EVIDENCE of a previously unknown inhabitant has been discovered swimming beneath the surface of Queen Pool.
The Lake Dredge Project was paused in December due to bad weather. It restarted in Spring, with the aim of restoring ‘Britain’s finest view’.
On returning to site, team members from Blenheim Palace and Land & Water, the wet civil engineering company working on the project, discovered something fishy.
Head of Built Heritage at Blenheim Palace, Kelly Whitton, said: “It’s all a complete mystery to us – how long it has been in the pool; the age of the beast; and where it came from.
“We’ve consulted an expert from the University of Oxford, who suggested it could be an example of palatium aprilstultus, a very rare creature indeed.”
The groups working in the location have grown fond of the monster, believed to be 30 metres long based on aerial imagery, and have named her ‘Bessie the Blenheim Beast’.
Simon Perry, Operations Support Manager at Land & Water, said:
“When we were approached by the team at Blenheim to take on this project, we knew there would be challenges along the way.
“But the prospect of discovering an underwater creature was not one of them!”
The Queen Pool is part of the ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland created in the early 1760s.
It is not known for how long Bessie has called Blenheim Palace home, however it is believed she moved in during the winter break.
Blenheim Palace are encouraging visitors to see if they can spot ‘Bessie the Blenheim Beast’ on their next visit.
They are advised to look out for her splashing tail breaking the calm water.
