Chartwell - Home of Sir Winston Churchill

It is sometime now since I said that I would do a post on the homes of Sir Winston Churchill

but at last I have got to it.

We have visited a number of times over the years as it is only an hours drive from home

but our last visit was last Summer

This house was bought by Sir Winston for its magnificant views over the Weald of Kent to Sussex

It was the place from where he drew inspiration from 1924 until the end of his life.

The rooms and gardens remain much as they were when he lived there with

pictures, books, maps and personal momentoes strongly evoking the career and

wide-ranging interests of this great statesman.

The terraced hillside gardens reflect the importance to Churchill of the landscape and nature.

They include the lakes that he created, the water gardens where he fed his fish, Lady Churchill's Rose Garden and the Golden Rose Avenue - a golden wedding anniversary gift from their children which runs down the centre of the productive kitchen garden.

Many of Sir Winstons paintings can be seen in the garden studio.

I do hope you enjoy this visit

The food is always good there also

On our last visit we had

Minced Beef with sliced chicken, mushrooms, prunes, dates and cinnamon

topped with a creamed potatoe (plus vegetables of course)

It sounded unusual but believe me it was declicious

The house

The only room in the house that one is unable to see is Winston's bedroom. This is because it is too small for a host of tourists. It only holds a bed. It is situated off his large study where I guess he spent most of the night hours as he only slept for 4 hours a night.

His wife Clemmie's bedroom is large and very feminine with a four poster bed

The orchard

The rose garden The croquet lawn

Bronze statue by Oscar Nemon

of Sir Winston and Lady Churchill

It sits overlooking a large lake created by Winston

Looking over the Kent Weald from inside the house



The swimming pool

The chair where Winston sat to feed his fish



Inside the children's play house




The children's play house





The golden rose walk











The upper terrace







Alan on the upper terrace







Yours truly







Sir Winston's Art Studio








This is a postcard of just a small corner of the studio as photography is not allowed

Sir Winston started painting when he was 40 years old

He suffered from depression which he called his Black Dog

His wife Clemmie bought his first set of oil paints and he used painting as a way to combat his depressions

He never used watercolour only oils - 540 different oils

He did his last painting at the age of 84 in Marrakesh in Morocco

There are 135 of his paintings in his studio

He began sculpturing when he was 80

He also built a brick wall that borders one of the gardens

A gifted man

I will post on his ancestral home Blenheim Palace shortly