Chartwell is located in Kent, and it is famous for being the home of Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Britain during World War II. He lived in the house for fourty years until his death in 1965; after this time, the property became a part of the National Trust. Prior to Churchill owning Chartwell, the house/estate or parts of it date from the 1400s, and it was rumoured to have been visited by Henry VIII when he was courting Anne Boleyn, who lived nearby at Hever Castle. After this, it became a farmhouse in the 1700s and 1800s and was extended. Churchill saw the house in 1921, and he purchased it.
Churchill spent a lot of time at Chartwell and loved it. He painted, did work in the garden, composed speeches, and wrote books.
Churchill's friends ultimately sold Chartwell to the National Trust on condition that it was retained by the family, and the house was open to the public in 1966. It is one of the National Trust's most popular properties. It had been preserved to appear as it would have done in the 1920s-1930s. Unfortunately, many trees had suffered in a bad storm in the 1980s, so the gardens needed to have some repair work.
Today, the house contains personal items belonging to Churchill, including many paintings. A visitor's book is located in the hallway of all of the visitors who visited the house. In all, there were 780 guests, and signatures of celebrities and presidents and other politicians can be seen. Some of the items have been since bought by the National Trust with funds of 7.1 million for the honorary United States citizenship from John F. Kennedy and the Nobel Prize in Literature.
One of Churchill's pastimes in his later years was to sit by the pond and feed the goldfish. A photograph of the pond and some goldfish is above.
On the side of the garden is a little building.
The gardens at Chartwell are beautiful. I visited them in mid-August, and they were at their peak then. There is a mixture of flowers and vegetables and the garden also contains a pen of chickens.
In additon to the beautiful gardens, I visited the house, which is a timed entry based on a first come basis. On popular days, there are not enough tickets for visitors to the house, so do arrive early to get a timeslot for the house.
The room above and below has an outside balcony to view the garden from, and a couple of paintings from Churchill are located on either side of the fireplace.
The below room is the Drawing Room.
Below is Churchill's library.
The below room belonged to Churchill's wife Clementine. There are photographs of their children on the desk, and the room has beautiful views. One of the children's photographs is the firstborn girl, Marigold, who died when she was very young.
Below is the honorary citizenship to the United States, which was granted by President Kennedy to Churchill.
The below room is the main dining room. Some of the rooms in the house have been transformed into a museum dedicated to Churchill and the different roles he played - writer, artist, father, politician, war hero, etc. There is also an area about Churchill's furneral.
Chartwell is worth a visit; in addition to learning about Winston Churchill, visitors can wander around the beautiful gardens and take a short walk around the lake.
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