harold, one of the finest yachtsmen of his era who successfully defended the America’s Cup three times, established their credentials early on. 

But it was Consuelo who was chosen to firmly establish the family’s social credentials by securing an English aristocratic title. Her mother, Alva, was nothing if not persistent on the subject, rumor having it that she went so far as to lock her daughter in her room until she capitulated to an arranged marriage with the 9th Duke of Marlborough. They were married in 1895, after her dowry had been settled upon (worth almost $100 million in today’s money).

Consuelo’s was the most prominent and storied example during the Gilded Age of enterprising social ambition on the part of newly wealthy parents. Among the many American heiresses married off to British aristocracy, Consuelo’s title carried the highest ranking of these “Dollar Princesses,” but proved to be a loveless marriage common during the Gilded Age. Nonetheless, she reigned as the Duchess of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace, noteworthy as the only non-royal palace in Britain. After ten years and two heirs, she and the Duke separated and were eventually divorced.

Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for William K. and Alva Vanderbilt and designed by leading architect of the day, Richard Morris Hunt. This “Temple to the Arts”, as described by Alva, was a social and architectural landmark that set the pace for Newport’s subsequent transformation from a quiet summer colony of wooden houses to the legendary resort of opulent stone palaces. Among its many attributes is the 500,000 cubic feet of marble that provided the home’s moniker. Stunningly elegant throughout the year, it is breathtaking when dressed for Christmas. All images attest to this point, but the “small” ballroom (below) is my favorite, deliciously making sense of the saying that “more is never enough.”

And speaking of more…I wish you holidays full of delight, lots of things merry and everything bright. xB

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About Bettie Bearden Pardee

Author of Private Newport and Living Newport, garden furniture designer (The Parterre Bench), national lecturer, and entertaining expert. An honoree for the second year on "The Salonniere 100 America's Best Party Hosts", she was also the host and creative producer of "The Presidential Palate: Entertaining at the White House".

9 thoughts on “Christmas at Marble House

  1. Absolutely gorgeous! Those trees are beautiful. Anything that adds sparkle just makes them better. Very interesting story. Imagine being locked in your room until you agree to marry someone? Hardheaded as I was at a younger age, there would be nothing left of me but a pile of bones in that room! Bless her heart.

    1. I’m with you, Claire…”anything that adds sparkle makes them better.”
      And yes, I agree with you about being nothing but a pile of bones if I had refused my mother. I guess that’s why the poor thing (Consuelo, not her mother) finally relented.
      Merry, Merry and Happy, Happy to you and yours. xB

  2. Thank you for taking us on your trip to Blenheim. I have visited it twice, however not at Christmas time. There have been no more awe-inspiring views of trees, mantels and surroundings on the internet than these opulent ones you have shown us.
    Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year from Alice, living in the Bold North of Minnesota, a wonderland in its own right.

    1. Thank you, Alice, up in the Bold North of Minnesota….and so glad to meet another member of my Private Newport family.
      Merry, Merry and Happy, Happy to you and yours. xB

  3. Aaahhh, Bettie,

    Magnifico!!!!
    Have to tease you, as the saying I heard growing up was: “ No matter what your Mommie told you , ‘Enough is never Enough!’”

    Marble House really is drop dead gorgeous. Consuelo may have endured the duke, but she had to have felt at home in Blenheim. What a handsome, royal, yet magnetic place in its way.

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