Blenheim Palace: Emergency repairs on leaking roof

A grant of about £25,000 is going towards the repairs on Blenheim Palace's roof

Emergency repairs are under way at Blenheim Palace after water started leaking into the 18th Century building.

Conservation contractors are repairing gutters and split sections of lead on the roof at the Unesco World Heritage Site in Oxfordshire.

Roger File, the palace's chief operating officer, said the work would "protect its priceless interior".

A grant of about £25,000 from the Culture Recovery Fund is going towards the work.

The fund is part of a £1.57bn government handout aimed at securing the future of museums, galleries and heritage sites through the coronavirus pandemic.

Conservation contractors are repairing gutters and split sections of lead

Mr File said: "While the palace and wider estate remain closed to visitors, the need to carry out essential conservation and restoration work is ongoing.

"Grants like this enable us to maintain the fabric of this iconic and historic building and protect its priceless interior."

The palace in Woodstock is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

It was built to celebrate Britain's victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession and completed in 1733.

It is the residence of the Duke of Marlborough and was designated a world heritage site in 1987.